Kansas City Brigade weekly release

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


Game Preview

Kansas City Brigade vs. Los Angeles Avengers

Kemper Arena, Kansas City, MO

Sunday, April 9, 12:00 p.m. CST

*** TV: The game is the only game this season not televised

Radio: 97.3 MAX-FM (Weber, Gervino, Boatwright)

Webcast: www.kcbrigade.com

*** This is the only game this season not televised, so we encourage all television cameras to come and shoot highlights and post-game interviews.

NOTE: Kansas City legend Buck O'Neil will handle the coin toss and address to the crowd before the game. There is also a giveaway: every fan through the gate will receive a new 2006 Kansas City Brigade team poster. After every home game, all Brigade players sign autographs on the field for the fans for 30 minutes.

KANSAS CITY BRIGADE RELEASE QB ANDY KELLY The Kansas City Brigade announced today that it released 13-year veteran quarterback Andy Kelly. The team moved in a different direction in week eight at the Austin Wranglers when head coach Kevin Porter sat Kelly in favor of backup Chris Sanders. The coaching staff wanted to add a new face to the offense to try and spark the team.

"The fans here are great," Kelly said. "I truly enjoyed Kansas City and the people I met, but now I will embark on what comes next for me, which hopefully includes playing football."

Kelly began the season as one of the Brigade's big-name players after coming over in the expansion allocation from the non-operational New Orleans VooDoo. Many Kansas City fans identified with Kelly as much for his prolific passing numbers as his Southern drawl and laid back lifestyle. The signal-caller for six teams in his career, Kelly owns a number of AFL records including: yards (38,468), completions (3,520), and attempts (5,648). He is second in the AFL in career touchdown passes (741), but was the first quarterback in pro football to throw for more than 500.

This season, in seven games, Kelly had a quarterback rating of 80.5. He threw for 1,856 yards, with 24 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

"It's always tough when you have to release a player at a high level like Andy (Kelly)," Head Coach Kevin Porter said. "However, it was the best decision for our football team. We appreciate everything he has done and he will continue on with his career."

KANSAS CITY BRIGADE VS LOS ANGELES AVENGERS GAME PREVIEW 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 two-game losing streak, 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 aims 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 Brigade rookie combo of Jerel Myers and Aaron Boone marched all over the Force's strong secondary and hope to have no trouble repeating their performance. They need to be especially strong on third down, where the Avengers stop their opponents over 40 percent of the time.

A revamped Brigade 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.

NEWS, NOTES, AND LEAGUE RANKINGS - The Friday, April 21 game at the Nashville Kats could be moved to Saturday, April 22 due to a potential conflict with the Nashville Predators' NHL playoff schedule. Currently the Predators hold a four point lead for 4th place and a home playoff game. If they clinch 4th place, the game date will change.

- The team enjoyed team bonding after practice Wednesday at Dave & Busters. After a full spread bar-b-que lunch, players went head-to-head in the game room. Lucas Yarnell won skee-ball, Bryan Henderson took the race car simulator game, Aaron Boone was victorious in the mini pop-a-shot and Jerel Myers in the full pop-a-shot. Much to his chagrin, defensive specialist Alvin Porter finished second in both pop-a-shot contests to his more game room savvy offensive counterparts.

- 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 (LA is 3-7).

- 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 has been 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.

COMMUNITY EVENTS - The Brigade has donated autographed merchandise to be raffled off in a fundraiser for the Northland Early Education Center, an accredited not-for-profit organization that helps special needs children and their families. The raffle is part of the NEEC event at the Pleasant Valley Community on Friday, April 7 from 5 to 9 p.m. Two players and two cheerleaders will be there to participate.

- Brigade players, coaches, cheerleaders and staff will put on their hard hats and work gloves as part of Habitat for Humanity in Kansas City. The organization will work on two sites in the heart of Kansas City on April 10 from 1 to 5 p.m.

- FB/LB Chris Morant, Calvin Spears, and Denario Smalls will appear at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum on April 17 for "Reading around the Bases," a program for school groups.

- In conjunction with the American Red Cross, the Brigade will sponsor a blood drive on April 24. The Red Cross will raffle off tickets to anyone who donates for the home finale on May 6 against the Orlando Predators. Players and cheerleaders will be there to sign autographs.

- The Kansas City Brigade has implemented a brand new program called "Reading for the Future," which requires students to read for 15 minutes four nights a week, and a parent or guardian must sign off each day's entry. If 14 nights of reading is completed, each student will receive a single ticket to the Kansas City Brigade's last regular season home game on Saturday, May 6. If 20 nights of reading is accomplished, the student and a parent or guardian will each receive a ticket.

- Last Sunday the Kansas City Brigade participated in the first "Bowling with the Brigade" at Aaron's Family Fun Center in Belton. Eleven players and their families attended the event to bowl and socialize with fans from the community. Players also posed for pictures and signed autographs. "Bowling with the Brigade," part of the Kansas City Brigade Charities, is an event sponsored by area businesses to raise money to send local charities to a Brigade game.

- Three Brigade players went to the Negro League Museum for the unveiling of the new line: Nike Untold Truth Collection of footwear and apparel for the Negro League. Players Gillis Wilson, Chris Morant, and Michael Landry joined Buck O'Neil, other former Negro League players and Nike General Manager Larry Harper for the festivities.

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 5, 2006


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