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Brigade lose home opener in front of capacity crowd

February 12, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Kansas City Brigade News Release


Sunday, February 12, 2006

A capacity crowd of 16,523 at Kemper Arena witnessed a fantastic demonstration of Arena Football between the Kansas City Brigade and Austin Wranglers on Sunday afternoon. Six times the lead changed hands and four times the game was tied, but when the clock hit zero the score favored Austin, 37-33.

The Kansas City Brigade defense stepped up when it had to late in the fourth quarter, stopping the Wranglers on fourth-and-goal from three yard line. It ended a fourteen play drive that consumed 8:05 of the fourth quarter. Andy Kelly and the offense took over with one minute left and moved to ball into the red zone with 20.3 seconds on the clock. A false start penalty moved the ball back five yards but the Wranglers were called for pass interference on a completion to Jerel Myers at the two yard line with 10.5 seconds left. The Brigade could not get any closer than that, though, and a final pass to James Jordan in the end zone fell incomplete. The scoring started early as Austin took the opening kickoff to midfield and moved into the red zone before a great tackle behind the line by Denario Smalls on third down forced a 21-yard field goal for a 3-0 Wranglers lead.

The Brigade did not waste any time getting on the board, converting a fourth-and-three on a Dawan Moss rush before Kelly found a wide open Myers in the corner of the end zone for a 7-3 lead midway the first quarter. Kansas City forced a long third down on Austin's next possession but John Fitzgerald found Derrick Lewis for a 29-yard touchdown and 10-7 advantage. A good return by Steve Smith on the ensuing kickoff and two quick passes to Myers and Jordan put the ball at the Austin three yard line, but the Wranglers recovered a fumble on a rush attempt to stay in the lead. Kansas City took possession at its own 20 yard line after Austin missed a field goal early in the second quarter. Kelly drove the offense into the red zone but had to settle for Tim Seder's 23-yard field goal to tie the game at 10.

The end of the first half saw some classic Arena Football action. The Wranglers took a 17-10 lead on Fitzgerald's six-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Nickerson, but Kelly led a perfect one minute drill and tied the game on an eight-yard touchdown pass to Myers on a fade. Austin came back on a 40-yard drive and scored on Nickerson's one-yard touchdown run with 10.5 seconds left. Seder missed a 49-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, a play that required the officials to bring the Wranglers back onto the field after they did not recognize Kelly's timeout with less than five seconds left. Kansas City came out powering the ball in the second half. Moss ran it to the Austin nine on a 19-yard rush after the kickoff and put it in from inside the one yard line after four straight penalties on the Wranglers. Moss showed his ironman skills with a fumble recovery at Austin's 19 yard line and Jordan converted a third down catch into a 12-yard touchdown for a 30-24 lead. The Wranglers Sedrick Robinson caught a 14-yard touchdown on a broken play for a 31-30 late in third quarter. Austin increased its lead on a two yard touchdown run by Fitzgerald but B.J. blocked the extra point to keep the Brigade within seven. Seder's 26-yard field goal midway through the final quarter cut the Wranglers' lead to four.

Quotes

Chris Pointer: "We are disappointed; losing three in a row is tough. We know we have to put four quarters together in order to win."

Head Coach Kevin Porter: "We can't turn the ball over in scoring position." "We also took a step back in special teams." "I thought the fans did a great job, they know when to cheer and be loud, but that is what you would expect from KC football fans." "We've done some good things but we need to do a better job of getting the ball in the end zone."

Andy Kelly: "For this to happen two weeks in a row is tough. We had a great crowd and great atmosphere which was fun." "At times we are good and other times we struggle. We have to score more than 33 points though and that starts with me."

Commissioner Baker: "The KC fans were educated early today. Even though they (the Brigade) are 0-3, they have been competitive in every game and are on the road to greatness." "That last stand and ensuing battle is what arena football is all about." "I am so proud that after the team was heartbroken and lost they stayed after and signed every autograph."

Jerel Myers: "(On the last drive) inside the 10 everything gets physical." "We really appreciate the fans and are trying to keep them behind us all 16 weeks."

Statistics

First downs: 23

Rushes-yards (net): 8-29

Passing yards (net): 217

Total offense plays-yards: 45-246

Kickoff returns-yards: 6-71

Fumbles-lost: 1-1

Penalties-yards: 4-24

Third-down conversions: 2-5

Fourth-down conversions: 1-1

Red-zone scores-chances: 4-6

Rushing

Moss, Dawan: 5-34, 1 TD

Passing

Kelly, Andy: 21-37, 217 yds, 3 TD

Receiving

Myers, Jerel: 10-116, 2 TD Smith, Steve: 6-48, 0 TD Jordan, James: 5-53, 1 TD

Offensive Player of the Game: Jerel Myers Defensive Player of the Game: Donvetis Franklin Ironman of the Game: Kevin Nickerson

Weekly Schedule

Monday: Team workout (closed to media)

Tuesday: Off

Wednesday-Friday: Practice 10 a.m.-12 p.m. at SportsCity or Kemper

Saturday - Off

Sunday - Kansas City Brigade vs. Columbus Destroyers at Kemper Arena at 1pm.

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