The Kansas City Phantoms have had a real rough go of it in their inaugural season.

Going into Saturday’s home contest against the Bismarck Bucks, the Phantoms haven’t won a home game, were 1-8 with seven straight losses and out of the playoff picture.

But the end of Saturday’s game had a different feel to it, one which the Phantoms hadn’t experienced in awhile.

In a game they controlled after halftime, Kansas City nearly gave it away but was able to come though with a 42-39 victory in the Champions Indoor Football contest at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena.

It had been since March 18 that the Phantoms had tasted victory. But players and coach Chris Coffin said it felt good to be on the right side of the ledger for once.

“Our record doesn’t tell the story of this team,” said Phantoms defensive lineman Ben Pister. “We had a couple of close games and we gave games away. Finally – that’s a good word to describe this win. Should have happened earlier.”

Phantoms wide receiver O.J. Simpson said he was glad to be able to bring a win to the same town he played high school football in at Truman High School.

Added Simpson: “It’s a long time coming. We worked hard to get here.” Owners, coaches and players know it was a team effort. But Simpson was a big part of the victory with two big kick returns into Bucks territory – one to the 5-yard line and one to the 12. Simpson also rushed for 12 yards on two attempts and scored one touchdown and he also caught two passes for 13 yards.

“My blockers opened some big holes for me,” Simpson said. “I just ran north and south like all my coaches have taught me.”

But perhaps the biggest reason for the Phantoms win was quarterback Derrick Bernard, who signed with the team in late April. He came from the Nebraska Danger, where he was a backup as he took over for Frank Seurer. The Phantoms lost by 1 and 8 points in his first two games but he broke through with his first career win as a Phantom.

He was 10 of 21 passing for 92 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed 17 times for 97 yards and two scores.

“He’s brought a different attitude to our team,” Phantoms coach Chris Coffin said of Bernard. “You can see he’s very confident in himself and the other guys are feeding off that.”

He opened the scoring when he got a Bucks pass rusher to bite on a pump fake and he took off for a 25-yard touchdown run. The play fired up the Phantoms after Bernard took a late hit from a Bismarck defender after getting into the end zone, prompting both teams to get into a scrum.

“It always does when someone tries to get a good lick on me,” Bernard said when asked if the late hit amped up the team. “They usually do that a lot of games. And to see my teammates rally around me like that, it’s so uplifting.”

Bismarck later took a 14-10 lead but the Phantoms scored consecutive touchdowns on impressive throws from Bernard to take a 24-14 halftime lead. On the first, Bernard hit Anthony Parks in the back of the end zone and on the second, he fit a throw between two converging defenders that Parks somehow caught with 1.8 seconds left in the half.

“It wasn’t so much me but that catch was a lot on Anthony,” Bernard said. “He told me all week to trust him and give him a shot and just put it in a spot where only he could get it, and he came up with it like he said he would.”

Bismarck kept it close in the second half and took advantage of a fumble by Bernard for a touchdown to make it 24-21. But each time the Bucks cut the lead to single digits, the Phantoms found a way to score.

Simpson scored on a left sweep from 7 yards out, Dallas Herndon made a 25-yard field goal and Bernard scored on a 1-yard touchdown run and ran one in for a two-point conversion on a fake kick to make it 42-31 with 10:31 left.

The Phantoms got an interception from Dontra Matthews on the Bucks’ ensuing possession. They had a chance to put the game away as they made it to the Bucks’ 1-yard line. But they were stuffed, giving Bismarck new life as it scored on a touchdown pass with 45.4 seconds left.

However, Kansas City recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock to send the home crowd happy for the first time this season.

“The win was big just to get these guys some confidence and have them feel good about themselves,” Coffin said. “It’s a little extra special that it came at home. The mood is a lot different than what it was the past few weeks.”

Giving a big assist to Bernard was the Phantoms’ defense, which got two interceptions and a pair of fourth-down stops. Brandon Jenkins and Pister each had two sacks.

“Absolutely,” Pister said when asked if this was the Phantoms’ best defensive game. “We had trouble on third downs all year and getting off the field. We really came together today. Good to avenge a loss from earlier in the year.”