SPOKANE, Wash. — The Utah Blaze suffered their second consecutive loss to the Spokane Shock, 76-49, in the first-ever regular season outdoor arena football game Saturday night.
Spokane (8-8) now holds the tiebreaker over the Blaze (7-9) in the race towards the playoffs.
"We simply made too many mistakes tonight and that was ultimately the difference," said Blaze Ron James. "We need to find a way to turn things around this week as we face the VooDoo in our final home game at EnergySolutions."
Former Blaze backup Erik Meyer quarterbacked the Shock to the victory.
Utah quarterback Todd Hammel completed 23 of 34 passes for 258 yards and five touchdowns. Receiver Aaron Lesue had 10 catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
Spokane took the lead for good in the second quarter when Meyer threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Chas Gessner. Meyer hit receiver Brandon Tompkins with a 45-yard touchdown pass later in the second quarter, and the Shock led 49-35 at halftime.
Ben Stallings rushed eight times for 44 yards and two touchdowns. His 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was the Blaze's only score in the period.
The Blaze play their final home game of the season next Saturday against New Orleans. Utah will be hosting a youth sports night where all youths who wear their teams' jersey will receive free admission to the contest.