WEST VALLEY CITY — The effort was undoubtedly better. The outcome, however, was the same.
A week after getting embarrassed in their return to action, the Utah Blaze showed plenty of improvement and a lot more competitiveness but couldn't come up with a score or defensive stop when it mattered most, falling 63-54 Saturday night at the E Center to the Alabama Vipers.
"We still have things we need to work on," Blaze coach Ernesto Purnsley said. "We're close, but we're not quite there."
The Blaze were clearly more competitive in their second game and can credit their defense and special teams for an early spark. Before the Utah offense even had a chance to take a single snap, 27 points had been posted on the scoreboard.
Blaze defensive back Brandon Hampton intercepted a Kevin Eakin pass and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown to open the game and followed that with a kickoff return for another touchdown – his third of the season.
Utah quarterback Brett Elliott had a solid first half, once he got on the field. The former Ute completed 11 of 13 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown to keep the Blaze in the game.
"We're better on offense, but we're not great," Elliott said. "We should be scoring on offense every time, but we still need to get things better."
Missed opportunities haunted the Blaze and kept points off the board while allowing the Vipers to extend their lead.
Kicker Kenny Byrd continued to struggle as he missed three PATs and a field goal attempt as the Vipers took a 35-32 lead into the half.
The Vipers threatened to take control of the game in the third quarter and held a 48-38 lead before Elliott hit Wendell Williams with a 45-yard bullet to the end zone and then connected with Aaron Boone on a 2-point conversion to make it 49-46 heading into the fourth.
Alabama pushed it back to 56-46 and the Blaze hoped to give themselves a chance to get the win with another defensive stop. But after getting a first and goal, they were unable to punch the ball into the end zone and turned the ball over when Elliott threw an interception on fourth down with 3:45 to play.
The Vipers milked the clock, driving for a touchdown with 47 seconds left in the game to make the score 63-46.
Elliott and Boone connected again later but Utah did not have enough time to overcome the 17-point deficit.
NOTES: Attendance was announced as 4,898 ... The Blaze play their first road game of the season next week at Chicago and return to the E Center April 30 against Shreveport.
e-mail: jeborn@desnews.com