Chicago Rush game notes

Published on April 7, 2004 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Chicago Rush News Release


The Quick Facts
TV: NBC...Tom Hammond, Pat Haden, Lewis Johnson
Radio: ESPN Radio 1000 ... Tom Dore, John Jurkovic
Overall Series Record: Tampa Bay leads 1-0
Last Meeting: May 10, 2002. Tampa Bay 66, Rush 53
Coaches (regular season records):
Mike Hohensee (74-66 — 11th season)
Tim Marcum (136-53 — 16th season)
Officials: David Lambros (Referee), Al Granado (Umpire), Mike McCabe (Head Linesman), Arthur Lucky (Line Judge), David Cutaia (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 W 57-55 10,310
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 6-2-0 453 360 3-1-0
Colorado 6-3-0 403 419 2-2-0
Detroit 4-4-0 389 402 2-1-0
Indiana 4-5-0 424 389 2-2-0
Grand Rapids 0-8-0 278 428 0-3-0



HERE COME THE CHAMPS: The defending ArenaBowl Champion Tampa Bay Storm makes its first-ever trip to Allstate Arena this weekend. The game features two of the most familiar faces in the Arena Football League in head coaches Mike Hohensee and Tim Marcum. Hohensee has been involved in the AFL as a player or coach in each of the league's 18 seasons, while Marcum is the AFL's all-time winningest coach with seven ArenaBowl titles to his credit.

THE LAST TIME...: The Rush and Storm's only previous meeting occurred in May 2002, when Tampa Bay defeated Chicago 66-53 at the Ice Palace. Tampa QB Shane Stafford, replacing an injured John Kaleo, completed 26-35 passes for 243 yards and six touchdowns, including three to Lawrence Samuels as the Storm outscored the Rush 35-12 in the second and third quarters to put the game out of reach.

RUSH ESCAPES LAS VEGAS WITH WIN: Rookie WR/LB Etu Molden grabbed Raymond Philyaw's "Hail Mary" pass off the net for a touchdown with no time remaining to give the Rush an improbable 57-55 win in Las Vegas Sunday. Trailing for much of the game, the momentum turned when Rush lineman John Moyer blocked an extra-point attempt with one minute remaining in the game. The bouncing ball was scooped up by FB/LB Jamie McGourty and returned for two points, cutting the Gladiators' lead to four. After the teams traded touchdowns, Chicago began its final drive trailing 55-51 with just 25 seconds to play.

PLAYOFF SEEDINGS TAKING SHAPE: As the Rush enters the second half of the season, the 2004 playoff seedings are beginning to take shape. Only eight teams will qualify for the playoffs this year and the Rush currently holds the third playoff spot.

Here is a look at the current seedings:
Team W L
New Orleans 7 1
San Jose 7 1
Chicago 6 2
Colorado 6 3
Austin 5 3
Dallas 5 3
Los Angeles 5 3
New York 5 3
=========================
Detroit 4 4
Arizona 4 5
Georgia 4 5
Indiana 4 5
Philadelphia 4 5

RUSH ACQUIRES MILLIGAN: Looking to bolster its secondary the Rush Monday acquired defensive specialist Hamin Milligan from New Orleans in exchange for rookie FB/LB Chris Browning. Milligan was Arizona's top defensive back this season, recording 33 tackles, two interceptions and six passes broken up in six games before being released last week. He was claimed by New Orleans, but did not appear in a game with the VooDoo. Milligan will be available to play this weekend and will wear uniform No. 3.

HOHENSEE LOOKING FOR 80: Rush head coach Mike Hohensee is just one win away from becoming only the fourth head coach in AFL history to win 80 career games. If Hohensee plans to get number 80 this weekend, he will have to defeat the league's all-time winningest coach, Tim Marcum. Hohensee, in his 11th season as a head coach in the AFL, was hired as the first coach in Rush history on September 26, 2000. He
- has a regular season record of 74-66 (including a
30-22 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 3-6 all-time against Tim Marcum – 1-2 as a player and 2-4 as a coach.

All-Time Winningest AFL Coaches
Including Postseason
Coach Team Wins This Week
Tim Marcum Tampa Bay 161 at Chicago
Danny White Arizona 127 vs. Las Vegas
Perry Moss 86
Mike Hohensee Rush 79 vs. Tampa Bay
Michael Trigg Philadelphia 77 Bye
John Gregory Carolina 73 at Indiana

McMILLEN APPROACHING 1,000: Rush FB Bob McMillen, who currently is fourth in the AFL in rushing, needs just two more yards to become the fifth player in AFL history to rush for 1,000 career yards. McMillen, with 134 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 7 39 146 3.7 27 12
Thomas Geo 8 27 138 5.1 17 7
McMillen Chi 8 37 134 3.6 9 9

GROUND GAME: As a team the Rush has gained 238 yards and scored 28 touchdowns on the ground in its first eight games. With eight 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.

BETTER AFTER THE BREAK: The Rush has reached the midpoint of its season with a 6-2 record – the best record at the midpoint of a season in the team's four-year history. In each of the past two seasons the Rush has improved in the second half of the season. Here is a look at the team's record in the first and second halves of the past three seasons:

First Half Second Half Final Record
2001 4-3 3-4 7-7
2002 4-3 5-2 9-5
2003 3-5 5-3 8-8
2004 6-2 ?? ??

PHIL-YEAH!: Rush QB Raymond Philyaw saw his streak of 199 consecutive passes without an interception come to an end in the second quarter Sunday when a pass intended for Etu Molden in the end zone deflected off the net and was picked off by Dennis Robinson. Despite his mistake Philyaw played well, leading the Rush to touchdowns on each of its eight other possessions.

For the season Philyaw has completed 127 of 198 passes for 1,687 yards and 28 touchdowns. He also has rushed for a career-high nine touchdowns this season.

RUSH TOUGH AT HOME: The Rush is 3-1 at Allstate Arena this season and 17-9 all-time. Chicago's offense has been especially potent at home this season, averaging 61 points a game, as compared to 52 points per game on the road. Overall, the Rush ranks third in the AFL in scoring offense, averaging 56.6 points per game.

SACK ATTACK: Jamie McGourty recorded his second sack of the year Sunday, giving the Rush defense 14 sacks for the season – second most in the AFL (Orlando 17). The Rush team record for sacks in a season is 19 (2003).

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) Jamie McGourty 4.5
Tony Henderson 4.0 (2001) Tony Henderson 4.0
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 (Las Vegas, New Orleans), giving up only three 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: After missing Chicago's March 28th game with a neck strain, DS Corey Sawyer returned to the lineup against Las Vegas and recorded 4.5 tackles and one pass broken up. Sawyer heads into this week's matchup with his former team as Chicago's leader in tackles (39.5) and passes defended (14). He also ranks among the league leaders in tackles (T-12th) and passes defended (T-5).

SUCCESS ON SPECIAL TEAMS: The Rush special teams have provided several big plays this season in the form of kick returns and blocked kicks. In the team's first eight games the Rush has returned four kickoffs for touchdowns, two by Kareem Larrimore and one each by DeJuan Alfonzo and Etu Molden. Last season the Rush returned seven kickoffs for touchdowns.

In addition the Rush special teams has blocked five extra-point attempts this season – three by John Moyer and two by James Baron. Two of the blocked kicks have been scooped up and returned for two points for the Rush, including one in last week's win at Las Vegas.

MOLDEN EMERGING: Even before he caught the game-winning touchdown pass off the net in Las Vegas Sunday, Rookie WR/LB Etu Molden had emerged as one of the league's top rookie receivers. For the season, Molden ranks second among all rookies in receptions with 38.

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
Hines Ind 9 39 518 13.3 7
Molden Chi. 8 38 490 12.9 10
Fontaine Aus. 5 37 679 18.4 16
Hill Det 7 36 480 13.3 9
Sippio Dal 8 32 544 17.0 15

GETTING HEALTHY: The Rush enters this week's game against Tampa Bay as healthy as it has been since the season's opening week. WR/DB Donnie Caldwell – out for the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee – is the only player who was on Chicago's 20-man active roster Week 1 who will not be healthy this week.

Here is a rundown of Chicago's other main 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 Josh Phillips suffered a shoulder injury February 14 at New York and was placed on IR February 19. He is out indefinitely.
- Defensive specialist Greg Williams missed five games after undergoing surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his hand.
- FB/LB Jamie McGourty missed two games with a sprained ankle suffered in the team's loss at Philadelphia.
- DS Kareem Larrimore missed one game with a sprained ankle.
- Offensive specialist Jeremy McDaniel missed one game with a groin injury.

TOPPING THE CENTURY MARK: Lineman James Baron has played in 108 consecutive regular season AFL games, having never missed a game in his seven-year career. Including postseason, Baron's consecutive game streak stands at 121 games.

Baron has played in more AFL games than any other Rush player. Next on the Rush list for AFL service are Bob McMillen (103 regular season games), John Moyer (72), John Sikora (68), Frank Moore (67) and Jamie McGourty (59).

TALE OF THE TAPE:

Chicago Category (Rank) Tampa Bay
8 Games 9
56.6 (3) Scoring Offense 47.9 (11)
45.0 (T-4) Scoring Defense 48.8 (11)
246.1 (13) Total Offense 266.9 (6)
240.6 (4) Total Defense 236.4 (1)
40-44, 90.9% Red Zone Offense 28-46, 60.9%
27-34, 79.4% Red Zone Defense 21-29, 72.4%
216.4 (16) Pass Offense 253.9 (6)
208.0 (1) Pass Defense 224.3 (5)
39.8 (5) Rushing Offense 13.0 (18)
32.6 (18) Rushing Defense 12.1 (3)
453 (4) Scoring 431 (8)
65 (8) Scoring (Kicking) 69 (6)
46-943-4 Kickoff Returns 50-811-0
20.5 Kick Return Average 16.2
48-943-4 Combined Returns 55-868-0
19.6 Combined Return Average 15.8
+11 (T-1) Turnover Margin +3 (7)
6-10, 60% Field Goals 8-15, 53.3%
47-56, 83.9% PAT Kicking 45-52,86.5%
14-63 Sacks By 11-48
3-23 (T) Sacks Against 6-40
21-37, 56.8% Third Down Conversion 30-67, 44.8%
5-7, 71.4% Fourth Down Conversion 5-18, 27.8%
68-419 Penalties (#-Yards) 67-376
63-333 Opp. Penalties (#-Yards) 76-442
Bold – Leads League

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

Raymond Philyaw: average gain (2nd—8.52 yards), passer rating (3rd—124.3), completion percentage (6th—64.1), interceptions thrown (T-1st—1), rushing touchdowns (T-4th—9), fumble recoveries (T-4th—3), fourth-quarter passing (1st—141.4)

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

Keith Gispert: field goal percentage (min. 10 att.) (2nd—60, 6-10), scoring (kickers) (7th—65 points), touchbacks on kickoffs (T-4th—18)

Bob McMillen: rushing yards (4th—134), rushing attempts (3rd—37), rushing touchdowns (T-4th—9), fumble recoveries (T-4th—3)

John Moyer: sacks (T-3rd—4.0)

Kareem Larrimore: kickoff return average (6th—21.7), kickoff returns for touchdown (T-3rd—2)

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

James Baron: sacks (T-7th—3.0)

Corey Sawyer: passes defended (T-5th – 14)

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)
Etu Molden (4/4 @ Las Vegas)

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, 4/4 @ Las Vegas)
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)

RUSH PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Practice for the week of April 5:
Tuesday, April 6 – Players off
Wednesday, April 7 – Player meetings only
Thursday, April 8 – 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Friday, April 9 – 10:15 a.m. to Noon
Saturday, April 10 – 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

All practices will be held at the team's Palatine practice facility, Soccer Enterprise,.

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 7, 2004


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