Kansas City wins 45-42 over Spokane with last second field goal
Thomas Campbell
Tuesday May 31, 2011
As kickoff approached both rosters could remember their week three meeting in Spokane. The Shock ran amuck that night, securing their first win of the season with a convincing 61-34 rout of the Command. Even with that result, the Shock must consider this a disappointing season as they arrived in Kansas City with a 4-6 record and only one road win. Kansas City's season has been no smooth ride either. Their 3-7 record includes several games where lack of consistency for the full 60 minutes was a factor. One week ago the trip to Tulsa ended with a last second "Hail Mary" touchdown pass to secure the win. That result got the team through a week of intense practice, but head coach Danton Barto knows improvement needs to be made on both sides of the ball.
Spokane won the flip and deferred. Kansas City accepted the opening kickoff and things started to go wrong on the second snap. The Kansas City offensive line broke down and quarterback JJ Raterink fumbled the ball to Spokane defensive back Alex Teems. Teems scooted the necessary 19 yards into the Kansas City end zone. Spokane was leading 7-0, before the last stanza of the national anthem had faded away.
The Command was able to quickly recover some momentum when Carlton Brown excited the crowd with a 56 yard kick-off return. Brown broke six tackles and evened the score at 7-7. The game then settled into a display of bad passing from Spokane QB Casey Hansen and great play from the Command defense. Six incomplete passes, two penalties and one sack consumed over seven minutes with the Command finally regaining possession on a turn-over on downs. Raterink moved the ball down the field in seven plays, ending the drive by handing off to ironman Bradley Chavez for a one yard plunge into the Shock end zone. The first quarter ended with Kansas City up 13-7. The home team had established some much needed offensive energy. That momentum was to continue through the second quarter with Kansas City extending its lead to 29-14 at the half. A highlight of early second quarter play was the spectacular one handed catch by Command receiver Tod Devoe. This catch provided a much needed first down and kept an important scoring drive alive. The recent signing of Devoe already shows a dividend, as he won his first "Cutters Catch of the Game" award.
Throughout quarter three the teams traded scores, with both missing an extra point attempt. Two Raterink touchdown passes (Smith, one yard and Gill, six yards) were matched by one of Hanson's four touchdown passes and an impressive 54 yard kick-off return by Terrance Sanders. Each team scored 13 points in the third quarter. Kansas City's 15 point halftime edge prevailed as we entered the final period.
Quarter four is where the home crowd had cause to show concern, to put it mildly. That earlier Command momentum had disappeared as Spokane put up 15 unanswered points to pull into a 42-42 tie with just under 5 minutes left. The Command offense responded and made sure Spokane would not have possession again. Raterink's passing and running moved the Command to the seven yard line with three seconds left. Kicker Brian Umstead then topped off a mixed performance by converting the game winning field goal from the 23 yard line as the clock went to zero. The crowd of 3,870 cheered, Barto relaxed and the Shock headed for the airport with another road loss. An exultant Brian Umstead was last seen displaying his "dancing with the stars" ability, as the excitement of that game winning kick carried him off the field.
Raterink ended the night with a line of 23-37 for only 207 yards and three scores and 31 minutes of time of possession. Bret Smith lead KC receivers with 11 catches for 71 yards and one score. As might be expected in a game decided by a final second field goal, the losing quarterback, Casey Hanson, had a comparable line of 17-35 for 159 yards for four touchdowns. The deciding factor for the QBs was the sack totals. Raterink was nailed once for a 3 yard loss, while Hanson was brought down 5 times for a total loss of 24 yards.
The final score of 45-42 gives the Command their first two game winning streak. In post game comments coach Barto had words of praise for Umstead and game MVP Bradley Chavez. Barto also had special mention for defensive line coach Robert Tomas as his troops ensured the road woes would continue for Spokane. Defensive end Bryan Robinson had 3.5 sacks that cost Spokane 20 yards in field position. Ken Fontenette had 10 solo tackles and was impressive on pass defense several times, as was Sergio Giliam. Of concern to Barto might be his teams 15 penalties and one fumble lost. He knows he cannot continue to give up over 90 yards of field position and win too many games in this league.
This week the Command sought out and achieved satisfaction for that trouncing in Spokane. Next Saturday Kansas City will host the Chicago Rush. This correspondent suspects the Rush will remember their week seven home field loss to Kansas City with just as much intensity.
