Another slow start put The Kansas City Command in an early hole, as has been the case many times this season. The Command could not overcome a 21-7 first quarter deficit and fell 71-55 to the Tulsa Talons Friday night at the Sprint Center. The season ending crowd of 5,575 saw their home team claw back to trail by only 7 points early in the second quarter.  But the Talons scored the last 13 points of the period and took a comfortable twenty point lead into the locker room. For the night, the visitors were aided greatly by four Command turnovers.

 

Command quarterback Steve Wasil struggled early, going 7-of-12 for two touchdowns in the first half. Those scores were offset by two early interceptions in the red zone. Wasil ended the game with a line of 14-26-3 for 259 yards, six scores and was sacked twice. Reserve quarterback Steve Gachette entered the game late and contributed an 11 yard scoring run. Gachette also connected on all three of his pass attempts for 24 yards.   Newcomer Brent Holmes lead the receivers with 6 receptions for 109 yards and 3 touchdowns. Steven Savoy (6 for 70 yards, 1 TD) and Robert Gill (5 for 104 yards, 2 TDs) also were important parts of the puzzle. Kansas City's leading defensive performer was Rashad Barksdale with 13 tackles and 2 assists.

 

Talon quarterback Justin Allgood led the visitors to 34 first half points, which effectively put the game away.   Locker room adjustments allowed Kansas City to trade scores in the second half but they could never get closer than 11 points. Allgood ended with a line of 31-42-0 for 310 yard, four scores and was sacked twice.   His leading target was Troy McBroom with 12 catches for 142 yards and 1 score.

 

In postgame comments head coach Danton Barto searched for positives with comments like "... you look at the close games you lost... we were in many games that we could have won and didn't..."   He noted three of the Command's wins came against division champions and cited this as an indication of his team's tendency to play to the level of the competition. 

 

Barto was already looking to the future when he said "... we want to bring in a veteran quarterback... we have some more evaluating to do" He indicated the top to bottom season review will include a review of all games on film and stated his desire to "...build this thing into the winner I know it can be." 

 

The Command finish their rookie season with a 6-12 record. Tulsa ends the 2011 campaign at 8-10. Both teams missed the playoffs.

 

With the AFL policy of one year contracts, and such an inconsistent week to week performance, it would be no surprise to see many new faces in the Command black and blue uniform next season. It is evident Barto does not lack in enthusiasm for the game or the job at hand.   But every coaching staff must have the proper tools to put together a winner.    The Kansas City sports fanbase has shown it will support a successful team.   It is up to coach Barto and team owner Chris Likens to put such a team on the field.

Tom Campbell has written about the AFL since 2006, when the local team was the Kansas City Brigade. Previous game articles appeared on www.arenapulse.com and www.sportsphan.com, and he was a voting member of the AFL Writers Association. Tom currently owns a franchise in the American Poolplayers Assoc and previously worked in commercial banking for 17 years.