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Brigade continues to soar

May 3, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Kansas City Brigade News Release


The Brigade is flying high, playing its best football of the season going into the home finale. Already rabid fans have been even more supportive of the team, reflected by ticket sales and TV ratings that continue to surpass all expectations. Tickets sold for Fan Appreciation Night, the final home game against the Orlando Predators on May 6, is approaching 15,000.

The Brigade continues to fight for the top spot in the league in attendance through seven home games. The franchise is currently fourth in total attendance and third in average attendance:
Game Attendance
Week 3 vs. Austin 16,523
Week 4 vs. Columbus 14,632
Week 6 vs. Tampa Bay 15,227
Week 7 vs. Philadelphia 15,379
Week 10 vs. Georgia 16,032
Week 11 vs. Los Angeles 15,173
Week 12 vs. Colorado 12,814
Total (7 games) 105,780 (15,111 avg.)

Game Preview
Kansas City Brigade vs. Orlando Predators
Date: Saturday, May 6, 7 p.m. CT
Location: Kemper Arena
TV: Broadcast live on Fox Sports Net Midwest (Armstrong, Pearson, Boatwright)
Radio: 97.3 MAX-FM (Gervino, Weber)
Webcast: www.kcbrigade.com (game notes on posted and the new team web site will launch in 28 days)

The Brigade returns to "The Hangar" for the inaugural season finale against its final division opponent. Kansas City opened the Southern Division schedule against Orlando and nearly pulled off a come-from-behind upset in one of the toughest environments in the league. Now the Predators get a taste of Arena Football, KC style.

Containing Orlando's talented offense will be the first priority for the Brigade defense. The Predators have won five of their last six games and scored at least 50 points in four of them. The size and speed of Kansas City's defensive line will have to neutralize Orlando's rushing attack led by quarterback Joe Hamilton. He is a playmaker when he can get outside the pocket and force defenses to choose to defend the run or the pass. The Brigade defense must take advantage of those situations and force Hamilton into mistakes.

The Kansas City offense will have to be most efficient against an underrated Predators defense. Orlando did give up 75 points to Colorado last week but held Tampa Bay to just 13 points the previous week. What defense shows up this week should not be of the Brigade's concern. If the offense maintains a balanced attack between the run and pass and limits its own mistakes, it should have a chance to put up the winning score late in the game.

The Brigade's second straight road game to open the season ended in heartbreak in Orlando. The team overcame a 10-point fourth quarter deficit and had the ball at the Orlando five yard line with just seconds left on the clock. Andy Kelly's final pass into the end zone was knocked down and the clock ran out before the officials ruled the play dead.

NEWS, NOTES, AND LEAGUE RANKINGS

- Line coach Webbie Burnett spent nine seasons in Orlando (1992-2000), playing in five ArenaBowls and winning the title in 1998 and 2000. He was honored this season as one of the 20 greatest Predators of all time.

- B.J. Cohen played four seasons in Orlando (1999-2002), lining up alongside Burnett in 1999 and 2000. Chris Sanders was Orlando's backup quarterback last season.

- Predators DS Kenny "the Glove" McEntyre, an Arena Football great, played two seasons of football at Kansas State. He also played one season of basketball as he originally signed a basketball scholarship.

- Sanders, the AFL Offensive Player of the Week for Week 13, is becoming a great two-way threat. He is 11th in the league with a 107.0 quarterback rating and his 66.9 completion percentage is fourth. Sanders is especially strong in the fourth quarter, in which he is fifth in the league with a 120.7 quarterback rating, including 14 touchdowns and just one interception.

- Sanders continues to climb the league rushing rankings. He is 10th in the league and fourth among quarterbacks with 114 yards. His 12 rushing touchdowns is second in the league and first among quarterbacks. Sanders has rushed for a touchdown in seven straight games.

- Jerel Myers set a franchise single-game record last week with 14 receptions and on the season has 111, good for fourth in the league and first among rookies, with 1120 yards.

- Aaron Boone has a touchdown catch in five consecutive games, all since he joined the Brigade in a trade with Philadelphia in Week 9.

NOTE: For a comprehensive look at all AFL stats, go to www.aflmedia.com.

STRONG FINISH

The Brigade has rarely been better than at the end of games when it matters most. The team has not been outscored in the fourth quarter in the last six games:
Game Fourth quarter score
Week 9 at New York 21-13
Week 10 vs. Georgia 13-13
Week 11 vs. Los Angeles 21-10
Week 12 vs. Colorado 22-6
Week 13 at Nashville 21-10
Week 14 at Tampa Bay 14-7
Total (through all 14 games) 196-159

BRIGADE ROOKIES TAKE FLIGHT

The Brigade has played as many as seven rookies in a game this season but they have performed with exceptional confidence on a weekly basis. As these difference-makers continue to climb the statistical charts, the talk of all-rookie honors will only grow louder (includes all rookies, not just specific position):

WR/LB Jerel Myers (13 games)
- First in receptions
- Tied for second in first downs
- Third in touchdown receptions
- Third in receiving yards
- Third in yards from scrimmage
- Third in scoring for non-kickers
- Third in all-purpose yards
- Seventh in third down receptions

FB/LB Byron Douzart (12 games)
- First in special teams tackles (first in AFL)
- Third in rushing touchdowns (second among FB/LB)
- Sixth in forced fumbles
- 10th in rushing yards (fifth among rookie FB/LB)
- Eighth in solo tackles
- Eighth in total tackles
- Top 10 in combined tackles for loss

DS Travis Coleman (10 games)
- Fourth in solo tackles
- Fourth in combined tackles
- Fifth in forced fumbles

WR/DB Sam Simmons (five games on special teams)
- Fourth in combined kickoff/field goal return yards

OS Aaron Boone (four games)
- Fourth in touchdown receptions
- Sixth in scoring for non-kickers
- Sixth in receptions
- Sixth in first downs
- Sixth in third down receptions

AARON'S AFL DREAM TEAM

Gretchen Bretz, cheerleading coordinator of the Kansas City Brigade Girls, is pleased to announce that Candice has been chosen to be part of the Aaron's AFL Dream Team.

Throughout the first 10 weeks of the regular season, AFL fans had the opportunity to vote for their favorite team dancers. The top vote getter for each team represents their franchise on the Aaron's AFL Dream Team. More than 75,000 votes were registered on arenafootball.com.

The Aaron's AFL Dream Team will perform at the Thomas & Mack Center during ArenaBowl XX, at FanFest and at ArenaBattle. The Dream Team will make various local appearances throughout the weekend including stops at an Aaron's Store and Radio Row.

This past weekend seven dancers, including Candice, participated in the Aaron's Dream Weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. She interacted with race fans promoting their trip to ArenaBowl XX during the Aaron's 312 Busch Series and the Aaron's 499 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races.

BRIGADE GIVEAWAY

Brigade radio flagship 97.3 MAX-FM and sister station 810 WHB awarded two fans a Tampa Bay giveaway last week, including airfare, hotel and tickets to the Brigade game against the Storm at the St. Pete Times Forum. Zachary Cram and Megan Lloyd were the winners of the contest, held at the Cottman Transmission in Liberty, for correctly answering the most questions about Arena Football.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

- Sam Simmons, Chris Morant and Rob Johnson took time out of their off-day Monday to visit 12 patients at Children's Mercy Hospital on Hospital Hill. The visit was setup by the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the American Red Cross, who sponsored the Brigade blood drive last week.

- The Kansas City Brigade's first "Reading for the Future" program concluded this week. The reading program required students to read for 15 minutes four nights a week and a parent or guardian had to sign for each day's entry. Over 100 students and their parents from Mize Elementary and Plaza Middle School participated in the program and will attend the home finale this Saturday, May 6, against the Orlando Predators.

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