Chicago Rush game notes

Published on March 30, 2004 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Chicago Rush News Release


The Quick Facts
TV: None
Radio: ESPN Radio 1000 ... Tom Dore, John Jurkovic
Overall Series Record: Rush leads 2-0
Streak: Chicago has won two in a row
Last Meeting: March 16, 2003, Rush 68, Las Vegas 48
Coaches (regular season records):
Mike Hohensee (73-66 — 11th season)
Frank Haege (17-13 — 3rd season)
Officials: Bill Athan (Referee), Rick DiBernardo (Umpire), Tim Podraza (Head Linesman), Roger McMinn (Line Judge), Tony Lombardo (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 L 47-53 17,597
March 14 BYE
March 21 Orlando W 58-15 14,552
March 28 Detroit* L 71-72 14,837
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
Colorado 6-2-0 361 374 2-1-0
RUSH 5-2-0 396 305 3-1-0
Detroit 3-4-0 347 362 2-1-0
Indiana 3-5-0 379 347 1-2-0
Grand Rapids 0-7-0 237 377 0-3-0



VIVA LAS VEGAS: The Rush looks to bounce back from its 72-71 loss to Detroit this week when it heads west to play Las Vegas Sunday. The Gladiators feature several former members of the Rush, including defensive coordinator Stan Davis, who spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach with Chicago, WR/DB Cornelius Bonner, Chicago's second all-time leading receiver, lineman Furnell Hankton and WR/LB Anthony Ladd, members of the Rush each of the past three seasons and DS Marvin Taylor, who was with the Rush in 2002 and 2003.

The Rush holds a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series with the Gladiators, defeating the New Jersey Gladiators 44-14 at Allstate Arena in 2002 and knocking off Las Vegas 68-48 last season at the Thomas & Mack Center.

FURY OUTGUNS RUSH IN SHOOTOUT: In the highest-scoring game in Rush history and the highest-scoring game in the league this year, the Detroit Fury defeated the Rush 72-71 Sunday at Allstate Arena. Fury QB Andy Kelly scored with three seconds left in the game to give Detroit the lead, and after a touchback on the ensuing kickoff, Rush QB Raymond Philyaw was sacked for the first time this season on the game's final play.

McMILLEN APPROACHING 1,000: Rush FB Bob McMillen, who currently is third in the AFL in rushing, needs just 6 more yards to become the fifth player in AFL history to rush for 1,000 career yards. McMillen, with 130 yards this year, has set a Rush record for rushing yards in a season, breaking Jamie McGourty's team record of 122 yards set last year. In addition, McMillen has 52 career rushing touchdowns, which ranks him 6th on the AFL's all-time list. Earlier this season, McMillen became the first player in AFL history to rush for 100 or more yards in six-consecutive seasons.

AFL Rushing Leaders:
Player Team G Att. Yards Avg. Long TD
Curran NO 8 39 190 4.9 20 12
McPherson Ind 6 34 140 4.1 27 11
McMillen Chi 7 35 130 3.7 9 9
Thomas Geo 7 26 121 4.7 14 6

GROUND GAME: As a team the Rush has gained 226 yards and scored 25 touchdowns on the ground in its first seven games. With nine games remaining the Rush should easily break its team record of 333 rushing yards in a season and is on pace to break the league single-season record of 47 rushing touchdowns, set last year by the San Jose SaberCats.

PHIL-YEAH!: QB Raymond Philyaw led the Rush to scoring drives on 11 of its 12 possessions Sunday against Detroit. The only possession in which the Rush did not score was when the team took over with three seconds left in the game and Philyaw was sacked attempting a "Hail Mary" pass. This season Philyaw has completed 107 of 164 passes for 1,452 yards and 24 touchdowns. Philyaw also has rushed for 24 yards and eight touchdowns, equaling his career-best for rushing touchdowns in a season with nine games to play.

NO PICKS: The Rush is the only team in the AFL that has not thrown an interception this season. Philyaw has opened the season with 164 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, and dating back to last season, has thrown 190 consecutive passes without being picked off. Previous to this year, the Rush had never played more than three games in a row without throwing an interception.

300-YARD PASSERS: Detroit's Andy Kelly passed for 306 yards last week against the Rush defense, marking only the seventh time in the team's 51 regular season games that it has allowed a 300-yard passer. Kelly became just the fourth different quarterback to accomplish the feat, joining Aaron Garcia, Donnie Davis and this week's opposing QB Clint Dolezel. Dolezel has faced the Rush six times in the regular season, eclipsing the 300-yard mark in three of his six games.

Rush opponent's 300-yard passing games:
Player Date Yards
Clint Dolezel 7/7/01 @ Grand Rapids 342
Aaron Garcia 3/23/03 vs. New York 339
Clint Dolezel 5/4/02 vs. Grand Rapids 321
Clint Dolezel 3/29/03 @ Grand Rapids 317
Andy Kelly 3/28/04 vs. Detroit 306
Donnie Davis 5/18/02 vs. Georgia 304
Aaron Garcia 6/30/02 vs. New York 303

SACK ATTACK: James Baron recorded his third sack of the season Sunday, giving him 36.5 for his career and moving him into fourth place on the league's all-time list. Baron needs just one more sack to equal his total from the entire 2003 season.

Here are Chicago's season and career sack leaders:
Player Season Player Career
John Moyer 9.0 (2003) John Moyer 17.0
Anthony Hutch 5.5 (2001) James Baron 10.0
John Moyer 4.0 (2004) Anthony Hutch 6.5
John Moyer 4.0 (2002) Riley Kleinhesselink 5.0
James Baron 4.0 (2003) Tony Henderson 4.0
Tony Henderson 4.0 (2001) Jamie McGourty 3.5
James Baron 3.0 (2004)
James Baron 3.0 (2002)

PROTECT THAT QB: In addition to putting pressure on opposing QBs, Chicago is tied for the league lead in fewest sacks allowed, giving up only two QB sacks this season. 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.

SAWYER ANCHORS SECONDARY: Despite missing last week's game with a neck strain, DS Corey Sawyer remains the team's leading tackler and one of this season's most valuable members of the Rush. He recorded a career-high 10.5 tackles and two passes broken up March 21 vs. Orlando. He leads the Rush in tackles with 35 and is tied for the AFL lead in passes defended with 13.

M*A*S*H UNIT: Chicago's injury-riddled season continued last week as the Rush played Detroit without defensive specialist Corey Sawyer and FB/LB Jamie McGourty. Sawyer sat out last week's game with a neck strain and McGourty missed his second-consecutive game with an ankle injury sustained March 7 at Philadelphia.
Here is a rundown of Chicago's other injuries this season:
- DS Malcom Moore suffered an open fracture of the left tibia and fibula March 21 while breaking up a pass intended for Orlando receiver Sean Riley. Moore underwent successful surgery to insert a stabilizing rod and will miss the remainder of the season.
- FB/LB Levelle Brown separated his right shoulder in the first quarter of the team's March 21st game against Orlando. He was placed on IR March 26 and is expected to miss between four and six weeks.
- 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.
- WR/DB Josh Phillips suffered a shoulder injury February 14 at New York and was placed on IR February 19. He is out indefinitely.
- 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.
- In addition, defensive specialist Greg Williams missed five games after undergoing surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his hand, Kareem Larrimore missed one game with a sprained ankle and offensive specialist Jeremy McDaniel missed one game with a groin injury.

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
- has a regular season record of 73-66 (including a
29-22 mark with the Rush) ... has a career 5-7 mark in the postseason.
- has led the Rush to three-consecutive playoff berths and a 2002 Central Division title.
- 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).
- is 2-0 all-time vs. the Gladiators.

All-Time Winningest AFL Coaches
Including Postseason
Coach Team Wins This Week
Tim Marcum Tampa Bay 158 vs. San Jose
Danny White Arizona 126 at Grand Rapids
Perry Moss 86
Mike Hohensee Rush 78 at Las Vegas
Michael Trigg Philadelphia 76 vs. Dallas
John Gregory Carolina 73 vs. New York

MOLDEN EMERGING: Rookie WR/LB Etu Molden has emerged as one of the league's top rookie receivers. For the season, Molden ranks third among all rookies in receptions with 30. Only Detroit OS David Hill (33) and Dallas WR/LB Bobby Sippio (32) have more catches than Molden.

Here is how Molden stacks up against the league's other top rookie receivers:

AFL Rookie Receiving Leaders:
Player Team G Rec. Yards Avg TD
Hill Det 6 33 453 13.7 9
Sippio Dal 7 32 544 17.0 15
Molden Chi 7 30 358 11.9 8
Hines Ind 8 26 322 12.4 4

TOPPING THE CENTURY MARK: Lineman James Baron has played in 107 consecutive regular season AFL games, having never missed a game in his seven-year career. Including postseason, Baron's consecutive game streak stands at 120 games.

Baron has played in more AFL games than any other Rush player. Next on the Rush list for AFL service are Bob McMillen (102 regular season games), John Moyer (71), John Sikora (67), Frank Moore (66) and Jamie McGourty (58).

TALE OF THE TAPE:
Chicago Category (Rank) Las Vegas
7 Games 8
56.6 (2) Scoring Offense 51.0 (7)
43.6 (3) Scoring Defense 50.9 (13)
247.4 (14) Total Offense 304.5 (2)
226.0 (2) Total Defense 236.5 (3)
35-38, 92.1% Red Zone Offense 34-41,82.9%
24-31, 77.4% Red Zone Defense 32-43,74.4%
215.1 (16) Pass Offense 293.1 (1)
197.3 (1) Pass Defense 206.6 (2)
32.3 (3) Rushing Offense 11.4 (17)
28.7 (16) Rushing Defense 29.9 (17)
396 (3) Scoring 408 (2)
60 (T-6) Scoring (Kicking) 60 (T-6)
40-791-3 Kickoff Returns 49-732-0
19.8 Kick Return Average 14.9
42-791-3 Combined Returns 53-755-0
18.8 Combined Return Average 14.2
+12 (1) Turnover Margin -5 (T-13)
6-10, 60% Field Goals 4-8, 50.0%
42-50, 84.0% PAT Kicking 48-54,88.9%
13-61 Sacks By 6-44
2-13 (T) Sacks Against 3-8
17-32, 53.1% Third Down Conversion 30-50,60.0%
4-6, 66.7% Fourth Down Conversion 7-8, 87.5%
60-370 Penalties (#-Yards) 74-412
51-271 Opp. Penalties (#-Yards) 70-424
Bold – Leads League

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

Raymond Philyaw: average gain (2nd—8.85 yards), passer rating (2nd—129.9), completion percentage (4th—65.2), interceptions thrown (1st—0), rushing touchdowns (5th—8), fumble recoveries (T-8th—2)

Lindsay Fleshman: interceptions (T-2nd—3), interception returns for touchdown (T-3rd—1)

Keith Gispert: field goal percentage (min. 10 att.) (T-1st—60, 6-10), scoring (kickers) (6th—60 points), touchbacks on kickoffs (T-5th—14)

Bob McMillen: rushing yards (3rd—130), rushing attempts (T-2nd—35), rushing touchdowns (T-3rd—9), fumble recoveries (T-3rd—3)

John Moyer: fumble recoveries (T-8th—2), sacks (T-3rd—4.0)

Donnie Caldwell: fumble recoveries (T-8th—2)

Kareem Larrimore: kickoff return average (8th—20.4), kickoff returns for touchdown (T-8th—1)

Etu Molden: interceptions (T-8th-2)

James Baron: sacks (T-6th—3.0)

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)
Jeremy McDaniel (3/21 vs. Orlando)

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)
James Baron (3/21 vs. Orlando)
Lindsay Fleshman (3/28 vs. Detroit)

U.S. Army Ironman of the Game:
Lindsay Fleshman (2/8 vs. Grand Rapids, 3/28 vs. Detroit)
DeJuan Alfonzo (2/14 @ New York)
Jamie McGourty (2/22 vs. Colorado)
Kareem Larrimore (2/29 @ Indiana)
Bob McMillen (3/21 vs. Orlando)

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)
Bob McMillen (3/21 vs. Orlando)

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

ADT Defensive Player of the Month:
John Moyer (February)

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 30, 2004


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