Southwest Kansas Defend Their Home Turf, Walk Away 1-0 in Week 0

Pivoting Proves to be no Problem for Storm

Heading into this week, the Storm had been preparing for the Orlando Predators, four days before the game the Predators informed the league they did not intend to play in the AF1 in 2025. Pivoting quickly, the league informed the Storm that they would instead play the Nashville Kats in week 0, and do so in what amounted to the only game of the weekend for the league. 

Led by an impressive defensive effort that featured 5 interceptions, 2 defensive touchdowns, and a fumble recovery,  giving the offense many extra opportunities to put points on the board, the Southwest Kansas Storm begin the season 1-0. While neither unit was perfect, Jalen Morton and the offense found the endzone four times, putting up a total of 40 points as a team.

The Storm jumped out to a lead thanks to an early turnover by the Kats. They would hold their lead for most of the game, before a stalled drive allowed the Kats to score late in the game. After a back and forth affair throughout, it was two late interceptions returned for touchdowns by defensive back Michael Lawson that allowed the Storm to regain the lead with less than a minute left and cement a win.

On offense Jalen Morton seems to be growing chemistry with his receiver group as he found Shiloh Flanagan for a pair of touchdowns, on 5 receptions for 76 yards. Daquan Bailey-Brown caught 6 passes for 71 yards, and 1 touchdown. He also added 4 kick returns for 15 yards, leading the team in yards from scrimmage for non-quarterbacks. This included one return that looked like he had a crease that was stopped by a shoestring tackle.

Dillon "Money in the Bank" Burkhard was a key piece in this win, as it was his converted point after attempts that helped the Storm hold the lead for much of this game. Charles Hall made two special teams tackles on the day, one of which pinned the Kats deep late in the game.

Room for Improvement

The offense saw a few drives suffer setbacks due to some erratic snaps by center Alex Heil, at one point quarterback Jalen Morton could be seen talking it over with Heil on the field. Heil to his credit immediately said he “had things to clean up” after the game. However, these were not the only issues on the day.

Jalen Morton looked to settle in as the game went on missing just a touch high on some throws before finding a groove. Fortunately for the Storm most of his misses were throws in which Morton put the ball where either the receiver was going to catch it or no one would. 

On offense veteran wideout Demarius Washington looked frustrated with himself after a few early drops on plays that could have resulted in large gains. Dee Wash, as he is known, has been playing a longtime and there will likely be no need for a lecture for the vet who knows he can do much better. I look forward to him responding with a big game in the near future. To his credit, Coach Thomas and Jalen Morton showed their faith in him by targeting him on a few plays in a row coming out of halftime, all of which resulted in catches.

A couple drives were extended for Nashville on defense due to some eager pass rushers on the Storm front. We saw at least two encroachment calls, one of which displayed the power of nose tackle Robert Cooper when he jumped offsides and bowled over the center as if he was not even there. Cooper has spent time on NFL rosters and knows these types of penalties can change the flow of a game, I expect he will clean these up and become a force up front.

Victory in Week Zero Starts 2025 Off Right for the Storm

Ultimately, the Storm have to be flying high after a game that saw them beat a Hall of Fame coach in their first game of the season. Having not played a preseason game, some of the mistakes cleaned themselves up quickly and by the end of the game the team seemed to settle in.

In talking to Coach Thomas after the game he had nothing but good things to say about the Kats, calling them a very talented team, and saying their best football is ahead of him. I pointed out that the same could be said for the Storm that looked like they just got better as the game went on. All in all Storm fans should be thrilled with the team that represents Dodge City on the field, and the excitement should only grow as the team moves on to next week. If defense wins championships, this team certainly seems to be in good hands going forward.

Week Zero Replay

In a league that has suffered some less-than-ideal setbacks as of late, there was a big win on Saturday. The game broadcast quality was flawless. Evergreen Now did an amazing job of providing fans with an uninterrupted and quality stream allowing them to focus on a very fun game. In the process showing streaming services can produce brodacast television quality feeds. One fan mentioned this may have been the best game feed he had ever witnessed from the Southwest Kasnas Storm in his time as an arena football fan. This is a great sign of things to come for the league and their streaming partners.

https://www.evergreennow.tv/videos/nashville-kats-vs-sw-kansas-storm-03-09-2025-02-56-10

In case you missed the news, the AF1 has partnered with www.bettoredge.com to provide a sports betting outlet for fans so inclined. They have also partnered with Altfantasysports.com to provide a fantasy football outlet for the 2025 season. These two things should help draw in more casual fans and help the Storm continue to grow their foothold in 2025.