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Chicago Rush game notes

February 2, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Chicago Rush News Release


The Quick Facts
TV: NBC...Tom Hammond, Pat Haden, Lewis Johnson
Radio: WCKG, 105.9 FM...Tom Dore, James Williams, Sharon Jackson
Overall Series Record: Soul leads 1-0
Last Meeting: March 7, 2004, Soul 53, Rush 47
Coaches (regular season records):
Mike Hohensee (79-70 — 12th season)
Michael Trigg (76-77 — 12th season)
Officials: Bill LeMonnier (Referee), Mike Delaney (Umpire), Allen Baynes (Head Linesman), Dana McKinzie (Line Judge), Billy Beckett (Back Judge)

2005 Chicago Rush Schedule
January 30 @ Dallas L, 65-66 11,229
February 6 Philadelphia Noon NBC
February 13 @ Colorado* 2 p.m. NBC
February 19 @ Columbus 6 p.m. FSN
February 25 Orlando 7:30 p.m. FSN
March 6 Nashville* 2 p.m. NBC
March 13 @ Grand Rapids* 11 a.m. NBC
March 20 New Orleans 11 a.m.
March 27 BYE
April 2 @ New York 6 p.m. FSN
April 10 San Jose Noon NBC
April 17 Colorado* Noon NBC
April 23 @ Los Angeles 9:30 p.m. FSN
May 1 Las Vegas Noon NBC
May 7 @ Arizona 9 p.m. FSN
May 15 Grand Rapids* Noon NBC
May 22 @ Nashville* 2 p.m. NBC

*Central Division Game ... All times Central


American Conference — Central Division
2005 Standings
W-L-T PF PA Division
Nashville 1-0-0 47 38 0-0
RUSH 0-1-0 65 66 0-0
Colorado 0-1-0 36 39 0-0
Grand Rapids 0-1-0 38 58 0-0

SUPER HOME OPENER: The Rush opens the home portion of its 2005 schedule by hosting Jon Bon Jovi's Philadelphia Soul on Super Bowl Sunday at Allstate Arena. The game is one of the season's most-anticipated matchups, as the Rush and Soul were picked by AFL experts to meet June 12 in ArenaBowl XIX Las Vegas.

RUSH FALLS TO DALLAS IN OT: The Rush opened the 2005 season Sunday in Dallas, falling to the Desperados 66-65 in overtime – the third time in six career meetings that the two teams have gone to OT. Dallas used a first quarter interception and a fumble recovery that was returned for a touchdown to build an early 35-13 lead. The Rush battled back to not only tie the game, but take a 56-48 lead in the fourth quarter. The Desperados then sent the game to overtime when Carlos Martinez hit a 22-yard field goal with two seconds remaining in regulation. Dallas scored first in the extra period, followed by a Rush TD from Etu Molden. However, when Molden's two-point attempt fell one yard short, the Desperados escaped with a one-point victory.

RUSH KNOWS HOW TO BOUNCE BACK: The Rush lost a total of five regular season games in 2004, and had only one two-game losing streak all season. Last year's Rush team knew how to rebound from a loss, going 4-1 after a loss and winning by an average of 18 points. The only time the team had back-to-back losses in 2004 was April 16 and April 25, when the Rush lost at San Jose and then at home to Los Angeles.

SOUL STOPPED STREAK IN 2004: The Rush entered its Week 5 game at Philadelphia last season with a 4-0 record, and was cruising to its fifth victory of the season, before a second half collapse gave the Soul a 53-47 win. The Rush led 27-14 with less than one-minute to play in the first half when Etu Molden intercepted a Nick Browder pass and appeared to have a clear path to the end zone. Soul receiver Ricky Ross hit Molden and forced a fumble before he could score, and the Soul regained possession. Three plays later the Soul scored to cut the Rush lead to 27-20 at the half. The Soul came out after the break and took control of the game, holding the Rush scoreless for 24 minutes, including the entire third quarter.

HOME COOKIN': The Rush enjoys playing at Allstate Arena, compiling a 22-10 all-time record at home (including postseason). The Rush was 7-2 at home in 2004, including a 59-49 win over Orlando in the AFL quarterfinals.

GOOD LUCK IN HOME OPENERS: The Rush is 3-1 in home openers, having won its first home game in each of the 2001 (Carolina), 2002 (Grand Rapids) and 2004 (Grand Rapids) seasons. The only season in which the Rush did not win its home opener was 2003, when the Rush fell to Orlando 47-35.

TWO FOR THE ROAD: After this week's home opener against Philadelphia, the Rush returns to the road for its next two games. Next Sunday the Rush travels to Colorado to take on John Elway's Crush, followed by a Saturday, February 19 game in Columbus.

A VETERAN GROUP: The 2005 Rush 24-man roster features 13 players who return from last year's team along with 11 newcomers. The Rush enters the season as an experienced squad, with 22 AFL veterans and just two rookies on the roster. In fact, the Rush players have combined to play in 1,122 AFL regular season games, an average of 46 games per man. Todd Hammel leads all Rush players with 146 career games, followed by Bob McMillen (112), John Moyer (81), Travis McDonald (80), John Sikora (77) and Frank Moore (76).

OFF-SEASON MOVES RE-SHAPE TEAM: One bold move – the trade of lineman James Baron to Nashville – helped the Rush re-shape its roster this off-season. Baron was traded to the Kats in exchange for the first three picks in this year's expansion draft. The Rush used those picks to select three players: WR/DB Charles Pauley (San Jose), WR/DB Russell Shaw (LA) and QB Todd Hammel (Philadelphia). Then, Chicago hit the free agent market and signed lineman Chad Pegues from Dallas to play Baron's spot on defense, and added AFL veteran defensive specialist Jeroid Johnson. The five new players all made the team's final roster.

PHILYAW LOOKIN' GOOD: QB Raymond Philyaw took the field Sunday for the first time since tearing the ACL in his right knee early in the second quarter of last season's AFL semifinal game in San Jose. After throwing an interception in the end zone on his third pass of the game, Philyaw settled down to complete 23 of 33 passes for 262 yards and six touchdowns.

WHO'S THAT OS?: Offensive specialist Henry Douglas caught 19 passes for 189 yards as a backup to Chris Jackson last season in Los Angeles. Last week in Dallas the second-year OS caught 10 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned nine kicks for 184 yards inn the game. With his 323 all-purpose yards, Douglas became only the third Rush player (Antonio Chatman, Joe Douglass) to eclipse the 300-yard mark in a single game.

MOLDEN CAN SCORE: Etu Molden has a nose for the end zone. Sunday in Dallas Molden scored a career-high five touchdowns equaling the team record for touchdowns in a game set by Antonio Chatman at Grand Rapids July 6, 2002. In the game Molden caught five passes – three of which resulted in touchdowns – and carried the ball three times, scoring twice.

STRENGTH AT LINE: The Rush line has been one of the best in the AFL over the past several seasons. Last year the Rush defense finished second in the AFL in sacks with 23, while the offensive line only allowed five sacks all season, good for third in the league. Last week, the Rush defense was credited with two sacks, while the offensive line did not allow a sack of Raymond Philyaw.


MOYER IN 9TH PLACE ALL-TIME: 2004 AFL Lineman of the Year John Moyer finished last season with a career-high 10 sacks and currently sits in ninth place in AFL history with 29 career sacks. Moyer holds the Rush season and career records for sacks and needs just one more to pass Joe March for eighth place all-time.

Here are Chicago's season and career sack leaders:
Player Season Player Career
John Moyer 10.0 (2004) John Moyer 24.0
John Moyer 9.0 (2003) James Baron 10.0
Anthony Hutch 5.5 (2001) Anthony Hutch 6.5
John Moyer 4.0 (2002) Jamie McGourty 5.5
James Baron 4.0 (2003) Riley Kleinhesselink 5.0
Tony Henderson 4.0 (2001) Tony Henderson 4.0
James Baron 3.0 (2004)
James Baron 3.0 (2002)
Jamie McGourty 3.0 (2004)

300-YARD PASSERS: Desperados QB Clint Stoerner passed for 398 yards against the Rush defense last week – the most ever by an opposing QB. Stoerner became just the fifth different quarterback to pass for more than 300 yards against the Rush, joining Donnie Davis, Clint Dolezel, Aaron Garcia and Andy Kelly.

Rush opponent's 300-yard passing games:
Player Date Yards
Clint Stoerner 1/30/05 @ Dallas 398
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

FB=MC3: Perhaps the deepest position on the Rush roster is FB/LB, with AFL veterans Bob McMillen, Jamie McGourty and Travis McDonald manning the duties.
- McMillen is the first player in AFL history to rush for 100 or more yards in six-consecutive seasons and just the fifth player in AFL history to rush for 1,000 career yards. He enters his 11th season in the AFL, ranking 4th in AFL history in rushing yards (1,149) and rushing attempts (352) and 5th in rushing touchdowns (65). McMillen enjoyed the best year of his career in 2004, rushing for a career-high 285 yards and 22 TDs.
- McGourty is the last original member of the Rush, entering his 5th season in Chicago. In his six-year career, McGourty has rushed for 407 yards and scored 38 touchdowns. McGourty also ranks fourth in Rush history in sacks, with 5.5.
- McDonald is the newest addition to the backfield, signing with the Rush January 10. McDonald is an eight-year veteran who ranks 15th on the AFL's all-time rushing list with 615 yards. He has played in 80 career games, scored 31 TDs and recorded 92 tackles and 12.5 sacks.

BLOCK THAT KICK: Last season the Rush special teams blocked nine kicks – two field goals and seven extra points. Last week against Dallas the Rush continued its ability to put pressure on opposing kickers as lineman John Moyer blocked a Carlos Martinez 22-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the first half. It was Moyer's sixth blocked kick since the start of the 2004 season (including 2004 postseason).

HOHENSEE LOOKING FOR THIRD PLACE ALL-TIME: Rush head coach Mike Hohensee needs just one more win to tie Perry Moss for third place on the AFL's all-time wins list. Hohensee, in his 12th 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 79-70 (including a
35-26 mark with the Rush).
- has a career 6-8 mark in the postseason.
- has led the Rush to four-consecutive playoff berths and two Central Division titles (2002 and 2004).
- is 0-1 all-time vs. Philadelphia

All-Time Winningest AFL Coaches
Including Postseason
Coach Team Wins This Week
Tim Marcum Tampa Bay 168 vs. San Jose
Danny White 141
Perry Moss 86
Mike Hohensee Rush 85 vs. Philadelphia
Michael Trigg Philadelphia 79 @ Rush
John Gregory 73

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES IN 2004: The 2004 regular season featured some outstanding individual and team performances with Rush players leading the AFL in several categories.
- Lineman John Moyer led the AFL in sacks with a career-high 10 and moved into ninth place on the AFL's all-time sack list with 28. He was voted the AFL's Lineman of the Year as well as All-Arena and All-Ironman.
- FB/LB Bob McMillen led the AFL in rushing touchdowns with 22. McMillen finished the season second in the AFL in rushing with a career-high 285 yards. He was voted to the AFL's All-Ironman team.
- McMillen became the first player in AFL history to rush for 100 or more yards in six-consecutive seasons and became just the fifth player in AFL history to rush for 1,000 career yards.
- The Rush offense gained a franchise record 518 yards on the ground and set an AFL record with 49 rushing touchdowns.
- All-Rookie WR/LB Etu Molden led all AFL rookies in receptions (101) and receiving yards (1,280) and finished second among rookies in scoring (32 TDs).
- Mike Hohensee became just the fourth head coach in AFL history to win 80 career games, and needs just one more win to become the third-winningest coach in AFL history.
- Chicago's 11 regular season wins marked the most for a Hohensee coached team. Hohensee won 10 regular season games in both 1994 and 1996 as the head coach of the Albany Firebirds.

REVAMPED SECONDARY: The Rush used the off-season to re-tool its defensive backfield, adding veteran Jeroid Johnson and rookie Tony Lukins as the new starting defensive specialists. Johnson is a five-year veteran with 22 career interceptions who signed a free agent contract with the Rush during the off-season. Lukins originally signed with the Rush in November 2002, but has spent the past two years on the team's exempt roster while playing with the Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders and Rhein Fire.

PHILADELPHIA CONNECTION: Rush back up QB Todd Hammel spent the 2004 season playing in Philadelphia. Hammel played in 15 games for the Soul last season, completing 143-of-247 passes for 1,875 yards and 36 TDs.

KICKIN' KEITH: Rush kicker Keith Gispert is back for his third year with the Rush. Gispert had a fantastic season in 2004 completing 95 of 108 PAT attempts and 12 of 22 field goal attempts.

INDIVIDUAL LEAGUE LEADERS: The following Rush players are among the 2005 AFL league leaders.

Etu Molden: scoring (T1st— 30 pts), receiving TDs (T3rd—3)

Henry Douglas: all-purpose yards (1st— 323), receiving yards (1st—139), receptions (T3rd—10), kick returns (1st—139), kick return yards (1st—184),

Bob McMillen: rushing attempts (T4th— 5), rushing yards (6th— 21)

John Moyer: sacks (T1st— 1),

Raymond Philyaw: passing TDs (T3rd—6), completion percentage (4th—69.7), passer rating (5th—120.2)

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

U.S. Army Ironman of the Game:
Henry Douglas (1/30 @ Dallas)

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