Utah's inaugural season in the Arena Football League was significant in many ways. Not only did the Blaze make an impact with notable wins and electrifying performances, the team led the league in attendance and answered any questions about Salt Lake City's ability to support the sport.
From the first game, the Blaze showed they were not your ordinary expansion team. Led by coach Danny White, Utah qualified for the AFL playoffs as an expansion team before falling to their instant rival Arizona Rattlers.
White, the former Rattlers coach, brought several former Arizona players — including quarterback Joe Germaine, offensive specialist Siaha Burley, receiver/linebacker Tom Pace and others — to Delta Field, where the Blaze had some of the most memorable games of the 2006 AFL season.
Here's a look back at the Blaze's first season:
· · · · ·
WEEK 1 — Utah 48, San Jose 35
Quarterback Joe Germaine gave the Blaze a win in their first-ever game as he passed for five touchdowns in a debut win over what was expected to be one of the toughest teams in the league.
Kicker Steve Videtich showed why White worked hard to acquire him as he became the AFL's all-time leading scorer in the game when his point after attempt with 1:48 in the second quarter was true.
Siaha Burley scored the first touchdown in team history on a 4-yard pass from Germaine in the first quarter, and the Blaze scored 24 unanswered points to help build a 31-14 halftime lead.
Record: 1-0
· · · · ·
WEEK 2 — Dallas 56, Utah 53
The first AFL game in the state of Utah was a thrilling event but ultimately a bittersweet moment as the Blaze fell to the high-powered Desperados.
Germaine threw for five more touchdowns, including one with 1:35 left in the game, but Dallas was able to run the clock out without allowing the Blaze to get a shot at a come-from-behind win in their home debut.
Record: 1-1
· · · · ·
WEEK 3 — New York 84, Utah 81
Utah fans got a treat in Week 3 as the Blaze and Dragons combined for an offensive slugfest. Quarterbacks Aaron Garcia and Germaine took turns lighting up the scoreboard in the second highest scoring game in AFL history.
Germaine threw for 444 yards and 10 touchdowns, but it was Garcia who had the last laugh as his 10 scoring throws were enough to offset anything the Blaze were able to do.
Burley grabbed six TDs and had 259 receiving yards in the loss. The 165 points were two shy of the 167 scored when New York beat Carolina 99-68 in 2001.
Record: 1-2
· · · · ·
WEEK 4 — Arizona 45, Utah 38
Round one of Utah's instant rivalry series with Arizona went to the veteran Rattlers.
Coach Danny White took his new team — with nine former Rattlers on Utah's roster at the time — back to the city he coached in for more than a decade but was unable to capture the same winning magic he enjoyed there for so long.
The Blaze struggled against the experienced Rattlers as they couldn't punch the ball into the endzone as easily as they hoped. Siaha Burley and Joe Germaine made returns to their old stomping grounds and Burley had seven catches for 140 yards and two touchdowns while Germaine's only other offensive score was on a 1-yard run.
Record: 1-3
· · · · ·
WEEK 5 — Utah 68, Los Angeles 66
Utah snapped a 3-game losing streak in dramatic fashion as Germaine found Orshawante Bryant on a 12-yard strike as time expired.
The touchdown capped a dramatic comeback for Utah, which gave up the lead with only 15 seconds left in the game. But Germaine needed only three plays to move his team downfield where they stunned the crowd with the last-second play.
Germaine threw for eight touchdowns and 387 yards. Bryant grabbed seven catches and had two touchdowns, while Burley had 13 catches for 167 yards.
Record: 2-3
· · · · ·
WEEK 6 — San Jose 65, Utah 50
In a rematch of the franchise opener, the Blaze were unable to break through for a repeat performance and remained winless at home.
San Jose's Mark Grieb picked apart the Utah defense for eight touchdowns while Utah was unable to match that effort.
Germaine tossed five touchdowns and had 367 passing yards, but former Utah State star Joe Jacobs picked off a pass and returned it 23 yards for a score as part of a 27-0 SabreCats rally.
The Blaze scored 29 points in the fourth quarter to make things tight but were unable to finish things off when San Jose recovered an onsides kick in the final minute before scoring an insurance touchdown to ice the game.
Record: 2-4
· · · · ·
WEEK 7 — Utah 63, Nashville 34
Stinging from three home losses, the Blaze finally broke through for the home crowd of more than 14,000 with a defensive domination against the Kats.
Orshawante Bryant had a big interception off the screen, and Utah mixed things up offensively with a running game led by Kevin Clemens' two 1-yard touchdown plunges. Linemen John Culp and Bryan Henderson also scored touchdowns for the Blaze in the big win.
Utah scored first on one of Clemens' runs, and Tom Pace grabbed the ensuing kickoff as it bounced off the goal post for another touchdown. That gave Utah a 14-0 lead before Nashville's offense even took the field.
But the victory came with a high price tag. Quarterback Joe Germaine broke a finger on his throwing hand in the game and was lost for the remainder of the season.
Record 3-4
· · · · ·
WEEK 8 — Grand Rapids 59, Utah 49
Jason Gesser's first starting assignment with the Blaze didn't turn out well as Utah dropped a road game to the Rampage.
The Blaze committed six turnovers in the game, including five interceptions thrown by Gesser, and the offense never really got things going.
Record: 3-5
· · · · ·
WEEK 9 — Las Vegas 49, Utah 47
Utah had a chance to make an impressive win against a division foe, but Las Vegas lineman Steve Konopka busted through the line and blocked a 34-yard field goal attempt by Utah's Steve Videtich with 10 seconds remaining to spoil the Blaze's victory celebration.
Blaze quarterback Jason Gesser had his best game in a Utah uniform as he threw for 309 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions, but it was not enough as the Gladiators' defense proved to be the difference.
Record: 3-6
· · · · ·
WEEK 10 — Tampa Bay 56, Utah 41
Life continued to be a challenge for Gesser as the Storm attacked Utah's quarterback throughout the game. Gesser was intercepted late in the game by Tampa's Tramain Jones to thwart a comeback attempt.
Utah's defense again came up short as Tampa pulled away in the second half and sent the Blaze to their third consecutive loss — making a run for the AFL playoffs a difficult task at best for the expansion franchise.
Record: 3-7
· · · · ·
WEEK 11 — Arizona 64, Utah 52
Utah's budding rivalry with the Rattlers moved to the Delta Center for Round Two. But the result was the same as the first as Arizona's Randy Gatewood was unstoppable.
The Rattlers receiver grabbed seven touchdowns, and veteran quarterback Sherdrick Bonner celebrated his 100th AFL victory by beating his old coach and many of his old teammates.
The Blaze held a 21-7 lead in the first half, but Arizona scored on four consecutive possessions to erase that advantage and run away with the win. It was Utah's fourth straight loss and sent a panic through the team as coach Danny White spent many of the postgame moments talking to free agent players on the telephone.
Record: 3-8
· · · · ·
WEEK 12 — Utah 63, Los Angeles 61
Four consecutive losses forced coach Danny White to make a roster move. And in doing so, he struck gold with Andy Kelly.
The all-time leading touchdown thrower in AFL history was plucked from the waiver wire and led the Blaze to a thrilling win over the Avengers in front of more than 15,000 fans. Kelly replaced Gesser in the starting lineup and threw for 285 yards and eight touchdowns to help the Blaze snap their losing streak.
The acquisition of the veteran signal caller proved to be a stroke of genius as Utah began a late-season push to the playoffs.
After taking a 1-point lead late in the game, Utah surprised everyone with an onsides kick that was recovered by Kevin Clemens, and Kelly found Siaha Burley for a touchdown and an 8-point lead.
Los Angeles scored in only a few plays after that, but Justin Skaggs tipped away a two-point conversion pass to seal the victory.
Record: 4-8
· · · · ·
WEEK 13 — Utah 52, Colorado 40
Utah's playoff push continued at an unlikely place as Kelly again led the Blaze to victory — this time at the home of the defending AFL champion Crush.
Kelly threw for 314 yards and four touchdowns. No interceptions thrown proved to be a big difference for the Blaze as they were able to extend a late lead as Colorado's high-powered offense sputtered against a resurgent Utah defense.
Record: 5-8
· · · · ·
WEEK 14 — Utah 63, Las Vegas 52
Utah extended its season-best winning streak to three games as Kelly tossed nine touchdowns — reclaiming the AFL's all-time record with his 757th scoring throw — and the Blaze stopped the Gladiators with clutch defensive plays down the stretch.
Trailing 7-0 just a few seconds into the game thanks to a kickoff return for a touchdown, the Blaze needed Kelly's big night to over come Las Vegas' effort.
The win made qualifying for the playoffs a suddenly legitimate thought with only two regular season games remaining.
Record: 6-8
· · · · ·
WEEK 15 — Chicago 84, Utah 48
Utah's playoff hopes and confidence took a big hit as the Rush dominated the game.
Chicago took advantage of a few Blaze turnovers early in the game and jumped out to a 35-0 lead. That was far too much for Utah to overcome, and the team limped back to Salt Lake City wondering what to do in the season finale.
Record: 6-9
· · · · ·
WEEK 16 — Utah 55, Kansas City 54
A sellout crowd greeted the Blaze in the season finale, and Utah did not disappoint as the team locked up a playoff berth thanks to a tight victory over the Brigade.
Andy Kelly, released by the Brigade only a few weeks earlier, threw for 306 yards and five touchdowns. His strike to Tom Pace with six seconds left on the clock was the game winner.
Lineman John Culp blocked a Kansas City PAT with less than a minute to play, which helped set up the thrilling finish.
Siaha Burley finished the year leading the league in receiving yards with 1,934 — the second-highest receiving yards in AFL history.
Record: 7-9
· · · · ·
PLAYOFFS ROUND 1
Arizona 57, Utah 34
The Blaze might have achieved more than most expected, but the opening round playoff loss to the Rattlers left everyone on the team disappointed.
Coach Danny White's 13th trip to the AFL playoffs was a short one as his old team completed a three-game season sweep over the Blaze with a convincing playoff domination.
Utah trailed by only two points in the fourth quarter, but Andy Kelly was sacked on a key play and Utah never recovered as Arizona scored the final 21 points of the game while virtually shutting the Blaze out after Utah had built a 31-21 first-half lead.
E-mail: jeborn@desnews.com