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Chicago Rush game notes

March 2, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Chicago Rush News Release


The Quick Facts
TV: NBC ... Bob Papa, Ray Bentley, Via Sikahema
Radio: ESPN Radio 1000 ... Tom Dore, John Jurkovic
Overall Series Record: First Meeting
Coaches (regular season records):
Mike Hohensee (72-64 — 11th season)
Michael Trigg (71-69 — 11th season)
Officials: Dennis Lipski (Referee), Matt Jordan (Umpire), Neil Brunner (Head Linesman), Bob McElwee (Line Judge), Joe Duncan (Back Judge)

2004 Chicago Rush Schedule
February 8 Grand Rapids* W 50-30 15,552
February 14 @ New York W 56-54 10,720
February 22 Colorado* W 65-35 15,406
February 29 @ Indiana* W 49-46 12,198
March 7 @ Philadelphia 11 a.m. NBC
March 14 BYE
March 21 Orlando 11 a.m. NBC
March 28 Detroit* 2 p.m.
April 4 @ Las Vegas 5 p.m.
April 11 Tampa Bay 2 p.m. NBC
April 16 @ San Jose 9:30 p.m.
April 25 Los Angeles 2 p.m. NBC
May 2 @ Detroit * 2 p.m. NBC
May 8 @ Grand Rapids* 6:30 p.m.
May 16 Dallas 2 p.m. NBC
May 23 Indiana* 2 p.m. NBC
May 30 @ Colorado* 3 p.m. NBC

*Central Division Game ... All times Central


American Conference — Central Division
2004 Standings
W-L-T PF PA Division
RUSH 4-0-0 220 165 3-0-0
Colorado 3-1-0 170 179 1-1-0
Detroit 2-1-0 125 114 1-0-0
Indiana 0-4-0 159 178 0-2-0
Grand Rapids 0-4-0 112 218 0-2-0



HIGH FIVE?: In Chicago's final game before its bye week, the Rush looks to go 5-0 as it travels to the City of Brotherly Love to take on Jon Bon Jovi's expansion Philadelphia Soul. The Rush has won five-consecutive regular season road games while the Soul (1-3) returns home after a heart-breaking loss Sunday in Tampa. Down 40-37 with just 20 seconds remaining, Soul QB Nick Browder fumbled the football on Tampa's 15-yard line and Tampa's Lawrence Samuels recovered to win the game.

RUSH WINS THRILLER IN INDY: Trailing 46-41 with one minute and no timeouts remaining, Chicago Rush WR/LB Etu Molden returned an Indiana on-side kick 14 yards for a touchdown, helping secure a wild, come-from-behind 49-46 win Sunday against the Indiana Firebirds. Rush QB Raymond Philyaw turned in another solid performance in his return to Conseco Fieldhouse, completing 16 of 23 passes for 161 yards and four touchdowns. Philyaw also added a rushing touchdown and, again, did not throw an interception.

TIME FOR A BREAK: The upcoming bye week will give the Rush a chance to take a week break after Sunday's game at Philadelphia. The Rush returns from its off-week with back-to-back home games March 21 against Orlando and March 28 vs. Detroit.

MUST SEE TV: For the fourth-consecutive week, the Rush posted strong TV ratings in Chicago. Sunday's last-second win over Indiana garnered a 2.55 rating locally – placing 2004 Rush TV ratings 80% higher than last season's average rating.

M*A*S*H UNIT: The Rush has managed to open the season 4-0 despite several key injuries to its defensive backfield. Here is a rundown of Chicago's injury woes:
8 OS Jeremy McDaniel sat out Sunday's game in Indiana with a slight groin strain. McDaniel had recorded 14 catches for 129 yards in the team's first three games and should return Sunday at Philadelphia.
8 WR/DB Donnie Caldwell was placed on IR February 26 and is out for the season after tearing the ACL in his right knee vs. Colorado (2/22). At the time of his injury, Caldwell was the team's second-leading tackler, recording 11.5 tackles and an interception.
8 WR/DB Josh Phillips suffered a shoulder injury February 14 at New York and was placed on IR February 19. He is out indefinitely.
8 DS DaShane Dennis suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee February 14 at New York. He was placed on IR and is out until late-March.
8 DS Greg Williams ruptured the flexor tendon in his left ring finger and underwent successful surgery February 10. He was placed on IR and will be out until at least mid-April.
KEEP THAT OFFENSE CLICKIN': The Rush scored on eight of its 10 possessions (7 TDs 1, FG) Sunday at Indiana, and for the season, has scored on 34 of 39 possessions (31 TDs, 3 FGs) – not including the final possession in two games when the team chose to run out the clock.

PHIL-YEAH!: QB Raymond Philyaw continues his solid play, opening the season completing 67 of 103 passes for 797 yards and 14 touchdowns. Philyaw also has rushed for 22 yards and six touchdowns in the season's first three weeks.

NO PICKS: Most importantly, Philyaw has yet to throw an interception this season. Philyaw has opened the season with 103 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, and dating back to last season, Philyaw has thrown 129 consecutive passes without being picked off. It marks the first time in team history that the Rush has played four-consecutive games without throwing an interception. Chicago joins Orlando, Los Angeles and San Jose as the four teams in the league that have not thrown an interception in 2004.

McMILLEN 100-100: Sunday's game against Philadelphia should prove to be a memorable day for Rush FB/LB Bob McMillen. McMillen will play in his 100th regular season AFL game, and with just six rushing yards will eclipse the 100-yard rushing mark for the sixth-consecutive season. No player in the history of the Arena Football League has ever rushed for 100 or more yards in six consecutive seasons. Indiana FB Leroy Thompson currently has a string of five-consecutive 100-yard seasons, and needs just 42 yards to make it six in a row, and Tampa FB Andre Bowden has eclipsed the 100-yard mark six times (1991-93 and 1998-2000), but not in six consecutive seasons.

RUSHING TO THE RECORD BOOKS: McMillen's 94 rushing yards this season ranks him second in the league behind Dan Curran of New Orleans (96). McMillen, who led the AFL in rushing in 1999 with Arizona, needs just 42 more rushing yards to become the fifth player in AFL history to rush for 1,000 career yards.

MOLDEN EMERGING: Rookie WR/LB Etu Molden is emerging as one of Philyaw's favorite targets. Molden has been the team's leading receiver in each of the last two weeks, scoring a career-high four touchdowns in Sunday's win over Indiana. For the season Molden has 17 catches for 168 yards and seven touchdowns (six receiving, one return).

KICKIN' IT: Kicker Keith Gispert is proving that he has no plans to suffer through a sophomore slump after earning AFL All-Rookie honors in 2003. Gispert has converted 23 of his 27 PAT attempts and three of his four field goal attempts this season.

LARRIMORE BRINGS ONE BACK: DS Kareem Larrimore had a breakout game returning kicks vs. Indiana Sunday. Larrimore returned six kicks for 173 yards, including a 55-yard return for a touchdown. It was Larrimore's first regular-season kick return for a touchdown. His only previous TD return was a 57-yard kickoff return in the 2002 playoffs against the Rush.

TOPPING THE CENTURY MARK: Lineman James Baron has played in 104 consecutive regular season AFL games, having never missed a game in his seven-year career. Including postseason, Baron's consecutive game streak stands at 117 games.

Baron has played in more AFL games than any other Rush player. Next on the Rush list for AFL service are Bob McMillen (99 regular season games), John Moyer (68), John Sikora (64), Frank Moore (63) and Jamie McGourty (57).

PROTECT THAT QB: The Rush is one of just two teams that have not allowed a quarterback sack this season (Columbus). Chicago has become one of the better teams in the league in protecting its quarterback. In 2002 the Rush led the league, allowing only three QB sacks all season. Last season, the Rush ranked fifth in the AFL, giving up 12 sacks.

SACK ATTACK: The Rush defense continues to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks, with four different Rush players recording sacks this year. Sunday, John Moyer recorded the 20th sack of his AFL career, the 15th as a member of the Rush. James Baron, a six-time All-Arena performer ranks 5th on the AFL's career sack leaders list with 34.5 career sacks.

Here are Chicago's season and career sack leaders:
Player Season Player Career
John Moyer 9.0 (2003) John Moyer 15.0
Anthony Hutch 5.5 (2001) James Baron 8.0
John Moyer 4.0 (2002) Anthony Hutch 6.5
James Baron 4.0 (2003) Riley Kleinhesselink 4.5
Tony Henderson 4.0 (2001) Tony Henderson 4.0
James Baron 3.0 (2002) Jamie McGourty 3.5
Riley Kleinhesselink 2.5 (2001)
John Moyer 2.0 (2004)

HEAD COACH MIKE HOHENSEE is in his 11th season as a head coach in the Arena Football League. Hohensee was hired as the first coach in Rush history on September 26, 2000. He
8 has a regular season record of 72-64 (including a
28-20 mark with the Rush) ... has a career 5-7 mark in the postseason.
8 has led the Rush to three-consecutive playoff berths and a 2002 Central Division title.
8 became the sixth head coach in AFL history to achieve 70 career wins (postseason wins included) ... his 70th win was April 13, 2003, at Colorado (76-58).

All-Time Winningest AFL Coaches
Including Postseason
Coach Team Wins This Week
Tim Marcum Tampa Bay 157 at New Orleans
Danny White Arizona 125 vs. Columbus
Perry Moss 86
Mike Hohensee Rush 77 at Philadelphia
Michael Trigg Philadelphia 74 vs. Chicago
John Gregory 72

TALE OF THE TAPE:
Chicago Category (Rank) Philadelphia
4 Games 4
55.0 (T-2) Scoring Offense 43.5 (13)
41.25 (3) Scoring Defense 41.75 (4)
242.5 (14) Total Offense 250.5 (T-12)
202.0 (1) Total Defense 268.0 (14)
21-22, 95.5% Red Zone Offense 14-21,66.7%
13-18, 72.2% Red Zone Defense 7-16, 43.8%
199.0 (16) Pass Offense 227.0 (13)
184.8 (1) Pass Defense 240.0 (T-12)
43.5 (2) Rushing Offense 23.5 (6)
17.3 (4) Rushing Defense 28.0 (16)
220 (T-1) Scoring 174 (10)
32 (T-4) Scoring (Kicking) 24 (12)
23-461-2 Kickoff Returns 19-368-1
20.0 Kick Return Average 19.4
24-461-2 Combined Returns 27-480-2
19.2 Combined Return Average 17.8
+6 (T-1) Turnover Margin -2 (T-11)
3-4, 75% Field Goals 2-10, 20.0%
23-27, 85.2% PAT Kicking 18-22, 81.2
6-24 Sacks By 0-0
0-0 Sacks Against 5-33
14-23, 60.9% Third Down Conversion 13-28,46.4%
3-4, 75% Fourth Down Conversion 2-5, 40%
31-210 Penalties (#-Yards) 31-205
23-128 Opp. Penalties (#-Yards) 30-188

Bold – Leads League

INDIVIDUAL LEAGUE LEADERS: The following Rush players are among the 2004 AFL league leaders.

Raymond Philyaw: average gain (4th—7.80 yards), passer rating (4th—123.7), completion percentage (6th—65.7), interceptions thrown (T-1st—0), rushing touchdowns (2nd—6)

Lindsay Fleshman: interceptions (T-1st—2), interception return for TD (T-1st—1)

Keith Gispert: field goal percentage (1st—75, 3-4), scoring (kickers) (T-4—32 points)

Bob McMillen: rushing yards (2nd—94), rushing attempts (1st—22), rushing touchdowns (T-5th—3)

James Baron: sacks (T-9th—1)

Riley Kleinhesselink: sacks (T-9th—1)

Jamie McGourty: sacks (T-9th—1)

John Moyer: fumble recoveries (T-2nd—2), sacks (T-3rd—2)

Donnie Caldwell: fumble recoveries (T-2nd—2), interceptions (T-4th—1)

DeJuan Alfonzo: rushing yards (9th—26)

Greg Williams: interceptions (T-4th—1)

Corey Sawyer: interceptions (T-4th—1)

Kareem Larrimore: kickoff return average (4th—23.4), kickoff returns for touchdown (T-5th—1)

RUSH GAME AWARD WINNERS: The following Rush players have won individual game awards for their play this season:

Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game:
Raymond Philyaw (2/8 vs. Grand Rapids, 2/22 vs. Colorado)
Lindsay Fleshman (2/14 @ New York)

ADT Defensive Player of the Game:
Corey Sawyer (2/8 vs. Grand Rapids)
Donnie Caldwell (2/14 @ New York)
John Moyer (2/22 vs. Colorado)

U.S. Army Ironman of the Game:
Lindsay Fleshman (2/8 vs. Grand Rapids)
DeJuan Alfonzo (2/14 @ New York)
Jamie McGourty (2/22 vs. Colorado)
Kareem Larrimore (2/29 @ Indiana)

AFL WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS: The following Rush players have won AFL Weekly awards for their play this season:

ADT Defensive Player of the Week:
John Moyer (2/22 vs. Colorado)

RUSH PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Practice for the week of March 1:
Tuesday, March 2 – Players Off.
Wednesday, March 3 – 12:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 4 – 10:15 a.m. to Noon
Friday, March 5 – 10:15 a.m. to Noon
Saturday, March 6 – Meetings Only

All practices will be held at the team's Palatine practice facility, Soccer Enterprise, except Saturday's meetings, which will be held in Philadelphia.

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