PHOENIX — For three quarters on Saturday it appeared like Danny White's Arena Football League playoff magic was intact.
Then the roof caved in for the Utah Blaze.
The Arizona Rattlers ended the Blaze's inaugural season by beating them 57-34 at US Airways Center in a game that was far closer then the final score indicated.
The loss dropped White's record to 11-2 in first playoff games and 20-11 in all playoff games. Meanwhile, it was the Rattlers' first-ever playoff victory without White as their coach — giving them an AFL-record 21 playoff wins as a franchise.
"Their pass rush finally got to us and that was the big difference in the game," said White.
Utah led 24-21 at the half and by as many as 10 points in the third quarter and were still up four points, 34-30, midway through the fourth. But Arizona outscored the Blaze 27-0 in the final nine minutes — scoring 21 of those points in the final 2:46 to pull away.
It was a play in the third quarter, however, that was the biggest momentum changer.
Utah led 31-21 and had the ball back on offense after Tom Pace had recovered a fumble. But Blaze quarterback Andy Kelly — after a miscommunication with receiver Siaha Burley forced him to hold the ball slightly longer than usual — was sacked in the end zone by Arizona's Wendall Gaines for a safety.
That gave the Rattlers two points and they got the ball right back since the Blaze had to kick off to them. Arizona quickly scored a touchdown — cutting the 10-point deficit to one in a hurry.
"The safety got us," said Blaze lineman Hans Olsen. "Anytime you get a safety in this league it's a nine-point swing. We would have been better off if we would have fumbled it and they would have recovered in the end zone. That's just how this game is."
"Safeties in this league are just killers," echoed White.
Utah's final score of the game came on their first possession of the fourth quarter, but the Blaze were forced to settle for a 22-yard Steve Videtich field goal, giving them a 34-30 lead with 10:52 to play.
The Blaze wouldn't score again, however, as Arizona rattled off 27 consecutive points.
Arizona veteran quarterback Sherdrick Bonner hooked up with veteran receiver Randy Gatewood on a 14-yard touchdown pass with 8:56 to play to give Arizona its first lead since it was 7-0 early in the opening quarter. The extra point was blocked by Utah's John Culp, however, and Arizona's advantage was just 36-34.
That's when the Rattlers' pass rush started getting to Kelly with regularity. On third-and-nine at his own 13, Kelly was sacked for an eight-yard loss. Utah went for it on fourth-and-15 at its own five, but Kelly was again hurried passing out of his own end zone and his pass fell incomplete with 3:52 to play, giving the ball back to the Rattlers deep in Utah territory.
Arizona went up by two scores with 2:46 to play when Bonner found the end zone on a five-yard keeper, giving the Rattlers a 43-34 advantage.
The Rattlers' Joe Todd then recovered the loose ball off the net for a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff with 1:30 to play, giving the Rattlers a 50-34 lead. Suddenly, a close game was turned into a blowout, but the onslaught still wasn't over.
Arizona got the ball back again in a hurry when Kelly was hit for a sack and them fumbled in the final minute of play.
"They whipped us up front pretty good with that great pass rush," said White. "They played a good game and they deserved it."
After Kelly's fumble, the Rattlers scored with just 15 seconds left on a 10-yard run by Joey Dozier.
"We weren't trying to score that last one," said Rattlers coach Gary Nudo. "We were trying to run out the clock."
Burley, one of seven former Rattlers on the Blaze roster, had another big game in the losing cause. He caught six passes for 116 yards and two scores. His 41-yard grab on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter gave the Blaze a 10-point lead. But it proved to be the final touchdown of the season for the Blaze.
Kelly, in what will likely be his final game in a Blaze uniform since he is now a free agent, completed 22 of 33 passes for 226 yards and four touchdowns. After joining the team just six games ago, Kelly, the all-time AFL passing leader, led the Blaze to four wins and two losses down the stretch.
"The first half we were moving the ball pretty well and it was pretty smooth — even early in the second half," said Kelly. "But then their defense came up with some big plays and a couple of stops and that ended up being the difference in the game."
Bonner, who had more than twice as many playoff touchdown passes as any other quarterback in AFL history, added five more on Saturday. Gatewood caught seven passes for 119 yards and three scores.
"The veterans just got the job done for the Rattlers," said Utah's Orshawante Bryant.
E-mail: lojo@desnews.com