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SALT LAKE CITY--Facing the team he coached for 13 seasons, Danny White and the Utah Blaze (3-8) were unable to close out a 52-52 tie with five minutes to go that resulted in another home loss to the Arizona Rattlers, 64-52, at the Delta Center Friday night in front of 14,651 fans. The Blaze are now three games out of the division lead with only five games remaining.
“This is a game tonight that we all thought we should have had,” White said. “I felt like defensively tonight there was a huge improvement in our pass rush. That was great to see, but frankly our offense let us down.”
Utah QB Jason Gesser, who is still searching for his first win as the starter, finished the game completing 15-of-24 passes for 160 yards and four touchdowns with one interception.
OS Siaha Burley extended his touchdown streak in all 11 games for the Blaze this season, finished with four catches for 41 yards and one touchdown while piling up a total of 138 all-purpose yards. WR/DB Tom Pace recorded a team-high six catches for 74 yards and two touchdown receptions, plus his first rushing touchdown of the season.
Arizona WR/DB Randy Gatewood was named Offensive Player of the Game as he tied an AFL record with seven touchdown receptions in a single game along with 13 total catches for 149 yards. Former Utah Ute Clarence Lawson was named ADT Defensive Player of the Game after recording an interception, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery with four assisted tackles. WR/LB Wilson Thomas was named Ironman of the Game with two receptions for 47 yards including a critical third down conversion and one special teams touchdown on a kickoff recovery.
The Blaze host another divisional game against the Los Angeles Avengers next Saturday, April 15 at the Delta Center with kickoff slated at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at www.utahblaze.com, the Delta Center box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (801) 325-SEAT or at all Ticketmaster outlets.
