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Salt Lake City, Utah (March 24, 2006) - OL/DL Steve Konopka single handedly kept the Las Vegas Gladiators in the Western Division hunt when he blocked a 34-yard Steve Videtich attempt with 10 seconds remaining in the game. The Gladiators captured their first road victory 49-47 and in doing so they improve to 4-5 on the year. The loss drops the Utah Blaze to 3-6 on the season.
Both teams exchanged punched in the first two quarters and were knotted at halftime 21-21. The Gladiators third quarter scoring has been great all year (102-78) and tonight was no different, Las Vegas outscored the Blaze 21-12 in the third and held on to the win.
Game Jason Fife connected on 17 of 27 attempts for 195 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Fife spread the ball around, completing passes to seven different receivers led by OS Marcus Nash with six grabs for 53 yards and two scores. The return of FB/LB Marlion Jackson gave the league's leading rushing team a boost on the ground. Jackson finished with 27 yards rushing on seven carries, two finding the endzone and was named Offensive Player of the Game. Overall the Gladiators rushed for 45 yards on 18 carries and four rushing touchdowns.
The Blaze were led by quarterback Jason Gesser who completed 25 of 35 passes for 309 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions. The Gladiators kept Blaze star Siaha Burley quiet after two quarters, but the 2005 Offensive Player of the Year had six catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns, all coming in the second half.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Eastern Division
W L T Pct PF PA
Dallas 7 1 0 .875 480 378
New York 5 4 0 .556 488 524
Columbus 4 4 0 .500 352 348
Philadelphia 4 4 0 .500 368 365
Southern Division
W L T Pct PF PA
Austin 6 2 0 .750 431 368
Tampa Bay 5 3 0 .625 430 434
Georgia 4 4 0 .500 447 365
Orlando 4 4 0 .500 403 420
Kansas City 1 8 0 .111 350 459
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Central Division
W L T Pct PF PA
Colorado 6 2 0 .750 447 422
Nashville 5 3 0 .625 401 339
Chicago 3 5 0 .375 409 421
Grand Rapids 3 5 0 .375 390 425
Western Division
W L T Pct PF PA
Arizona 5 4 0 .556 402 415
Las Vegas 4 5 0 .444 449 470
San Jose 3 5 0 .375 423 448
Los Angeles 3 6 0 .333 439 512
Utah 3 6 0 .333 499 491
------ Friday's Games
New York 54, Kansas City 48
Las Vegas 49, Utah 47
Arizona 58, Los Angeles 45
Saturday's Games
San Jose at Nashville, 8 p.m.
Orlando at Austin, 8 p.m.
Philadelphia at Dallas, 8 p.m.
Columbus at Colorado, 9 p.m.
Sunday's Games
Tampa Bay at Georgia, 3 p.m.
Grand Rapids at Chicago, 3 p.m.
Friday, March 31
Austin at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 1
Grand Rapids at New York, 7 p.m.
Utah at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
Columbus at Dallas, 8 p.m.
Georgia at Kansas City, 8 p.m.
Nashville at Colorado, 9 p.m. Sunday, April 2
Chicago at Orlando, Noon
Arizona at San Jose, 6 p.m.
Los Angeles at Las Vegas, 6 p.m.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-03-24-06 2156MST
