Command Totally Inept In Loss To Barnstormers

The Kansas City Command (3-13) suffered a tough 54-26 loss to their Central Division rival, Iowa Barnstormers (6-10) in front of 3,223 fans Saturday night at Sprint Center.  Barnstormers’ wide receiver Jesse Schmidt hauled in four touchdowns, earning the National Guard MVP of the game.
“It was an embarrassing loss, nothing positive other than the two blocked extra-point kicks that were returned by Sergio Gilliam.” said Command head coach Danton Barto.  “That’s pretty amazing and nobody has ever seen that in a game.”
Iowa quarterback J.J. Raterink connected with Jesse Schmidt to put the Barnstormers on the board first, but the extra point was blocked by Ken Scott and returned by Gilliam; the first of two blocked extra-point kicks that were returned by KC.  Iowa’s early attempt at an onside kick was recovered by OJ Simpson and the Command quickly put more points on the board with a rushing touchdown by Jackie Chambers.  KC took their only lead of the game 9-6 after one quarter.
Although the Command defense stuffed the Barnstormers on the opening drive, forcing a quick turnover on downs, costly interceptions in the second half kept KC’s offense on the sidelines and allowed Iowa to build a lead they would never relinquish.  Command defensive linemen Michael Robinson and Chris Lyle each had a sack on Iowa quarterback J.J. Raterink, while DB Rashad Barksdale led the team with 8 unassisted tackles. Raterink only passed for 164 yards, but accounted for five Barnstormers’ touchdowns.  
Kansas City’s offense stalled in the second quarter while Iowa put up 21 points.  With just four seconds remaining in the second quarter, Command kicker James Wilhoit connected on a 47 yard field goal cutting Iowa’s lead to 27-12 as the teams headed to halftime.
Command quarterback Matt Gutierrez threw three picks in the third quarter and the Barnstormers took advantage and widening their lead to 40-12 heading into the fourth.  Command backup QB, Zack Eskridge replaced Gutierrez; rushing for a touchdown and tossing another to Bret Smith, avoiding a KC second half offensive shutout.
As for Eskridge’s role for the final two games of the season, “I’ll need to evaluate it, look at the film, and we’ll go from there,” said coach Barto.  “Whoever is going to give us the best opportunity to win these last two games is the guy that is going to play.  The good thing is there will be some competition at wide receiver with Armand (Robinson) coming back.  We’ll also have Xavier (Lee) back next week, and competition is good.  Armand was playing really good football before he got hurt and I think he’ll help whoever is at quarterback, and help this team.”

Command Host The Iowa Barnstormers On Saturday

The Kansas City Command (3-12) host their Central Division rival, the Iowa Barnstormers (5-10) on Saturday; kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Sprint Center. KC is coming off a tough loss in San Antonio last weekend. The Command produced one of their best offensive performances of the year, but a season-high 20 penalties was too much to overcome and Kansas City lost 58-48 in the Alamodome.
Command quarterback Matt Gutierrez returns from the injured reserve list and will be reunited with another former Kansas City Chiefs player, Samie Parker who debuted with the Command last week; scoring a rushing and receiving touchdown. Playing opposite Parker will be KC’s leading receiver Bret Smith, who has 72 catches for 901 yards and 20 TD’s in just 10 games this season. Jackie Chambers has lit up the special teams recording at least 100 kickoff-return yards in each of the last four games; scoring two 57-yard kickoff returns in back to back games (San Jose and Chicago).
Barnstormers quarterback J.J. Raterink started the first 13 games for the Command in 2011 before being traded to the Chicago Rush, which he then led to the National Conference Championship game.  He returns to KC for the first time in a Barnstormers’ jersey and is just 20 yards shy of passing Kurt Warner’s single-season franchise record of 4,149 passing yards, set in 1997. Raterink’s favorite target, Jesse Schmidt leads Iowa with 150 catches, 48 touchdowns and has scored a TD in 11 straight games.
Iowa’s defense is centered around Cameron McGlenn who leads the AFL with 102 tackles on the year.   Just as proficient is Kansas City’s J.C. Neal who leads the Command with 96.5 total tackles, just 13 shy of the single-season franchise record of 110, set by Ken Fontenette in 2011.
Kansas City is hoping the offensive potential of Gutierrez, Parker and Smith gels quickly to avenge the May 12th loss to Iowa (62-42) and give the Barnstormers their fourth straight loss.

Frustration Continues For Command, Lose To Barnstormers 62-42

Despite wide receiver Armand Robinson’s four touchdown catches for the Kansas City Command, their struggles continue as they lost their eighth straight game Saturday night 42-62 against the Iowa Barnstormers at the Wells Fargo Arena in front of 7,962.  Iowa quarterback JJ Raterink threw for 253 yards and six touchdowns, and rushed for one more to put an end to Iowa’s three-game losing streak.  “It’s a tough loss,” said Command coach Danton Barto. “Matt, statistically had his best game with passing and touchdowns (334 yards for six TD’s), but the key thing was three interceptions that stopped three drives.  We just can't get over the hump.  It's two or three drives every game that's killing us and keeping us out of games."
Raterink connected with four different receivers for touchdowns lead by Jesse Schmidt who had nine receptions for 11 yards and 3 TD’s and helped the Barnstormers get back on track to a 4-5 record.
The Command took the lead on an eight yard touchdown pass to Armand Robinson with 5:05 left in the first quarter, but two early Command turnovers (fumble and net recovery) gave the Barnstormers opportunities to score on their next two possessions resulting in a 17-7 to end the first quarter.  Robinson was the leading receiver of the game with 13 receptions for 143 yards and four touchdowns. Barnstormer defensive end Justin Mincey’s leaping interception off Gutierrez and 20 yard return for an Iowa touchdown gave the Barnstormers a 31-21 lead and kicker Camay scored a 50 yard field goal just as time expired in the second quarter to give Iowa a 34-21 lead going into halftime.
Iowa kept their momentum going to start the second half, scoring on their first drive to take a 41-21 lead with 11:29 left in third quarter.   The Barnstormers defense intercepted Gutierrez for the third time and quickly scored to go up with 10:21 left in the third quarter.  Four Command turnovers (3 INTs, 1 net recovery) plus Iowa’s consistent scoring helped the Barnstormers maintain a lead throughout the entire second half.
Regarding KC’s offense, “they’re getting it,” said Barto.  “We’re trying. Armand Robinson had a great game.  Our young players are starting to make plays, we’ve just got to be more consistent.  It’s maddening because we work on it every day, but it’s just part of being young.”

The Command Travel To Iowa To Take On The Barnstormers

The Kansas City Command visit the Iowa Barnstormers for an Arena Football League Central Division match-up this Saturday, May 12 at 7:05pm at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The Command
(0-7) failed to capitalize on another strong defensive performance against San Antonio last Saturday, falling to the Talons 41-31. The Barnstormers (3-5) dropped their third straight game over the weekend, losing on the road to the Chicago Rush 61-50 Sunday afternoon.
The Command held a fourth-quarter lead for the first time this season and maintained a 31-27 advantage until the Talons scored 14 points in the final 3:57 to win by 10.
The Command defense played arguably their best game of the year, holding San Antonio to just 41 points and 231 yards of total offense. DB Sergio Gilliam had two interceptions in the game and earned the AFL’s Riddell Defensive Player of the Week award.
The offense for the Command continued to struggle, especially early and late. Kansas City got just three points out of its first three possessions and was shut out in the fourth quarter for the third time in seven games. The last three Command drives resulted in a missed field goal, lost fumble and turnover on downs.
Iowa is coming off a tough four-game stretch in which they played arguably the four best teams in the National Conference. After beating Arizona 56-54, Iowa lost three straight to Utah (63-62), San Jose (76-33) and Chicago (61-50). The San Jose game was notable for the fact the Barnstormers failed to score in the second half after trailing just 41-33 after two quarters. Six Iowa possessions ended with and interception, a fumble and a remarkable four turnovers on downs.
Last week Iowa led 28-24 at the half and 42-38 late in the third quarter, but after scoring touchdowns in each of their first six possessions, the Barnstormers scored just one TD and gave up a safety and two turnovers on downs the final four times they had the ball.
The Barnstormers quarterback is JJ Raterink who started the first 13 games of the 2011 season for the Command before getting traded to Chicago. Raterink threw for 358 yards, four touchdowns
and no interceptions against the Rush on Sunday.
The Command and Barnstormers faced off for the first time last year and met twice, with the home team emerging victorious in both contests. The first-ever Kansas City Command victory came in last season’s home opener on April 9 against Iowa 62-48. Bradly Chavez and Bret Smith each had three TD receptions for KC. Iowa won 48-40 on July 9 in Des Moines. Smith had his second big game against the Barnstormers, catching 12 passes for 156 yards.
The Game will be broadcast on WHB 810 AM & Ustream