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KC Command vs. Utah Blaze Game Preview

June 1, 2012 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Kansas City Command News Release


KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City Command (2-8) host the Utah Blaze (6-5) Saturday, June 2nd at Sprint Center in the Power & Light District. Halftime will feature the Mascot football game. Doors open at 5:30, kickoff is at 7 p.m. (CT).

In Week 12, the Command survived a back and forth battle against the Georgia Force winning 39-27 in front of 5,079 at Sprint Center and giving the Command back-to-back victories. Command wide receiver, Jackie Chambers had 8 receptions for 94 yards and one touchdown; and the Command defense once again kept KC in the game holding Georgia at bay scoring a single field goal in the fourth quarter. Command QB Matt Gutierrez spread the ball to seven different receivers and finished the game with three touchdowns passing; rushing for another and was awarded the National Guard MVP of the game. The Command rushed a season-high 13 times, are currently ranked fourth in the League in scoring defense with 50.5 points per game, third in pass defense with 245.4 yards per game and second in total defense with 257.5 yards per game. They lead the League in rushing defense with 12.1 yards per game.

Wide receiver Armand Robinson leads the team in receptions with 32 for 342 yards and 7 TDs in 4 games played with the Command. DL Tommy Chavis leads the team in sacks with 6, recording at least half a sack in each of the last 3 games and 4 of the last 5...He recorded 2 sacks in Week 12, making him 3 sacks shy of tying the single-season franchise record of 9. DB Sergio Gilliam leads the team in interceptions with 5; in Week 12 he collected a season-high 8.5 tackles. Kicker James Wilhoit has 40 points kicking and is 25/51 on PATs. He ranks fourth in the League in FGs made with 5 and is now 3 successful FGs shy of Tim Seder's single-season franchise record of 8.

Last week Utah lost to San Antonio, 64-61, they have now lost 3 consecutive games. The Blaze rank fourth in scoring offense with 64.3 points per game and second in rushing defense with 13.2 yards per game. They lead the League in pass offense with 323 yards per game and third in total offense with 334.4 yards per game. QB Tommy Grady is 302-of-459 passing with 3,623 yards and 87 TDs and leads the League in passing average per game with 329 and in total offense with 334 yards per game. With 2 interceptions in Week 12, Grady passed AFL Hall of Famer Kurt Warner on the League's list of career interceptions leaders. He is now tied with Mike Pawlawski with 45 career interceptions thrown. He has notched a passer rating of at least 107 in 7 consecutive games and has finished all but 1 game this season with QBR in the triple digits, and has passed for an AFL-leading 87 TDs in 2012. WR Aaron Lesue leads the team in receptions with 104 for 1,218 yards and 41 TDs. WR Shaun Kauleinamoku has tallied 31catches for 454 yards and 12 TDs in 4 games played with the Blaze this season and has recorded a TD catch in 4 straight games.

Previous Meeting against Utah

Kansas City and Utah have met four times (three times between 2006-2008 when the team was originally the named the Kansas City Brigade). Utah leads the series 3-1 with two of those games being decided by one point. The most recent matchup was June 24, 2011; KC lost at Utah 61-60.

Up Next

The Command travel to Spokane Shock Saturday, June 9th at 7 p.m. (CT). The game will air live on SportsRadio 810 WHB, KSMO TV-62 and Ustream.tv/kansascitycommand. The Utah Blaze host the Chicago Rush Saturday, June 9th at EnergySolutions Arena.



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