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PHILADELPHIA - The Utah Blaze (12-6) suffered a hiccup in its journey towards the postseason, falling to the Philadelphia Soul (15-3) in its regular season finale, 69-34. The loss drops the Blaze into the fourth seed in the National Conference, meaning Utah will travel to take on the San Antonio Talons this Friday, July 27th in the first round of the Arena Football League playoffs. The nationally-televised contest will be shown live on the NFL Network's broadcast of NET10 Arena Football Friday, beginning at 6:00 p.m. MT.
The 12,765 fans at the Wells Fargo Center witnessed yet another milestone in QB Tommy Grady's record-breaking season, as the six-foot-seven field general set new all-time single-season marks for passing yards (5,870) and attempts (743). Undoubtedly a favorite for National Guard MVP of the Year honors, Grady finished the night completing 24-of-42 pass attempts for 291 yards with five touchdowns and one interception before being relieved by QB Carson Coffman in the fourth quarter.
Utah and Philadelphia opened the game trading scores into the second quarter, but a missed PAT by the Blaze gave the Soul a 21-20 advantage with 12:54 remaining in the half. Grady and the offense then drove the football near midfield before a fourth-down sack ended the drive without a score. Soul QB Dan Raudabaugh then found WR Larry Brackins for a two-yard touchdown completion to take a 27-20 lead at halftime.
The Blaze opened the third quarter with an onside kick attempt, but Philadelphia recovered and converted the short field into a touchdown off a four-yard pass from Raudabaugh to WR Donovan Morgan. Two plays later, Grady connected with WR Alvance Robinson on a nine-yard completion, but DB Kent Richardson delivered a big shot that jarred the ball loose. The Soul recovered the fumble and FB Derrick Ross rushed into the end zone from a yard out to give Philadelphia a 41-20 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the third period. Utah was unable to cut the deficit from that point on.
WR Aaron Lesue added three more touchdowns to his resume, as he finished with six catches for 85 yards. His regular season total of 56 touchdown receptions is the third-highest in Arena Football League history. WR Tysson Poots led all receivers with 10 catches for 95 yards and two scores. DB David Hyland paced the defensive with 7.0 total tackles, including 2.0 stops for losses totaling five yards.
Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Game
FB Derrick Ross (Philadelphia)
Riddell Defensive Player of the Game
DB Ken Richardson
JLS Ironman of the Game
Melik Brown
Cutters Catch of the Game
WR Donovan Morgan
Spalding Highlight of the Game
DL Melik Brown
