Command Win Streak Ends At Two, Fall To Utah 55-45

Kansas City Command’s top-ranked defense came up just short against the league’s top-passing offense as Utah Blaze QB Tommy Grady finished with 436 yards, passing for seven touchdowns, one rushing TD and walked away with the National Guard MVP of the game.  Command defense held Utah to under 60 points for just the fourth time this season, but the Blaze (7-5) scored on their first 6 possessions of the game, and went on to win 55-45 over the Command (2-9) in front of 4,618 at Sprint Center.
“I thought we played hard,” said Command Coach Danton Barto.  “It’s tough going in with a new quarterback, anytime.  You know bringing Brian in straight off the street, I thought he played well.  He’ll get more settled down, I thought he did some great things for us, obviously made a couple mistakes but he’ll clean those things up as he knocks the rust off.”
Blaze QB Grady started off hot, throwing a 38 yard touchdown pass on Utah’s second offense play of the game, Blaze WR Shaun Kauleinamoku had three touchdowns in the first half alone and Tysson Poots contributed another two TD’s extending Utah’s streak of scoring at least 50 points in 11 consecutive games.
Brian Jones started for the Command in place of Matt Gutierrez who was placed on IR late Friday.  Jones (6’2, 205 Toledo) has been out of the league since 2008 but has played for Command Coach Danton Barto on three different teams, winning the af2 championship in 2005 with the Memphis Xplorers.  Jones got off to a slow start turning the ball over twice in the first half, but settled in and took just one play in the Command’s second series to throw a 42 yard touchdown to Bret Smith with 6:33 left in first quarter putting the Command up 10-7.
Utah answered nine plays later with a two yard TD catch by Poots to go up 13-10 at the end of the first quarter.  Though KC special teams kept Utah starting from inside their own five yard line for the first four series, the Blaze drove down the field ending with 22 yard TD to Kauleinamoku to put Utah up 22-10.  Brian Jones turned the ball over for the second time with an interception by David Hyland at Utah’s one yard line and the Blaze capitalized with Kauleinamoku’s second TD of game to put the Blaze up 29-10 with 5:31 left in first half.
Brian Jones and Command started to get in a rhythm with a 15 yard touchdown pass to Jackie Chambers to keep the Command close 29-17 with 3:31 left in first half.  Utah’s quick scoring offense answered with a five yard touchdown to Poots second to go up 35-17 but left enough time on the clock for Jones to connect with Bret Smith for his second TD of the game to keep the Command close, 36-24 headed into halftime.
The Blaze start the second half right where they left off scoring when QB Grady rushed for a two yard touchdown to put the Blaze up 42-24 with 7:39 left in third quarter.   Command QB Jones and KC’s defense kept battling, cutting the lead to 48-45 when Bret Smith scored his second TD of the night with 5:26 left in the fourth quarter, but the Command could never get close enough to take the lead, eventually losing 55-45.
Coach Barto summed up the night, “Their offense put it to us pretty good and scored a lot of points, held the possession… when they do that you can’t make mistakes on your side of the ball offensively and they deserved to win tonight.”
The Command travel to Spokane next week to take on the Shock.

Command Try For Three In A Row As They Take On Utah

This Saturday, June 2nd, the Kansas City Command will take on the Utah Blaze in an inter-division matchup. Kickoff from the Sprint Center is scheduled for 7:00 PM CDT.
The Command survived a back and forth battle against the Georgia Force Saturday night 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.
Utah will try to rebound after suffering a tough 64-61 loss at home to the San Antonio Talons last Saturday night. The Blaze is still listed at six in the Arena Football League Power Rankings.
It will be strength-against-strength this weekend when the Blaze offense meets the Command defense. Despite a less than stellar record, Kansas City boasts one of the toughest defensive units in the League. The Command owns the Arena Football League’s fourth-ranked scoring defense, surrendering 50.5 points per game. The unit has been especially effective against opponent’s passing attack, allowing just 245.4 aerial yards per contest to place third in the AFL.
The Blaze will head into battle with the League’s best passing offense. With QB Tommy Grady at the helm, Utah has posted 323.0 passing yards per game to rank first in the AFL. Grady continues to pace all Arena Football passers in total offensive yards (3,674) and touchdowns (92). The 6-7 signal caller has an array of weapons at his disposal led by WR Aaron Lesue, who ranks first in the AFL in touchdown catches (41) and second in receptions (104). If Utah can find a way to cut down on penalties and turnovers, the Blaze will once again have an opportunity to light up the scoreboard.
Utah has faced its fair share of difficulties on defense, but has begun to turn the corner under new Defensive Coordinator Rob Keefe. The unit posted two stops against San Antonio last week by forcing the Talons to turn the ball over on downs in the first quarter and recovering a fumble early in the fourth. The Blaze will look to stifle a struggling Kansas City offense that ranks last in the AFL in scoring (37.1 ppg) and total offense (245.5 ypg).
The game will be broadcast on SportsRadio 810 WHB AM, Ustream.tv/kansascitycommand and KSMO-TV 62.