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Kansas City Brigade game notes

April 5, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Kansas City Brigade News Release


AT A GLANCE
Game: Kansas City Brigade (1-9) vs. Los Angeles Avengers (3-7)
Date: Sunday, April 9, 2006
Kickoff: 12 p.m. (CST)
Site: Kemper Arena (16,200)
Officials: Referee-David Cutaia, Umpire-Paul Frerking, Head Linesman-Greg Shields, Line Judge-Dave Chesney, Back Judge-James Cole
Television: The game will not be broadcast on network or cable TV
Radio: The Brigade's flagship station, 97.3 MAX FM, will broadcast the game live with Chris Gervino handling the play-by-play and Stan Weber supplying the color analysis. Danni Boatwright will contribute from the sidelines. The station will air a half-hour pre-game show beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Series record: The teams have never played
Last meeting: This is the first-ever meeting
Series streaks: The teams have never played

_________________________________________________________

OVERVIEW
The Brigade played its strongest game in recent weeks against the Georgia Force, scoring early and often to keep pace with one of the league's most talented teams. Kansas City scored on four of its five first-half possessions to go into the locker room tied, the first time that has happened this season. Chris Sanders stayed in control as he did not throw an interception, and the defense recovered the two fumbles it forced, which has not happened since Week Four against Columbus.

The Avengers come to town on a losing streak of their own, falling by double-digits in their last two contests, both against division opponents. Arena Football rookie Sonny Cumbie, a product of Mike Leach's prolific offense at Texas Tech, is under center now. He is Los Angeles' third quarterback this season.

Sanders should be able to light up the scoreboard against a defense that is last in the league in sacks and points given up. However, he must be accurate against a secondary with eight interceptions. The rookie combo of Jerel Myers and Aaron Boone marched all over the Force's strong secondary and hope to repeat their performance. They need to be especially strong on third down, where the Avengers stop their opponents over 40 percent of the time.

A Brigade revamped defensive line will get pressure on Cumbie, the second-most sacked quarterback in the league. However, LA will not beat itself with turnovers and penalties. The Brigade's secondary trio cannot allow LA's receivers to make the big plays that will keep them in the game. If the defense can make stops, then the offense will have a chance to rack up the points.

THE SERIES
The teams have never met.



UP NEXT
Next week is the game of the year against the defending ArenaBowl champion Colorado Crush, owned by former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway. The game will be broadcast nationally on NBC.

THE SCHEDULES
All times CST
2006 Kansas City Brigade (1-9)
Date Opponent Result Score
Jan. 29 at Dallas Lost 58-44
Feb. 3 at Orlando Lost 48-41
Feb. 12 AUSTIN Lost 37-33
Feb. 19 COLUMBUS Won 45-24
Feb. 24 at Georgia Lost 51-19
Mar. 5 TAMPA BAY Lost 69-59
Mar. 13 PHILADELPHIA Lost 54-24
Mar. 18 at Austin Lost 64-37
Mar. 24 at New York Lost 54-48
Apr. 1 GEORGIA Lost 55-47
Date Opponent Time (CST) TV/Radio
Apr. 9 LOS ANGELES 12:00 p.m. No TV/97.3 FM
Apr. 16 COLORADO 12:00 p.m. NBC/97.3 FM
Apr. 21 at Nashville 7:00 p.m. MS, WB62/97.3 FM
Apr. 29 at Tampa Bay 6:30 p.m. MS, WB62/97.3 FM
May 6 ORLANDO 7:00 p.m. FSN/97.3 FM
May 12 at Utah 8:00 p.m. MS, WB62/97.3 FM

2006 Los Angeles Avengers (3-7)
Date Opponent Result Score
Jan. 29 ARIZONA Won 40-31
Feb. 5 at Philadelphia Lost 47-33
Feb. 12 at Grand Rapids Lost 66-41
Feb. 18 CHICAGO Lost 65-46
Feb. 25 UTAH Lost 68-66
Mar. 5 at Orlando Lost 59-34
Mar. 12 at San Jose Won 75-61
Mar. 19 COLORADO Won 60-57
Mar. 24 at Arizona Lost 58-45
Apr. 2 at Las Vegas Lost 63-49
Date Opponent Time (CST) TV/Radio
Apr. 9 at Kansas City 12:00 p.m.
Apr. 15 at Utah 8:00 p.m.
Apr. 22 NEW YORK 9:30 p.m.
Apr. 29 SAN JOSE 9:30 p.m.
May 6 NASHVILLE 9:30 p.m.
May 13 LAS VEGAS 9:30 p.m.


2006 STANDINGS
This season the playoffs will be separated into conferences with division winners receiving first round byes. The next four teams with the best records within each conference qualify for the postseason

NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Southern Division
Team W L Pct. PF PA
Austin 7 3 .700 511 453
Georgia 6 4 .600 563 463
Orlando 6 4 .600 508 486
Tampa Bay 6 4 .600 539 539
Kansas City 1 9 .100 397 514

Eastern Division
Team W L Pct. PF PA
Dallas 8 2 .800 582 463
New York 6 4 .600 536 548
Columbus 5 5 .500 447 420
Philadelphia 5 5 .500 461 459

AMERICAN CONFERNCE
Central Division
Team W L Pct. PF PA
Colorado 7 3 .700 545 534
Nashville 6 4 .600 499 464
Chicago 4 6 .400 487 520
Grand Rapids 3 7 .300 458 524

Western Division
Team W L Pct. PF PA
Arizona 5 5 .500 451 476
Las Vegas 5 5 .500 512 519
San Jose 4 6 .400 532 549
Los Angeles 3 7 .300 489 575
Utah 3 7 .300 489 575

WEEK 11 SCHEDULE (all times CST)

Friday, April 7
San Jose at Tampa Bay, 6:30 p.m.
Arizona at Utah, 8 p.m.

Saturday, April 8
Colorado at Grand Rapids, 6:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 9
Los Angeles at Kansas City, 12 p.m.
Dallas at New York, 12 p.m.
Chicago at Philadelphia, 12 p.m.
Orlando at Columbus, 2 p.m.
Nashville at Las Vegas, 2 p.m.
Georgia at Austin, 3 p.m.

THE COACHES
Kansas City-Kevin Porter, first year
1-9 overall
Kevin Porter comes to the Brigade as its first head coach with a reputation as one of the AFL's finest young defensive minds. In his first season as the defensive coordinator with New Orleans in 2004, the VooDoo finished second in the league in scoring defense, surrendering only 721 points, sixth in rushing defense and fourth in passing defense.

Porter's previous head coaching experience was in arenafootball2 with the Macon Knights and Pensacola Barracudas. He is the winningest coach in af2 history with a 45-27 record and he led his teams to the playoffs every year, including a trip to the 2003 ArenaCup with Macon. Porter started his coaching career as the defensive backs coach of the Orlando Predators in 1999.

Porter was a third round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1988 NFL Draft and played five years at strong safety, the last two with the New York Jets. He recorded 290 tackles, six forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Porter was an honorable mention All-America as a senior cornerback at Auburn.

Los Angeles-Ed Hodgkiss, fifth year
41-31 overall
One of the brightest offensive masterminds in the AFL, Ed Hodgkiss has compiled a four-year record of 38-24 and advanced to the AFL playoffs each year. In his first two seasons at the helm, he directed the Avengers to a 19-11 record. No head coach in league history has won more games in his first two seasons than Hodgkiss.

Last season, the Avengers captured compiled a 10-6 record and won their first Western Division championship. Under Hodgkiss' direction, Los Angeles led the league in offensive scoring percentage (74.4 percent) and turnover margin (+17). He finished second in the balloting for AFL Coach of the Year.

In 2004, the Avengers went 9-7 and led the AFL in scoring, averaging 56.5 points per game. In 2003, the Avengers won a franchise-best 11 games and earned a first-round playoff bye. Hodgkiss, who was the runner-up for the 2003 AFL Coach of the Year, oversaw the league's most efficient offense, which scored 122 touchdowns (most in the AFL) on only 619 total plays (least in the AFL).

Prior to joining the Avengers, Hodgkiss was offensive coordinator of the Indiana Firebirds for three seasons (1999-2001) and was part of an ArenaBowl championship in 1999.

LOCAL ANGLE
Football fans in Big 12 country recognize the name Sonny Cumbie, the third in a line of record-setting quarterbacks to come out of Texas Tech. He followed Kliff Kingsbury and B.J. Symons as the starter his senior year in 2004 in Mike Leach's prolific system. Cumbie led the NCAA in passing that year with 4,742 yards (sixth all-time).

STATISTICAL COMPARISON
A look at the offensive and defensive league rankings of the Brigade and the Force:
Brigade Offensive Category Avengers
9 (282.9) Total Offense 8 (284.1)
17 (5.5) Yards/play 15 (5.7)
10 (17.3) Rushing offense 8 (18.3)
9 (265.6) Passing offense 8 (265.8)
15 (4.0%) Pct. of INT/attempt 5 (2.2%)
8 (2.33) Sacked/100 pass plays 17 (5.77)
5 (21.4) First downs/game 11 (19.4)
17 (38.0% made) Third down efficiency 12 (45.5% made)
10t (44.4% made) Fourth down efficiency 2 (57.1% made)
17 (15.5) Kickoff return average 14 (16.0)
15 (37.5% made) Field goal percentage 1 (79.2% made)
15 (8.2) Penalties/game 3 (6.2)
18 (39.7) Points/game 12 (48.9)

Brigade Defensive Category Avengers
2 (257.8) Total defense 6 (273.9)
4 (5.9) Yards/play 18 (7.1)
16 (24.2) Rushing defense 14 (22.9)
1 (233.6) Passing defense 13 (279.2)
18 (1.6%) Pct. of INT/attempt 8 (3.0%)
13 (2.42) Sacks/100 pass plays 18 (1.30)
9 (19.7) First downs/game 2 (18.4)
Brigade Defensive Category Avengers
14 (50.8%) Third down efficiency 4 (41.2%)
14 (54.5%) Fourth down efficiency 17 (63.6%)
9 (17.3) Kick return average 16 (19.1)
13 (58.8%) Field goal percentage 7 (45.0%)
1 (8.6) Penalties/game 8t (7.5)
9 (51.4) Points/game 18 (57.5)

ROSTER MOVES
The Brigade's updated roster information for Week 11:
Move Date
QB Andy Kelly released April 5
OL/DL Reggie Poole waived from practice squad

INJURY REPORT
The Brigade's updated injury information for Week 11:
Player Injury Status
OS Sam Simmons Lumbar IR-Apr. 9
OL/DL Michael Landry Ankle IR-Apr. 9
FB/LB Chris Morant Shoulder IR-Apr. 9
FB/LB Dawan Moss Ankle IR-Apr. 9
OS Jacques Rumph Knee IR-Apr. 9
DS Cliff Green Achilles IR-out for season
WR/LB Nathan Black Knee IR-out for season

PLAYER POINTS
- Newcomer Aaron Boone exploded in his first action with the Brigade last week. An AFL rookie who saw limited action with Philadelphia, Boone set a single-game franchise record with 129 receiving yards.

- Chris Sanders had another productive game against Georgia. He accounted for all seven Brigade touchdowns for the second-straight week (four passing and three rushing). Sanders took over the team lead with six rushing touchdowns.

- Jerel Myers tied his own single-game franchise record with 12 receptions last week. He shot up the league rankings and is currently sixth with 81 receptions.

- Denario Smalls is eighth in the league in total tackles (58) and tied for ninth in solo tackles (50).

- This game marks the first time all season a Brigade opponent owns a losing record.

- Last week proved that the Brigade can be a first-half team. The offense scored first for only the second time this season. It put up 28 points, the most since it scored 33 against Tampa Bay in Week Six

- The game against Georgia was back-and-forth, but Kansas City answered the Force on almost every possession. The Brigade held the lead five times and the game was tied four times.

- The Brigade's turnover differential is in the bottom-half of the league because the team can never seem to jump on loose balls. The defense consistently forces fumbles, but last week it actually recovered them, the first time that has happened since Week Four against Columbus.

BRIGADE HONORS
Players who have received a player of the game honor this season:
Offensive Player of the Game Stats
Andy Kelly, Week 2 vs. Orlando 33-56, 353 yds, 6 TDs
Jerel Myers, Week 3 vs. Austin 10 rec., 116 yds, 2 TDs
Jerel Myers, Week 4 vs. Columbus 5 rec. 71 yds, 1 TD
Steve Smith, Week 6 vs. Tampa Bay 11 rec., 124 yds, 4 TDs
Chris Sanders, Week 10 vs. GEO 29-41, 280 yds, 4 TDs; 9 rush, 12 yds, 3 TDs
ADT Defensive Player of the Game Stats
Denario Smalls, Week 4 vs. CLB 6 tkls (5 solo), four pass def., 1 forced fum., 1 fum. recovery, 2 int. (1 ret. 39 yards for TD)
Chris Pointer, Week 6 vs. TB 3.5 tkls (3 solo)

U.S. Army Ironman of the Game Stats
Jacques Rumph, Week 4 vs. CLB 5 rec. for 46 yds, 1 rush for 1 yd, 4 tkls (3 solo)
James Jordan, Week 8 at Austin 5 rec, 101 yds, 2 TD
3 tkls (3 solo)

WHEN STATS
The Brigade's record when this occurs:
When Record
At Kemper Arena 1-4
On the road 0-5
Scores more than 40 points 1-5
Scores less than 40 points 0-4
Allows more than 40 points 0-8
Allows less than 40 points 1-1
Scores first 1-1
Opponent scores first 0-8
Commits fewer turnovers 1-2
Commits more turnovers 0-7
Leads at halftime 1-0
Trails at halftime 0-8
Commits fewer penalties 1-4
Commits more penalties 0-5
Game decided by 7 points or less 0-3
Game decided by more than 7 points 1-6

SKY HIGH
The Brigade's individual season highs through Week 10:
High No. Player
Completions 33 Kelly, Week 2 at Orlando
Attempts 56 Kelly, Week 2 at Orlando
Passing yards 353 Kelly, Week 2 at Orlando
TD passes 6 Kelly, Week 2 at Orlando & Week 7 vs. TB
Long pass 48t Kelly, Week 5 at Georgia
Receptions 12 Myers, Week 5 at GEO & Week 10 vs. GEO
Receiving yards 129 Boone, Week 10 vs. Georgia
TD catches 4 Smith, Week 7 vs. Tampa Bay
Long reception 48t Smith, Week 5 at Georgia
Rushing att. 9 Sanders, Week 8 at Aus & Week 10 vs. Geo
Rushing yards 34 Moss, Week 3 vs. Austin
Rushing TDs 3 Sanders, Week 10 vs. Georgia
Long rush 19 Moss, Week 3 vs. Austin
Long kick return 46 Smith, Week 8 at Austin
All-purpose yds 309 Smith, Week 7 vs. Tampa Bay
Tackles 10 Smalls, Week 3 vs. Austin
Tackles for loss 2.0 Beutler, Week 9 at New York
Interceptions 2 Smalls, Week 4 vs. Columbus
Forced fumbles 1 Nine times, most recently Pointer & Cohen Week 10 vs. Georgia
Fumble return 1 11 times, most recently Smalls & Meyers Week 10 vs. Georgia
Field goals 4 Seder, Week 4 vs. Columbus
Long field goal 43 Seder, Week 1 at Dallas

The Brigade's team season highs through Week 10:
High No. Game
Points 59 Week 7 vs. TB
Offensive touchdowns 8 (6 pass, 2 rush) Week 7 vs. TB
Total offense 368 Week 2 at Orlando
First downs 25 Week 1 at Dallas
Week 10 vs. Georgia
High No. Game
Time of possession 34:07 Week 10 vs. Georgia
Rushes 13 Week 10 vs. Georgia
Rushing yards 29 Week 3 vs. Austin
Defensive touchdowns 1 Week 4 vs. Columbus
Tackles 39 Week 8 at Austin
Tackles for loss 5 Week 9 at New York
Sacks 4 Week 9 at New York
Interceptions 2 Week 2 at Orlando
Week 4 vs. Columbus
Forced fumbles 2 Four times, most recently Week 10 vs. Georgia
Fumble recoveries 3 Week 4 vs. Columbus
Special teams touchdowns 1 (net recovery) Week 4 vs. Columbus
Week 7 vs. TB
Penalties 14 Week 8 vs. PHI
Largest Lead 21 Week 4 vs. Columbus
Largest Deficit 42 Week 7 vs. PHI
TEAM FIRSTS

The Brigade has recorded a number of firsts in its inaugural season:
First Play
Completion, Week 1 vs. Dallas Kelly to Myers for five yards
First down, Week 1 vs. Dallas Kelly to Myers for nine yards
Rushing TD, Week 1 vs. Dallas Moss for one yard
Passing TD, Week 1 vs. Dallas Kelly to Myers for 20 yards
Field goal, Week 1 vs. Dallas Seder from 43 yards
Tackle, Week 1 vs. Dallas Pointer
Forced fumble, Week 1 vs. Dallas Noah
Fumble recovery, Week 1 vs. Dallas Moss
Fum. ret. for TD, Week 4 vs. CLB Coleman
Interception, Week 1 vs. Dallas Spears
Int. ret. for TD, Week 4 vs. CLB Smalls
Safety, Week 5 at Georgia Hamilton
Lead, Week 2 vs. Orlando 14-10 in second quarter
50 point game, Week 6 vs. TB 59 total points

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