Week 16 Game Notes - Command Vs. Blaze

Published on June 22, 2011 under Arena Football League (AFL)
Kansas City Command News Release


QUICK FACTS:

Utah Blaze (6-7)

Vs. Kansas City Command (5-9)

Date: Friday, June 24, 2011

Kickoff: 7:00 pm (Central Time)

Site: EnergySolutions Arena

Officials: Shawn Hochuli (Referee),

Matt Richards (Umpire), Jim Wharrie (Head Linesman),

Ed Walker (Line Judge), Mearl Robinson (Back Judge)

Radio: 810 WHB, Announcer Nick McCabe

TV: NFL Network, Announcers Paul Burmeister, Mike Lombardi, and Anthony Herron

All-Time Series Record: This is the first meeting between the Blaze and Command. Utah split two meetings with the Kansas City Brigade in 2007 and 2008.

Last Meeting: First meeting.

Coaches:

Ron James (7-15, 2nd with Utah; 20-33 4th overall)

Danton Barto (5-9, 1st with KC; 7-23 2nd overall)

OVERVIEW:

The Command got back on the winning track in the first career AFL start for new quarterback Stephen Wasil, claiming a 50-41 victory over Cleveland on Father's Day Sunday. Utah is coming off a dominant victory over Pittsburgh, scoring a season-high 81 points and allowing just 40 points, the second best defensive total of the year. The Blaze, at 6-7, are in a three-way tie for the final playoff spot in the National Conference. The Command are just 1.5 games back so this meeting could go a long way in determining the fourth and final playoff team.

THE SERIES:

The Command and Blaze have never met. The Kansas City Brigade played the Utah Blaze twice, winning 60-41 in 2007 and losing 50-67 in 2008. The Brigade and Blaze entered the AFL at the same time prior to the 2006 season.

LAST TIME OUT:

The Command put together a complete performance on offense, defense, and special teams in a 50-41 victory over Cleveland Sunday. New quarterback Stephen Wasil had a terrific debut, throwing for five touchdowns and rushing for two more.

"It was a good, solid team win," coach Danton Barto said. "We played well in all phases."

Bradly Chavez, moved exclusively to wide receiver for the game after spending most of the season at linebacker, was the favorite early target of Wasil. Chavez was on the receiving end of the first two touchdown throws of Wasil's AFL career, staking KC to an early 13-7 lead.

Late in the second quarter receiver "Bubby" Gill made a great catch in the end zone, hanging on after crashing hard into the boards, as the Command scored the last 13 points of the first half to take a 26-21 lead into halftime.

Cleveland got the ball to start the second half but Sergio Gilliam nabbed his team-leading seventh interception of the year to halt the Gladiators' opening drive. The Command offense needed just one play to extend the lead as Wasil hit Bret Smith for a 32-yard touchdown and 33-21 lead.

The teams traded scores the rest of the game with Chavez grabbing a third touchdown catch and Wasil rushing for a second score. The Command iced the game by holding the ball for 3:00 late in the fourth quarter and setting up Brian Umstead for a clinching field goal of 23 yards.

"That's why he's here, to make big kicks," Barto said of Umstead. "He's done it for me before and I have a lot of faith in him."

Statistically, the game ended up dead even with KC outgaining Cleveland 294 to 291 in total yardage. Each team tallied 20 first downs. The Command improved to 5-9 with the win while Cleveland dropped to 7-6.

UP NEXT:

The Command get some time off after travelling to Utah. The team's second and final bye week comes over the upcoming Fourth of July holiday weekend. Kansas City will return to action Saturday, July 9, for a road game against the Iowa Barnstormers. The first win in Command history came back in April when the division rival Barnstormers visited Sprint Center and lost 62-48.

WASIL SHINES IN FIRST START:

Stephen Wasil had taken just a handful of snaps at quarterback for Kansas City all season but in his first start he looked like a veteran. Wasil completed 19 of 23 passes for 243 yards and five touchdowns without a turnover.

"He played well," coach Danton Barto said of his new starting quarterback. "He did everything correct. He seemed to ignite the whole offense and that's what we were hoping for."

Before the Cleveland game, Wasil had only seen action at quarterback in one game, the last few plays of the Command's loss to the Chicago Rush.

Wasil holds or has previously held all-time records at Albion College (MI) for Most Passing Yards in a Game (412), Most Passing Yards in a Season (3313), and Most Touchdowns in a Season (33). In 2005, he led the Britons to a MIAA championship and was named the league Most Valuable Offensive Player.

Wasil also served on the Albion coaching staff in 2006, and is a graduate of Detroit Central Catholic High School.

Barto believes Wasil has the tools necessary to build on his early success as a starter.

"He'll have some ups and downs like any young quarterback," Barto said. "But he wants to compete and he does it every day in practice."

RATERINK TRADED:

JJ Raterink started the first 13 games for the Command in 2011, taking virtually every snap. But despite ranking among the AFL's leaders in numerous passing and total offense categories, Raterink and the Command offense began struggling to score points in mid-May. After scoring less than 40 points just once in the first eight games, KC scored more than 40 just once in Raterink's final five starts, averaging only 36 points per game in that stretch.

The offensive struggles obviously went beyond the play of Raterink. Nevertheless, Barto and his staff chose to make a change at quarterback, inserting Stephen Wasil into the lineup in hopes he would provide a spark.

In the wake of that decision, Raterink requested a trade to Chicago following Sunday's game against Cleveland. The league's trade deadline had passed, but the Command had previously traded "future considerations" to Chicago for receiver Tod Devoe. So Raterink could be sent to the Rush for "past considerations", finalizing that previous trade.

"It was a better situation for JJ," coach Danton Barto said. "It's where his job is. It looks like with (Michna) getting hurt he's going to go in and play. I hope he has a lot of success. Sometimes things just don't click between coaches and quarterbacks with schemes. I still think JJ's a very good football player and he'll do a great job in Chicago."

FORMER ALL-SEC DEFENDER JOINS COMMAND:

Defensive lineman Willie Evans (6'1", 260, Mississippi State) was claimed off reassignment last week by the Command. He joined the team this week and is expected to travel with the squad to Utah Thursday.

Evans played for the Philadelphia Soul this season, registering 5.5 tackles and 1.5 sacks in eight games. This is his first year playing Arena Football. He has been on the practice squad of four NFL teams, the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints and New York Giants.

Evans was an AP third-team All-American during his senior season at Mississippi State and earned consensus All-SEC first-team recognition. He ranked third in the country with 15 sacks. For his career he played in 46 games for the Bulldogs, starting 35, and registered 219 tackles and 24.5 sacks.

"He's a guy we knew about in college" Command coach Danton Barto said. "He was a 15 sack guy in a season in the SEC and he's been to a bunch of NFL camps. He'll have some adjustments to make with this game but I think he's gonna be a big addition for us."

INJURY NEWS:

The Command's run of good luck on the injury front was short-lived. Within the last week the team has lost two players to season-ending injuries.

Defensive lineman Brandon Jenkins suffered a severe high ankle sprain in the win over Cleveland and was placed on injured reserve. Receiver/kick returner Christian Wise was finally healed after a stint on IR when he suffered a torn hamstring in practice last week. The rehab schedule for both players prevents any chance of having them available before the end of the season.

Additionally, fullback Victor Mann suffered a severe open thumb dislocation on the first play of Sunday's game. According to Barto, his thumb was put back in place and the cut required three staples, all done without anesthetic. He got taped up and actually returned to play a few downs on special teams. The staff is hopeful he will be available without restriction in Utah.

Offensive lineman Cornelius Dixon and wide receiver Steven Savoy, both of whom were inactive for the Cleveland game, are recovering and expected to be back in the lineup against Utah.

Utah has also had significant injury issues. The Blaze started this week with eight different players on IR, including their leading receiver Aaron Boone who will miss the rest of the year after knee surgery.

BACK ON THE NFL NETWORK:

The Command will make their second national TV appearance of the season Friday night against Utah when the game airs live on NFL Network. Kansas City won their first appearance on the NFL Network, winning 58-51 at Chicago on April 22.

Paul Burmeister will call the action with analyst Mike Lombardi and sideline reporter Anthony Herron. Check the Command social media outlets this week for announcements regarding an organized watch party.

INSIDE THE BLAZE:

Utah has been one of the best offensive teams in the AFL all season long. Quarterback Tommy Grady (6'7", 245, Utah) ranks first in the league in passing yards per game, attempts, completions and touchdowns. Grady led Utah, which has the third-ranked scoring offense in the league, to a season-high 81 points in a win over Pittsburgh. He was named Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Week after completing 31 of 39 passes for 313 yards and an AFL-high for the season (tie) 10 touchdowns. Grady is on pace to break the AFL's season record of 117 passing touchdowns.

The Blaze defense is coming off one of their best performances of the season. They allowed just 40 points to Pittsburgh. However, the previous two weeks Utah had given up 81 and 72 points to Tulsa and Arizona, respectively. Defensive back Alfred Phillips leads the team with 64 tackles on the year. Linebacker Mike Lewis and defensive lineman Caesar Rayford have been a pass-rushing force, combining for 14.5 sacks and eight forced fumbles.

The Blaze recently added defensive lineman Khreem Smith to the roster. He started the season with the Spokane Shock where he recorded 7.0 sacks in 11 games. In three games with Utah, Smith has 2.5 tackles, .5 sacks, and one forced fumble.

The win over Pittsburgh stopped a three-game losing streak for the Blaze that dropped their record below .500 for the first time this year. The win over the Power kept Utah in a tie for the fourth and final playoff spot in the National Conference.

PLAYOFF RACE:

Despite not having the record the team hoped for going into the season, the Command are still in position to challenge for a playoff spot. Four teams make the playoffs in each conference, the two division champions and two wildcards based on overall record. Chicago and Arizona lead their divisions with Dallas in excellent position to at least earn a wildcard berth. After those three teams, though, no squad can stake a firm claim to the fourth and final playoff spot in the National Conference.

Tulsa and Spokane, each winners of two straight games, along with Utah are all 6-7. San Jose, after a 5-2 start, has lost six in a row and is one game back at 5-8. Then comes the Command, just 1.5 games out of a playoff spot at 5-9. Kansas City, with a win over Utah and losses by Tulsa and Spokane, could be tied with all those teams in the win column going into their bye week.

A Command victory Friday in Utah will certainly keep the post-season hopes alive in Kansas City with three games to play.

About the COMMAND

The hard-hitting excitement of Arena Football is back with the launch of the Kansas City Command! The Kansas City Brigade introduced local fans to Arena Football in 2006 and quickly established a reputation for a unique blend of football and entertainment. In the 2008 season, the Brigade moved their home games to Sprint Center, Kansas City's award winning downtown arena, bringing action-packed indoor football to a state-of-the-art facility. Now in 2011 the team is back with a new name but the same fun, family-friendly, fast-paced action!

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