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Brigade completes great turnaround, looks to home playoff game

June 23, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Kansas City Brigade News Release


ROSEMONT, Ill. - The Brigade began its second year of Arena Football with a pretty thin resume. A 3-13 inaugural season led to numerous off-season changes that made the Brigade an unknown quantity. Despite a 48-21 loss to the Chicago Rush on Saturday at Allstate Arena, the team's new success has served notice to the league that the Brigade is a force to be dealt with in the 2007 Mitsubishi Motors Drive to ArenaBowl XXI.

The Brigade (10-6) is now one of only four teams in AFL history to make a seven-game turnaround from the previous season. The no. 3 seed in the American Conference, the team will return to the confines of the Hangar next Saturday, June 30, probably at 2 p.m. CT, for a wild-card round game against either the Utah Blaze or Nashville Kats. The Brigade defeated both teams at home this season. Utah is currently the no. 6 seed and only needs to beat Los Angeles to remain in the playoffs. The Kats are on the outside looking in and need the Blaze to lose to along with the Kats victory over Grand Rapids.

The game turned early in the third quarter as the Brigade drove to tie it at 28 apiece. Jerel Myers took the kickoff 55 yards up the sideline to give the offense first-and-goal at the Chicago three-yard line. But the Brigade was stopped on three straight rushing attempts, forcing a critical fourth down.

Raymond Philyaw moved out of the pocket to set up a throwback, but it was covered. Instead he went to Denario Smalls out of the backfield, but Smalls couldn't corral a low throw from Philyaw. The Rush took advantage of the turnover-on-downs, taking a 35-21 lead midway through the third quarter.

The Brigade offense couldn't get on track on its ensuing drive, going three-and-out, resulting in a Gary Kral pooch kick from the back of the end zone. The defense did its part at that point, forcing Chicago into its own three-and-out from the Kansas City nine-yard line, thanks to a timely tackle-for-loss of Matt D'Orazio by Travis Coleman on a busted play. Dan Frantz made a 20-yard field goal to increase the Brigade deficit to 17 points.

Philyaw took the offense into Chicago territory again looking to end the drought. Unfortunately, his third down pass from the Rush 19-yard line was deflected and intercepted by DeJuan Alfonzo, who returned it 47 yards for a score to continue a run of 24-straight Chicago points. Philyaw was injured on the play and was replaced by backup Jose Davis.

The game went back-and-forth for much of the first half, but an unlucky bounce and a turnover limited the Brigade's efforts. With the game tied at 14 apiece, Chicago faced third-and goal-when Arrion Dixon broke through the line to sack D'Orazio.

The ensuing field goal attempt hit the right upright and bounced hard to the ground, going through the Brigade recovery unit and into the arms of a Rush lineman. Bobby Sippio scored on the next play to put the Brigade in a seven-point hole early in the second quarter.

With 55 seconds left in the first half, the possession game worked out so that the Brigade could tie the game at 28 apiece going into the break. Starting from its own two-and-a-half yard line, the offense worked methodically along the boards to conserve time.

A 21-yard Philyaw completion to former Rush receiver Kevin Beard gave the Brigade the ball at the Chicago 18-yard line with less than 30 seconds to play. Two plays later, Philyaw went for Beard in the end zone, but Dennison Robison read the play and moved in front of Beard for the interception.

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from June 23, 2007


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