2012 Utah Blaze season

The 2012 Utah Blaze season was the sixth season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Ron James and played its home games at EnergySolutions Arena for the second straight year. The Blaze finished the regular season 12–6 and qualified for the playoffs. They made it to the National Conference championship game where they played the Arizona Rattlers, but were on the losing end of a 75–69 score.

2012 Utah Blaze season
Head coach	Ron James
Home field	EnergySolutions Arena
Results
Record	12–6
Division place	3rd NC West
Playoff finish	Won Conference Semifinals (Talons) 35–34 Lost Conference Championship (Rattlers) 69–75
Team MVP	Tommy Grady
Team OPY	Tommy Grady

Standings

West Division
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA	DIV	CON	Home	Away
y-Arizona Rattlers	13	5	.722	1118	880	3–3	8–5	7–2	6–3
x-San Jose SaberCats	12	6	.667	1143	1027	4–2	10–4	8–1	4–5
x-Utah Blaze	12	6	.667	1128	1051	4–2	8–4	6–3	6–3
Spokane Shock	10	8	.556	1063	1048	1–5	5–7	5–4	5–4

y - Clinched division
x - Clinched playoff berth

Schedule

Regular season

The Blaze began the season in San Antonio against the San Antonio Talons on March 10. Their home opener was on March 24 against the San Jose SaberCats. They played the Philadelphia Soul in their final regular season game on July 22.[1]

Week	Day	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		Location	Report
					Score	Record
1	Saturday	March 10	2:00 p.m. MST	at San Antonio Talons	L 48–54	0–1	Alamodome	[2]
2	Saturday	March 17	6:05 p.m. MDT	at Iowa Barnstormers	W 69–49	1–1	Wells Fargo Arena	[3]
3	Saturday	March 24	7:00 p.m. MDT	San Jose SaberCats	W 60–59	2–1	EnergySolutions Arena	[4]
4	Saturday	March 31	8:00 p.m. MDT	New Orleans VooDoo	L 57–72	2–2	EnergySolutions Arena	[5]
5	Bye
6	Saturday	April 14	6:00 p.m. MDT	at Jacksonville Sharks	W 75–67	3–2	Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena	[6]
7	Friday	April 20	7:00 p.m. MDT	Iowa Barnstormers	W 63–62	4–2	EnergySolutions Arena	[7]
8	Saturday	April 28	6:00 p.m. MDT	at Milwaukee Mustangs	W 61–58	5–2	Bradley Center	[8]
9	Saturday	May 5	7:00 p.m. MDT	Spokane Shock	W 84–63	6–2	EnergySolutions Arena	[9]
10	Friday	May 11	8:30 p.m. MDT	San Jose SaberCats	L 59–70	6–3	HP Pavilion at San Jose	[10]
11	Saturday	May 19	7:00 p.m. MDT	Arizona Rattlers	L 70–86	6–4	EnergySolutions Arena	[11]
12	Saturday	May 26	7:00 p.m. MDT	San Antonio Talons	L 61–64	6–5	EnergySolutions Arena	[12]
13	Saturday	June 2	6:00 p.m. MDT	at Kansas City Command	W 55–45	7–5	Sprint Center	[13]
14	Saturday	June 9	7:00 p.m. MDT	Chicago Rush	W 68–28	8–5	EnergySolutions Arena	[14]
15	Saturday	June 16	8:00 p.m. MDT	Spokane Shock	W 58–55	9–5	Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena	[15]
16	Saturday	June 23	7:00 p.m. MDT	Georgia Force	W 61–38	10–5	EnergySolutions Arena	[16]
17	Bye
18	Friday	July 6	8:00 p.m. MDT	at Arizona Rattlers	W 62–49	11–5	US Airways Center	[17]
19	Friday	July 13	6:00 p.m. MDT	Cleveland Gladiators	W 83–63	12–5	EnergySolutions Arena	[18]
20	Monday	July 22	4:05 p.m. MDT	at Philadelphia Soul	L 34–69	12–6	Wells Fargo Center	[19]

Playoffs

Round	Day	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results	Location	Report
NC Semifinals	Friday	July 27	6:05 p.m. MST	at San Antonio Talons	W 35–34	Alamodome	[20]
NC Championship	Saturday	August 4	7:00 p.m. MST	at Arizona Rattlers	L 69–75	US Airways Center	[21]

Final roster

2012 Utah Blaze roster
Quarterbacks 12 Carson Coffman 10 Tommy Grady Fullbacks 43 Ben Stallings Wide receivers 21 Shaun Kauleinamoku  2 Jeremy Kelley 22 Aaron Lesué 19 Tysson Poots 15 Alvance Robinson		Offensive linemen 69 Antonio Narcisse 97 Lauvale Sape 72 Ed Ta'amu 91 Neal Tivis Defensive linemen 35 Jacob Hardwick 53 Mike Lewis 57 Keenan Mace 85 Caesar Rayford		Linebackers 11 Antwan Marsh 42 Joe Mortensen Defensive backs  1 Carlton Brown  9 David Hyland  7 Will Mulder  4 Alfred Phillips Kickers  0 Kyle Brotzman		Injured reserve 48 Lionel Bibbins DL 89 Dan DeMaster OL -- Delric Ellington WR 73 Darryl Hicks OL  5 Josh Jones DB 99 Alex Michael OL 17 Ernest Pierce WR  8 Sha'reff Rashad DB 90 T. J. Raymond OL  8 Chad Rusinkovich WR 54 Dain Taylor LB Other league exempt Currently vacant Refuse to report -- Dominique Johnson WR Inactive reserve Currently vacant League suspension Currently vacant Team suspension -- Neli A'asa DL  6 Maurice Bryant WR Recallable reassignment Currently vacant Rookies in italics Roster updated August 4, 2012 23 Active, 14 Inactive

References

1. "Utah Blaze 2012 Regular Season Schedule". Utah Blaze. Archived from the original on September 5, 2011. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
2. "Blaze Drop Close Game to Talons, 54–48". Utah Blaze. March 10, 2012. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
3. "Defense Ignites in Win over Barnstormers". Utah Blaze. March 17, 2012. Archived from the original on May 8, 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
4. "Blaze Knock Off Top-Ranked SaberCats in Last-Moment Thriller". Utah Blaze. March 25, 2012. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
5. "Blaze Turnovers Prove Costly in Loss to VooDoo". Utah Blaze. March 31, 2012. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
6. "Utah Defeats ArenaBowl Champs in Offensive Shootout". Utah Blaze. April 13, 2012. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
7. "Blaze Emerge Victorious in Rematch with Barnstormers". Utah Blaze. April 21, 2012. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
8. "Blaze Off to Best Start in Franchise History with Win over Mustangs". Utah Blaze. April 21, 2012. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
9. "Blaze Rolls to Fourth-Straight Victory". Utah Blaze. May 5, 2012. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
10. "Blaze Splits Season Series with SaberCats". Utah Blaze. May 12, 2012. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
11. "Rattlers Defeat Blaze Despite Explosive Offensive Output". Utah Blaze. May 19, 2012. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
12. "Talons Edge Blaze in Back and Forth Battle". Utah Blaze. May 26, 2012. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
13. "Utah Burns Through Kansas City Behind Record-Setting Night by Grady". Utah Blaze. June 2, 2012. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2012.
14. "Utah Dismantles Chicago in Blowout Victory". Utah Blaze. June 9, 2012. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
15. "Utah Shocks Spokane in Last-Minute Thriller". Utah Blaze. June 17, 2012. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
16. "Utah Surges Past Georgia Force". Utah Blaze. June 23, 2012. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
17. "Utah Blasts Top-Ranked Rattlers". Utah Blaze. July 7, 2012. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
18. "Utah Conquers Cleveland Gladiators". Utah Blaze. July 13, 2012. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
19. "Blaze Drop Regular-Season Finale to Soul". Utah Blaze. July 22, 2012. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
20. "Blaze Drop Heartbreaker to Rattlers,". Utah Blaze. July 27, 2012. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
21. "Blaze Clip Talons, Advance to Conference Championship, 75–69". Utah Blaze. August 5, 2012. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2012.