Utah Blaze

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For current information on this topic, see 2008 Utah Blaze season

Utah Blaze
Conference	American
Division	Western
Year founded	2006
Home arena	Delta Field at EnergySolutions Arena
City, State	Salt Lake City, Utah
Head Coach	Danny White
ArenaBowl championships	none
Conference titles	none
Division titles	none
Wild Card berths	2: 2006 & 2007

The Utah Blaze is an Arena Football League team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They began play as a 2006 expansion team.

Contents 1 History 2 Season-by-season 3 Not To Be Forgotten 4 Retired Numbers 5 AFL Hall of Famers 6 Roster by number 7 Coaches 8 Arena Football Hall of Famers associated with the Utah Blaze 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

[edit] History

The Utah Blaze began play on January 28, 2006, playing the San Jose SaberCats on the road. The team is coached by longtime Arizona Rattlers coach Danny White and plays its home games at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, home of the National Basketball Association's Utah Jazz. The team is owned by automobile businessmen John Garff, Robert Garff, and Brett Hopkins.

On Saturday, February 11, 2006, the Blaze lost to the New York Dragons 84-81 in the second highest scoring game in the history of the Arena Football League. The Blaze's performance was also the second highest score for a losing team in the AFL's 20-year history.

In their first season, the Blaze had the highest average attendance in the Arena Football League, with 15,498 fans per game. They narrowly edged out Philadelphia's 15,463. Prior to the 2006 season, the Blaze had said EnergySolutions Arena held 13,000 fans due to poor sight lines in most of the building. After 16,705 people attended the home opener, that figure was changed to near 15,000. The Blaze topped that figure 5 of the 8 games their first season.

Despite a losing record of 7-9, the Blaze got into the playoffs as an AC Wildcard (the conference's #6 seed). Unfortunately, the newly formed Blaze were given the boot as they lost to the Arizona Rattlers with a final score of 57-34.

The team's mascot is a dalmatian named "Chief." The Blaze were winners of the league "Commissioners Award" in 2006 and won the prestigious "Support Staff of the Year Award" in back-to-back seasons (2006-2007), an award that goes to the league's best training and equipment staff (led by Head Trainer Kevin Semans and Head Equipment Manager Darin Featherstone). ^[1]

[edit] Season-by-season

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties

Season	W	L	T	Finish	Playoff results
2006	7	9	0	3rd AC Western	Lost Wild Card (Arizona)
2007	8	8	0	3rd AC Western	Lost Wild Card (Los Angeles)
*2008	5	10	0	3rd AC Western	--
Totals	20	29	0	(including playoffs)

* = Current Standing

[edit] Not To Be Forgotten

• Justin Skaggs - WR/LB (died of brain tumor in 2007)

[edit] Retired Numbers

3 Justin Skaggs - WR/LB - March 29, 2008

[edit] AFL Hall of Famers

• Danny White

[edit] Roster by number

(Current as of 2008-05-30)

Number	Name	Position	Height	Weight	Notes
?	Kyle Gunther	OL	6 ft 4 in	310 lb	Practice Squad
1	Aaron Boone	WR	6 ft 2 in	210 lb
2	Damon Mason	DB	5 ft 9 in	195 lb
4	Orshawante Bryant	WR	6 ft 0 in	191 lb	Injured
5	J.J. McKelvey	WR	6 ft 4 in	225 lb
8	Carlton Brown	DB	5 ft 11 in	190 lb
9	Eddie Canonico	DB	6 ft 4 in	195 lb
10	Joe Germaine	QB	6 ft 2 in	220 lb
11	Kelvin Morris	LB	6 ft 4 in	245 lb
12	Caleb Eastman	QB	6 ft 4 in	225 lb	Practice Squad
13	Steve Videtich	K	6 ft 2 in	185 lb
15	Huey Whittaker	WR	6 ft 5 in	220 lb
17	Jason Gesser	QB	6 ft 1 in	215 lb
18	David Sutton	WR	6 ft 6 in	225 lb	Practice Squad
19	Corey Dodds	LB	6 ft 2 in	245 lb	Practice Squad
23	Tom Pace	WR	5 ft 10 in	205 lb	Injured
24	Reggie Doster	DB	5 ft 10 in	190 lb
34	Rodney Filer	FB	6 ft 3 in	260 lb
42	J'Sharlon Jones	DB	5 ft 8 in	186 lb
43	Kautai Olevao	FB	6 ft 1 in	279 lb
44	Maurice Fountain	DL	6 ft 4 in	270 lb
52	Chris Janek	DL	6 ft 3 in	315 lb
55	Vaka Manupuna	DL	6 ft 1 in	305 lb
56	Tupe Peko	OL	6 ft 4 in	310 lb	Injured
59	Eddie Keele	OL	6 ft 4 in	305 lb	Injured
72	Devin Wyman	OL	6 ft 8 in	350 lb
77	Jake Kuresa	OL	6 ft 4 in	315 lb
95	John Culp	DL	6 ft 4 in	282 lb
96	E.J. Burt	DL	6 ft 2 in	265 lb
98	Rob Gatrell	OL	6 ft 4 in	295 lb
99	Dwayne Missouri	DL	6 ft 5 in	280 lb

[edit] Coaches

(Current as of 2008-05-30)

Name	Coaching Position	Biography External Link
Danny White	Head Coach/General Manager	[1]
Ron James	Director of Player Personnel Defensive Coordinator	[2]
Lindsay Hassell	Assistant Coach DL/LB	[3]
Scott Lieber	Special Teams Coordinator Football Operations Director	[4]
Rory Couch	Head Equipment Manager	[5]
Jim Low	Intern, Equipment Manager	[6]

[edit] Arena Football Hall of Famers associated with the Utah Blaze

• Danny White, Head Coach 2006-

[edit] See also

Arena Football League
American Football

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Utah Blaze Official Website
• The Utah Blaze Official Fan Club Website
• Utah Blaze at ArenaFan.com

Utah Blaze seasons v • d • e
2006 | 2007 | 2008

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v • d • e Current arenas in the Arena Football League American Conference Allstate Arena | EnergySolutions Arena | HP Pavilion | Sprint Center | Pepsi Center | Staples Center | US Airways Center | Van Andel Arena National Conference American Airlines Center | Amway Arena | Nassau Coliseum | Nationwide Arena | New Orleans Arena | Arena at Gwinnett Center | Quicken Loans Arena | St. Pete Times Forum | Wachovia Center1 | Wachovia Spectrum2 1The Philadelphia Soul play Sunday home games at the Wachovia Center. 2The Philadelphia Soul play Saturday home games at the Wachovia Spectrum.

v • d • e Sports teams based in Utah Basketball NBA: Utah Jazz - D-League: Utah Flash Soccer MLS: Real Salt Lake - PDL: BYU Cougars • Ogden Outlaws Baseball PCL: Salt Lake Bees - Pioneer League: Orem Owlz • Ogden Raptors - Golden Baseball League: St. George RoadRunners Football AFL: Utah Blaze - AIFA: Utah Saints Hockey ECHL: Utah Grizzlies College athletics (NCAA Div. I) BYU Cougars • SUU Thunderbirds • Utah Utes • Utah State Aggies • UVSC Wolverines • Weber State Wildcats (NCAA Div. II) Dixie State Rebels (NAIA) Westminster Griffins (NJCAA) CEU Golden Eagles • SLCC Bruins • Snow College Badgers