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 | Blitz Comeback Down from 24 |
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Blitz Comeback from 24 Points Down
-May 17th, 2010
South Jordan, Utah
The buzzer went off with the St. George Blitz Quarterback Diarra Fields kneeling down to finish an unprecedented comeback win over the defending champion Wasatch REVolution on Saturday night. The Blitz were able to fight and claw there way back from a 0 - 24 score at halftime, and were able to capitalize on crucial mistakes by the REV offense. Diarra Fields ran for 2 touchdowns, and the Blitz defense scored the other 2 to complete the 4 point victory over the REV.
Prior to the game even starting, REV Quarterback Charlie Peterson made it clear to the coaches that if they were to get to a 21 point lead, he was going to sit on the sideline and take it easy. Peterson has taken some sacks this year and wanted to rest both of his shoulders. Well...just as he had stated he would, when the REV finished the first half of play on Saturday with a comfortable 24 - 0 lead, Peterson went into the locker room and changed out of his football gear and watched from the sideline. In the first half alone, he was able to complete nearly 150 yds of passing, while scoring a TD on a QB sneak. The other points scored were a 39 yard Field Goal by Golden Whetman, a 16 yard run by Orlando Poloa, and a blocked punt scooped up for a TD by Sean Matagi.
2009 backup QB Dakota LaBounty was rostered last week, and was looking to get in the game and get back into the swing of things. From the beginning he struggled. His first throw of the game was an INT by Pagi Popo which was returned to the REV 4 yard line. The Blitz were able to score from there by running 6'2" and 260 pd QB Diarra Fields (Pulver converted the PAT). After the REV returned the kickoff and the offense started again with LaBounty at the helm, he was sacked by Pagi Popo and fumbled the ball with Stephan Cook recovering the ball on the REV 18. With such good field position again, the Blitz QB was able to complete a 9 yard pass to TE Andy Stokes on 1st down, and then on 3rd down was able to scamper again to the endzone for his 2nd Touchdown of the day.
At this point the REV were up 24 -14, and their next possession was a 3 and out. After a 45 yard punt by Whetman, and Blitz WR Robbie Dias returning the ball 11 yards to the REV 39, the Blitz were once again getting great field position. The REV defense were able to hold the Blitz to a 3 and out as well, and Blitz punter Stephen Pulver was able to get a 47 yard punt off, with the REV returner David Christensen getting 15 yards out of it. At the end of the 3rd quarter, the score was still REV 24 - Blitz 14. In the next series, LaBounty fired off a corner route but was Intercepted by the Blitz kicker/punter Pulver who had stepped in at Defensive Back. Another 3 and out drive by the Blitz and Pulver punt, the REV started the ball on their own 48 yard line.
 LaBounty comes out again at Quarterback for the REV, and after a broken play he began to scramble to gain as many yards as he can. He was able to get 4 yards, but came up out of the tackle with a dislocated  finger on his throwing hand. With Peterson still on the sideline in his shorts and flip flops, the only other possibility at QB was RB Orlando Poloa. His first play as QB was a Wildcat run and as he slipped making a cut, he was tackled by Stephen Cook. After a few seconds, Cook decided to pick up the ball and run with it to the endzone. Head Referee and former Ogden Rhino-Raider Dave Stireman in the backfield did not blow the ball dead, and the Blitz LB Cook ran the ball 48 yards for a TD. The REV were clearly upset by this. They were making the claim that Poloa had clearly been down by contact or had his knee down by the time the ball had came out. All of the offensive lineman appeared to think it was a normal play as none of them attempted to recover the ball. After the TD return, that put the score within the Blitz reach at 21 - 24 with the REV leading by a FG.
The Pulver kickoff went to the back of the endzone and the REV had to start at the 20 yd line. With Poloa at the helm, the REV ran the Wildcat with Devon Holbrook in the backfield with him. They were able to complete their initial 1st down. The first down play however was huge for the Blitz, as LB Stephen Cook came through untouched and tackled RB Devon Holbrook for a 6 yard loss. On 2nd down Poloa's run went for 0 yards, and put the REV in a 3rd and long situation. The Blitz were gonna bring the heat. Head Coach Eric Drage called for a middle screen, and with the defensive ends roaring down, Poloa overthrew his receiver into the hands of the Blitz dropping Defensive Tackle to trampled 27 yards for the Touchdown. For the first time in the game, the Blitz had taken the lead, 28 - 24.
The REV were forced to start from their own 20 yard line after the booming kickoff by Pulver. This series would be different than the others in the 2nd half. With 3:23 seconds left in the game, and after watching the lead crumble in front of his eyes, Charlie Peterson had his pants/pads and helmet on, ready to march down the field. He started to do just that. He was able to complete 5 out of 6 passes to the Blitz 42 yard line. The next play would be critical to the lifeline of the REV. Peterson was sacked for 8 yards. He was able to get to the next pass off to Ryan Lang for 10 yards, but was then sacked again on 3rd down by Vince Fuela and Aisea Fakatoumafi for a 6 yard loss. With a 4th down and 15 to go, Peterson dropped back to pass and was pressured by the pass rush of the Blitz. He was able to escape the rush and found RB Orlando Poloa in the flats let by his 2 Offensive Lineman Brandon Preece and Aaron McCubbins. Rather than take the outside route, Poloa stayed behind the 2 Lineman. #45 for the Blitz, Pagi Popo, met the 2 lineman and split the 2 taking down Poloa to give the Blitz the ball on downs. At that point, the game was over. The Blitz knelt for the final down. They achieved the amazing comeback, short on starters and undermanned at their oppositions home field. This was the first time the Blitz had beat the Wasatch REVolution, and what a game it was.
For the REV, the loss felt eerily familiar. A lot of similarities between their loss to the Treasure Valley Spartans happened on Sat night. The defense once again was on point, holding the opposition to only 114 yds of total offense (TV had 100 total yards), and their opponents were opportunistic on mistakes made by the REV offense. Giving up 2 defensive touchdowns, and giving the ball to the Blitz offense twice inside the 10 yard line were crucial turning points in the REV loss. The loss sets up an interesting situation for the REV in the playoffs. In 09, the #1 and #2 seeds did not get first round byes and had to play that first playoff game. This year the top 2 seeds get a bye for the first round. With 2 undefeated teams still out there, and the REV with 2 losses to those teams, they are now looking to secure a #3 seed in hopes of playing that first game at home against the #6 seed. They will have to play the powerful offense of the Utah Bears this upcoming Saturday at Granger High School.
Gametime is at 1:00pm.
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