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Wasil Leads Command To Victory Over Gladiators 50-41

June 19, 2011 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Kansas City Command News Release


The Kansas City COMMAND improved their record to 5 and 9 at the expense of the Eastern Division leaders, the Cleveland Gladiators, with a 50-41 win.

It was Stephen Wasil's first turn at the flight controls in the COMMAND's cockpit and he proved to be an ace. Kansas City outscored Cleveland in three of four quarters,taking the lead in the second half and never looking back. Wasil went 19 for 23 passing with 243 yards, 5 passing touchdowns and two carries into the end zone. Head Coach Danton Barto described Wasil's performance as "phenomenal", saying "you've got to prepare yourself for when your opportunity comes, and he made the right decisions". Wasil himself deferred credit to the rest of the offensive squad: "It was a good, solid team win... we played well in all phases; once the receivers caught the ball, they made the plays".

Wasil's play through the game was noted by a stalwart insistence on completing passes under pressure. When faced with the options of scrambling for a few yards or dumping a pass, the quarterback from Albion College stayed in the pocket and found his receivers. In fact, the first two COMMAND scores of the game came off passes where Wasil was under significant pressure. But each time as the Gladiator's d-line closed in for the sack, he found Bradly Chavez in the end zone and put the ball in his hands.

Along with the change in quarterback came an apparent change in overall strategy. The COMMAND utilized running plays to a greater degree than in previous games, with Baylor's Trey Bryant being tapped to pick up a total of 39 yards off 10 separate carries. Coach Barto was proud of Bryant's performance, commenting that "it takes pressure off the offense". "Trey runs hard and runs physical".

As a counterpoint to Wasil's impressive debut performance, Kurt Rocco uncharacteristically overshot his receivers several times during the game, especially in the fourth quarter where the Gladiators were scrambling to make up a 9 point deficit with less than a minute on the clock.

Notable plays by the COMMAND include Robert "Bubby" Gill's sacrificial head-first dive into the sideboard to complete a touchdown pass in the second quarter. Also in the second, Brandon Jenkins got a hand on a Gladiator field goal attempt and swatted it out of the sky. In the third quarter, defensive back Sergio Gilliam picked off Kurt Rocco and made 12 yards off the interception, which helped shift the tit-for-tat pace of the game squarely in the COMMAND's favor. Ironman wide receiver and linebacker Bradly Chavez, today operating exclusively on offense, picked up three touchdowns for the team, while Bret Smith, along with Gill, each picked up a stamp on their passports to the end zone.

Stephen Wasil's first start wasn't without any blemishes, however. Cleveland's Tim Cheatwood managed to sneak past the line and score two sacks on the COMMAND QB, but with his dogged insistence on staying in the pocket to complete passes, the Kansas City offensive line did an impressive job in providing him the time needed to find his receivers.

The COMMAND travel next to Utah to meet the Blaze on a nationally televised game on the NFL Network on June 24th. The Blaze are currently 6-7, but are second in a tough division after the 12 and 2 Arizona Rattlers. After that, the Kansas City team stays on the road before finally returning home to Sprint Center for the last two games of the regular season, on the 15th against Jacksonville, and the 23rd against Tulsa.



Arena Football League Stories from June 19, 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.

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