The Tale of the Tape

In case you were wondering what happened last night...

AVENGERS EXTINGUISH BLAZE, 64-42
Los Angeles defense comes up with nine stops
By Antoine Ibrahim
laavengers.com

LOS ANGELES -- The Avengers recorded their first playoff victory in convincing fashion, beating the Utah Blaze 64-42 in a first-round game before 13,066 at STAPLES Center.

The win, which was also L.A.'s first against the Blaze, sets up meeting with the defending ArenaBowl champion Chicago Rush on July 9, in the Divisional Round. The loss knocks Utah out of the postseason in the first round for the second consecutive year.

Los Angeles (9-7, 1-0) avenged last week’s 47-37 loss to Utah (8-8, 0-1) in the regular-season finale thanks to a 37-point run that was aided by seven consecutive defensive stops. Five of the stops were turnovers, including three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

“We really fed off of what our defense did today," Avenger head coach Ed Hodgkiss said. "That was something we didn’t do last week. We proved what we can do when we play a complete game. I was proud of how our offense responded.”

Quarterback Sonny Cumbie led an Avenger offense that scored on eight of its first nine drives, to jump out to a 51-14 lead with 5:56 minutes remaining in the third quarter. He completed 26-of-37 for 306 yards and seven touchdowns.

Utah quarterback Joe Germaine was 24-of-38 for 323 yards and five touchdowns. His favorite target was Tom Pace, who had 11 catches for 138 yards and one score.

The first turnover L.A. forced was an interception off the net that fell into the hands of fullback/linebacker Josh Jeffries. On the ensuing possession, wide receiver Kevin Ingram caught a 24-yard score to give the Avengers a 21-14 lead with 11:01 left in the second quarter.

The Avengers added another touchdown when wide receiver/linebacker Robert Quiroga caught a two-yard pass after defensive back Damen Wheeler forced a fumble. Quiroga intercepted a pass, which also bounced off the net, on the next Blaze possession. That turnover led to a four-yard run by Jeffries to give L.A. a 34-14 lead with 24 seconds left in the half.

“I was glad I was able to come in there and make some plays,” said Jeffries, who caught two touchdowns and ran for two more scores while filling in for the injured Lonnie Ford. “I really didn’t expect to have a game like this, but I knew if I was called upon I would be ready.”

Jeffries' four-yard run in the fourth quarter gave the Avengers a 58-21 lead with 14:08 remaining. His last score was a 38-yard catch with 1:01 left that extended L.A.'s lead to 64-28.

Utah added two touchdowns in the game's final 20 seconds to cut the final deficit to 64-42.

Los Angeles opened the scoring when Cumbie found receiver Rob Turner from 21 yards out. The Blaze answered with a six-yard touchdown pass to Pace that tied the game, 7-7, with 6:07 left in the first quarter.

The two teams would trade scores before the Avengers went on their 37-point run.

“I think we can really take a win like this and have the same type of energy next week,” said lineman Silas Demary, who recorded two sacks. "When our front line plays like this we can hang with anyone in the league.”

L.A.'s game at Chicago on July 9, will kick off at 5:30 p.m. (PT) and be televised live on ESPN2. The Avengers and Rush played twice in the regular season, each team winning on its home turf.

We were all hoarse after the game we were yelling so much. If we win next Monday and Colorado also wins, we will have another home game in two weeks. Here's hoping!