LA KISS: A Year in the Making

Manny Nunez
Monday June 8, 2015

It has been nearly a year since the LA KISS even came close to tasting victory. Since that time, they have gone through hundreds of players, a complete change of staff, and countless days of frustration wondering where each mistake had gone wrong.

The Portland Thunder was the last time LA earned a victory. Last year, the KISS took command of all aspects of the game. The KISS never trailed. Every time the Thunder scored, LA responded. They were coming off an eight game losing streak and were looking for answers.

It was the same story line, but if not better. Sure there are mistakes that need to be addressed, such as who can cover Duane Brooks as he returned two touchdowns, one of them untouched. Or what about dropping dimes on the long ball to Donovan Morgan and DeMarco Sampson to add more to the scoreboard?

Regardless, mistakes were few and very far between, and when Rayshaun Kizer stole a screen pass from Kyle Rowley taking it to the house late in the fourth quarter, all that negativity left with it.

“It was a play where I was reading the receiver all day and I had my opportunity to snag one out,” Kizer said. “I gambled and took a chance, and it paid off completely.”
A 52-40 win put smiles on everyone’s faces, and for the first time this season, the crowd gave this team a standing ovation for all of their efforts. Week after week there just seemed to be a lot of uneasiness and bad luck that hurt any chance of being consistent. Critics have been consistently hounding at the coaching staff, in particular Bob McMillen, who at times seemed as if he looked dejected. Until they brought in a new defensive secondary and a complete overhaul at their wide receiver front to add talent for Morgan, it took a game and a half to finally see this team begin to click.

“It’s the big thing about Arena Football,” McMillen said. “If you control your possessions, not turn it over, get some turnovers, most often times you can play your best football. These guys played their hearts out and left everything on the field. For the whole 60 minutes we played as a team, and even though we have some things to clean up it should not take away the effort these guys did.”

Building a family has what the team has stressed since day 1 of the 2015 campaign. While injuries put this team on a complete setback, everyone on the team still showed up to practice and games always expecting the best out of each other. For the first time this year, the team came into a game completely healthy. McPherson looked like he never lost a step. Morgan did what he always does best. New additions Jeremy Solomon and Tom Gilson even carried the back for their receiving core, and it made a big difference.

“Our big difference has been the change in defense,” McMillen said. “To have veterans back like Kizer and Laron Scott help. Kizer can make checks and put people under pressure. Everyone else are playing much better.”

Also adding to the mix, McPherson had been itching to come back. As precaution, he sat out just one more week, even though he could have been ready against Jacksonville. Seeing him against the Thunder reminded a lot of AFL fans what he has always done in the league, running at will and taking control of his offense.

“I definitely felt great.” McPherson said. “It was very rough to watch but when you are watching the game and you know what you can do, it felt so nice to be out there with the team. Coming back, I did not want to do too much and make throws and allow my guys to make plays with the ball. Its what the difference was.”

Everything went right with hardly a hitch. It was really only a matter of time before this KISS team were to finally stay away from the record books in the worst possible way. Against Jacksonville last week, a 21-0 lead given up after the first quarter hen put the KISS back in momentum, outscoring the Sharks 35-20 in the final three quarters. This time the KISS never trailed, carried a halftime lead into the locker room, and played a full 60 minutes of smash mouth football.

“You look at last week and take it with a grain of salt,” Morgan said. “Our defense played a great game, and our offense showed a lot of stride. We just had to put a few more pieces in place and with McPherson coming back and the receivers stepping up, as well as our solid defense, it’s a new atmosphere that is creating a big explosion.”

This team knows that a win does not change the entire aspect of the team. They realize what lies ahead of them, with San Jose, Philadelphia, and Arizona next on their schedule. No critic or writer can say that a game like this means playing against these next three teams will be easier. It is far from it. But the big difference now becomes with the KISS finally earning a win, what will it take to have this become a trend, no matter the opponent.

“These next three weeks are going to be a tough stretch,” Morgan said. “But just like us we put on our pads like they do. San Jose is 11-0 and we are 1-9 but don’t let our record fool you. We have some athletes on our team, and they can complete with the best. We just have to show them what we are made of.”

“I really hope that all of our recent success carries over,” McMillen said. “We are up to the challenge. If we want to be the best we have to beat the best. It is a famous cliché but it is true. We are going out there these next three weeks and fight like we did this week and like we did last week. I think the pieces of our puzzle are coming together right now. Anything can happen in the second half.”