SALT LAKE CITY — With 10 seconds left in Saturday’s game against the Georgia Force, Utah quarterback Tommy Grady found wide out Jeremy Kelley in the end zone and made history with his 118th touchdown pass of the season.
“It was great,” Grady said of his record breaking performance at EnergySolutions Arena. “We had a really good crowd tonight everyone was excited and our offense played great.”
The 61-38 win kept Utah in firm control of a postseason spot and Grady’s eight touchdowns marked a new Arena Football League record for touchdown passes thrown in a single season with three games remaining on the schedule.
Utah’s offense continues to lead the Arena Football League (334.7 yards per game) behind shot-caller Grady, who threw for 306 yards on a 25-of-28 performance.
“I’ve had some great quarterbacks in the past,” team owner and coach Ron James said. “He’s worked hard and he always has and I’m proud of that.”
Utah wideout Tysson Poots led the offensive effort with nine receptions for 95 yards.
Poots has logged 546 yards and 15 scores over the past four contests.
Utah’s continuously improving defense again stepped up shutting down the Force offense with consistent pressure forcing turnovers.
Georgia quarterback Bryant Moniz was 27-of-47 for 243 yards and three scores. His favorite target was C.J. Johnson who logged a game-high 127 yards on 11 catches but failed to find the end zone.
Utah’s defense has given up just 80 points total during its last four contests. Georgia came into Saturday’s match up as the AFL’s 15th-ranked scoring offense (44.4 points per game) and passing offense (231.1 yards per game).
Blaze defensive back William Mulder has the hot hand in the secondary, having registered two interceptions over the past two weeks.
Down 41-24 in the third, Georgia sacked Grady and picked up a fumble with eight minutes left and scored two minutes later cutting Utah’s lead to 10.
Grady and the Blaze offense didn’t skip a beat though as Utah scored three more times to shut the door on the Force.
Utah (10-5) travels to Arizona on July 6 to take on the division leading Arizona Rattlers before returning to Salt Lake on July 13 for their final home game against the Cleveland Gladiators.
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