Veteran quarterback Andy Kelly led the Utah Blaze on five straight scoring possessions in the second half and pulled away for a 52-40 Arena Football League victory Friday night over the Colorado Crush at the Pepsi Center.
Receiver Justin Skaggs clinched the victory with 49 seconds remaining, after the Crush tried to get back into contention with an unsuccessful onside kick.
Kelly earlier had caught the Crush defense napping for a critical touchdown with two seconds left in the first half.
Utah improved to 5-8; the Crush dropped to 9-4 with three games remaining in the regular season.
Kelly’s 17-yard strike to Siaha Burley and Steve Videtich’s extra point at the end of the first half handed the expansion Blaze a 21-19 halftime lead.
Before the Kelly-to-Burley strike, Thal Woods’ interception of a John Dutton pass set up the go-ahead score. Dutton wasn’t able to convert a possession after the Crush had stopped the Blaze on a missed 60-yard field-goal attempt.
“We had a little bit of a lead at halftime and when you can score on offense in the second half, it worked out for us,” Kelly said. “Our receivers were able to do some things against them and our defense came up with some good stops. Luckily we got the touchdown at the end of the first half. That was big.”
The only bright spot for the Crush was three touchdown catches by Damian Harrell, which brought his season total to 46, tying the AFL single-season record.
But otherwise the Crush couldn’t offset what coach Mike Dailey called an “uninspired performance.”
The Blaze win stalled Colorado’s drive for home-field advantage in the playoffs. The Crush needed a win and a Nashville loss this weekend for the Central Division title and a first-round bye.
