Box Score
April 17, 2004 Utah Blitz vs. Layton Pitbulls

UTAH BLITZ 8 LAYTON PITBULLS 6

MORGAN - Wayne Thompson broke into the Layton Pitbull backfield blocking the go-ahead conversion kick with 2:50 remaining in the third quarter and teammate, Nathan Mackay picked up the loose football and raced 80 yards for a rare conversion return score as the Utah Blitz narrowly edged the Layton Pitbulls 8-6 in a tightly contested defensive match-up on opening day in Morgan, Utah.

After the Blitz struck first in the second quarter on a Jeff LaBounty to Jeff Johnson hook-up, the Blitz held a narrow 6-0 edge at the half. The Pitbulls finally mounted a drive, capped by a 2-yard Skylar Sherwood scamper late in the third period setting up Thompson and Mackay's heroics. The stunned Pitbulls were unaware of the conversion return rule. "We thought the play was dead," rued Pitbull owner, Tim Taylor, "we had no idea he could do that."

The Blitz enjoyed some offensive success, particularly on the ground, lead by Jarrod Lewis' 16 carries for 107 yards, helping the Blitz control the ball and the clock for much of the game. The Pitbulls were not without a 100-yard rusher of their own, picking up 104 yards on 15 carries from fullback and punter, Frans Meyer. Meyer made a couple of key runs on broken punt attempts and picked up big yardage for first downs.

Both teams defenses came to play. The Blitz defense was lead by big games from veteran Mac Norlie (6.5 tackles, 2 sacks), John Farrington (6.5 tackles) and and Tony Freeman (5.5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery). The Pitbull defense also came up big, headlined by the play of Quinn Virgo (5.5 tackles, 3.5 sacks), Nick Coates (8.5 tackles, 1 sack) and Troy Peterson (4 tackles, 1.5 sacks).

The game ended interestingly with the Blitz having the ball and 9 seconds remaining in the game, Blitz quarterback, Jeff LaBounty attempted a roll-out pass which was intercepted by Pitbull linebacker, Frans Meyer. Meyer appeared to have an open lane to the goal line and an amazing Pitbull victory when he was tripped up by a diving Blitz player, securing the victory for the Blitz.

Utah

Layton

Scoring Summary:

Second Quarter:

Utah Blitz: Johnson 30-yard pass from LaBounty (kick failed)

Third Quarter:

Layton Pitbulls: Sherwood 2-yard run (kick blocked
Utah Blitz: Mackay 80-yard conversion return

	Utah	Layton
First Downs	11	8
Rushes, Yards	36-229	36-176
Passes	10-16-2	2-11-1
Passing Yards	111	12
Sacked-Yds Lost	6-40	4-23
Total Net Yards	300	165
Punts, Average	4-38.3	2-28.5
Penalties, Yards	4-45	8-75
Fumbles, Lost	2-1	3-3

Individual Statistics:

Rushing: Utah - Lewis 16-107, Wilson 6-47, James 4-26, LaBounty 3-22, Lang 4-16, McLucas 3-11. Layton - Meyer 15-104, T.Taylor 14-37, Sherwood 7-34.

Passing: Utah - LaBounty 8-12-1-93-1, McLucas 2-4-1-9-0. Layton - Sherwood 2-11-1-12-0.

Receiving: Utah - Johnson 3-54, Lewis 2-16, Wilson 2-12, James 1-11, Lang 2-9. Layton - West 2-12.

Tackles: Utah - Norlie 6.5 (2 sacks), Farrington 6.5, Freeman 5.5 (1 sack), Reid 4.5 (1 sack), Mackay 4.5, Brooks 4, Sharp 3.5, Thompson 3.5, Warr 3, Brennan 2.5, Healy 1.5. Layton - Coates 8.5 (1 sack), Virgo 5.5 (3.5 sacks), M.Peterson 4.5, T.Peterson 4 (1.5 sacks), Cole 3.5, Miller 3.5, Cole 3, Russell 2.5, McWilliams 2.5, Peiler 2.5, Nuguen 2.5, Coleman 2, Price 1.5, Meyer 1.5, Waddups 1/2.

Interceptions: Utah - Healy. Layton - Russell, Meyer.

Missed Field Goals: Layton - (blocked).