Kansas City's AFL Team Brings Town a Win in its First Home Game

April 9, 2011 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Kansas City Command News Release


After a torturous set of road games against some of the league's best teams, the Kansas City COMMAND finally faced off against an opponent on home turf. And in front of an energized Kansas City crowd, the team got their first win as a franchise, over an opponent that all analysts had picked to win.

Coming off of two wins over teams that had both defeated the COMMAND, it looked like the Iowa Barnstormers were set to give Kansas City its fourth loss of the 2011 season. But by the end of the first quarter, anyone who had considered that a foregone conclusion would have had to rethink the idea. Iowa's first drive was put to an early end as DB Sergio Gilliam picked off Barnstormer Quarterback Brad Banks. The COMMAND followed up shortly afterwards with a 29 yard pass from Quarterback JJ Raterink to rookie receiver Christian Wise, putting KC on the boards.

Iowa's second drive was also stopped by the COMMAND defense, forcing them to attempt a 47 yard field goal, which missed. KC again drove down the field, capping off some spectacular passes with a touchdown reception by Bret Smith and an extra point. After a few incomplete passes by Brad Banks, Iowa ended the first quarter in possession of the ball, but without having put points on the board.

The Barnstormers finally got on the boards after their successful drive across the field, helped along by a few penalties drawn by KC players. KC's next drive came to a close after six plays when Iowa DB Patrick Stoudamire intercepted a pass by JJ Raterink and returned the ball 56 yards for a touchdown. The score stood at 13-12.

Other significant plays in the second quarter include a sack by KC linebacker Tyus Jackson on Brad Banks for a loss of 7 yards, a second interception by Sergio Gilliam, and a blocked Iowa kick by DL Bryan Robinson. The first half of the game would end with both KC and Iowa scoring again, though after another failed attempt to kick the ball between the uprights on the part of the Barnstormers, the score stood at 20-18.

Second Half

The third quarter looked much like the second, with both KC and Iowa driving down the field while the COMMAND maintained their lead on the scoreboards, much to the delight of the Kansas City fans in attendance at Sprint Center. Bret Smith and Bradly Chavez pick up touchdowns, and backup QB Stephen Wasil ran in a two point conversion, putting KC up 34-24 going into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter of the game saw the Barnstormers finally realize their predicament, and they came out showing why QB rookie Brad Banks is fast becoming known as one of the best in the league. With touchdown passes to Jesse Schmidt and Errick McCown, a rushing conversion on a QB keeper, and a recovery of a Raterink fumble in the end zone by C. Johnson, Iowa was doing everything they could to close the gap and make the COMMAND nervous as the clock ticked down.

The Barnstormers, pushing harder than they had in the previous three quarters, tied the game 41- 41 with what could have been a disastrous fumble by QB JJ Raterink in the end zone. Raterink was halfway to the ground after a stumble and attempted to throw the ball away. Instead, what was intended to be a spiked pass was ruled a fair ball which Iowa recovered. Raterink, ever the professional, quickly regained his composure, passing to Bradly Chavez for 21 yards and a touchdown. It seemed the COMMAND had gotten to like the taste of being ahead on the scoreboards in the first three quarters of the game, and after being briefly tied, would go on to snuff out any possible hope for Iowa. DL Trey Bryant scored his first touchdown of the season on an Iowa fumble following the kickoff by Brian Umstead. Banks again tried to close the gap on the scoreboards with a 17 yard pass to Errick McCown, but only closed from 41, to 48 while KC stood at 55.

With 19 seconds left on the clock, 275lb FB Victor Mann put an exclamation point on the COMMAND's first home game, with an 11 yard rushing touchdown. After a successful extra point by Umstead, the clock ran out and Kansas City stood victorious, 62-48.

Post Game

With smiles on their faces, throngs of fans streamed onto the field to meet the COMMAND players and coaches for an autograph session that quickly became more of a post-game celebration. Both the players, and the fans were pleased for the team to have its first victory, and congratulations streamed in from social media sites like Facebook and Twitter; from fans in Sprint Center and watching at home over the NiftyTV.com live stream.

COMMAND Head Coach Danton Barto was quoted after the game, saying, "we beat a very good Iowa team tonight in a must-win game for us. It was great to start out at home with a victory and we're looking forward to more of the same in next week's game".

The COMMAND's next game is also at home at Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO, against the Arizona Rattlers. Arizona is currently undefeated going into their fifth game of the season, and stands as the top team in the league. But as we learned today, don't make any assumptions when the COMMAND is playing in front of their home crowd!



Arena Football League Stories from April 9, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central