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Chicago Rush game notes

March 8, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Chicago Rush News Release


The Quick Facts
TV: NBC ... Bob Papa, Charles Davis, Jack Doles
Radio: WCKG, 105.9 FM ... Tom Dore, James "Big Cat" Williams, Sharon Jackson
Overall Series Record: Rush leads 5-4
Last Meeting: May 8, 2004, Rush 63, Rampage 35
Streaks: Chicago has won three in a row
Coaches (regular season records):
Mike Hohensee (82-72 — 12th season)
Sparky McEwen (1-4 — 1st season)
Officials: Dennis Lipski (Referee), Richard Brown (Umpire), Rod Pearson (Head Linesman), Art Lucky (Line Judge), Joe Duncan (Back Judge)

2005 Chicago Rush Schedule
January 30 @ Dallas L (OT), 65-66 11,229
February 6 Philadelphia W, 51-41 16,036
February 13 @ Colorado* W, 51-48 16,620
February 19 @ Columbus L, 39-52 17,171
February 25 Orlando L, 35-48 14,126
March 6 Nashville* W, 45-38 15,881
March 13 @ Grand Rapids* 11 a.m. NBC
March 20 New Orleans 11 a.m. NBC
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
Colorado 3-2-0 288 255 1-1
RUSH 3-3-0 286 293 2-0
Grand Rapids 1-4-0 271 330 0-1
Nashville 1-5-0 248 303 0-1


OFF TO MICHIGAN: After two weeks at Allstate Arena the Rush heads to Michigan his weekend to take on the Grand Rapids Rampage. The Rush has faced its Central Division rival nine times in the last four years – more than any other opponent – and holds a 5-4 series lead over the Rampage, including winning the last three meetings. After suffering through a 1-15 season in 2004, the Rampage (1-4) is struggling again this year under first-year head coach Sparky McEwen.

Here is a look at the Rush-Rampage Series Results:
2001: Grand Rapids 54, Rush 52 (May 19 @ Chicago)
Grand Rapids 79, Rush 58 (July 7 @ GR)
Grand Rapids 53, Rush 21 (August 5 @ GR)*
2002: Rush 71, Grand Rapids 59 (May 4 @ Chicago)
Rush 56, Grand Rapids 50 (July 6 @ GR)
2003: Grand Rapids 48, Rush 34 (March 29 @ GR)
Rush 54, Grand Rapids 46 (April 27 @ Chicago)
2004: Rush 50, Grand Rapids 30 (February 8 @ Chicago)
Rush 63, Grand Rapids 35 (May 8 @ GR)
*AFL playoffs

HAMMEL LEADS RUSH TO WIN: Veteran quarterback Todd Hammel started for an ailing Raymond Philyaw and completed 20 of 31 passes for 223 yards and five touchdowns as the Rush snapped a two-game losing streak with a 45-38 win over the Nashville Kats last week. The Rush defense stepped up to force two turnovers and record four defensive stops as the Rush built a 21-point fourth quarter lead before hanging on for the victory.

THE OLD GUY CAN STILL PLAY: 14-year veteran Todd Hammel got his first start of the season last week, leading the Rush to a 45-38 win over Nashville. It was Hammel's second taste of action this season, the first coming February 19 in Columbus when starting QB Raymond Philyaw went down in the third quarter with a sprained MCL in his right knee. So far this season Hammel has completed 25 of 39 passes for 299 yards and six touchdowns. He also has rushed for a TD and thrown two interceptions.

FIVE ROOKIES GET FIRST WIN: Sunday's win over Nashville was the first for the five Rush rookies who dressed for their first-ever Arena Football League game. Rookie OS C.J. Johnson, DS Todd Howard, WR/LB Carlos Wright, OL/DL Scott Pospisil and QB Asad Abdul-Khaliq made up 20 percent of Chicago's active roster, with all but Abdul-Khaliq seeing playing time in the game.

JOHNSON, HOWARD LEAD CLUB: Rookies C.J. Johnson and Todd Howard not only played in their first Arena Football games Sunday, but led the Rush on offense and defense, respectively. Johnson, promoted from the practice squad last Friday after Jeremy McDaniel was injured in practice, led the Rush with seven receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Howard, activated from injured reserve on Friday, was voted ADT Defensive Player of the Game after he racked up 7.0 tackles and three passes broken up, leading the team in both categories.

PHILYAW, DOUGLAS STILL RECOVERING: Starting QB Raymond Philyaw and OS Henry Douglas both missed Sunday's win vs. Nashville. Philyaw missed the game with a sprained MCL in his right knee. After having surgery last June to repair a torn ACL in his right knee, Philyaw suffered a Grade 1 sprain of the MCL in the team's loss at Columbus February 19. Although he played February 25 against Orlando, Philyaw was not 100 percent and the decision was made to have him sit out last week's game. As for Douglas, he missed his second-consecutive game after pulling his groin while returning a kick 58-yards for a touchdown in Columbus. At the time of his injury Douglas had caught 30 passes for 393 yards and seven touchdowns on the season, and was the AFL leader in receptions, receiving yards and all-purpose yards. Both players could return this week at Grand Rapids.

HOME COOKIN': With its victory Sunday over Nashville the Rush now has a 24-11 all-time record at home (including postseason). The Rush is 2-1 this season and was 7-2 at home in 2004.

RUSH KNOWS HOW TO BOUNCE BACK: The Rush now is 2-1 this season after a loss. Last season, the Rush went 4-1 after a loss, winning by an average of 18 points. Dating back to the mid-point of the 2003 season, the Rush is 10-3 after losses.

RUSH QBs LIKE PLAYING RAMPAGE: Both Raymond Philyaw and Todd Hammel have enjoyed playing against Grand Rapids during their careers. Philyaw owns a 5-4 record vs. Grand Rapids, including a 2-0 mark as quarterback of the Rush. Hammel has played in five games against the Rampage, owning a 3-1 record as a starter.

Here are Philyaw and Hammel's career numbers against Grand Rapids:

QB Comp Att Pct. Yds. TD Int Rating
Philyaw 159 248 64.1% 2,230 45 2 129.2
Hammel 90 148 60.8% 1,039 14 4 94.4

MCMILLEN MOVING UP CHARTS: Rush FB/LB Bob McMillen is working his way up the AFL's all-time rushing list. McMillen, who entered the season fourth on the all-time list is within striking distance of Arizona FB Bo Kelly for third place and Andre Bowden for second place. McMillen has rushed for 1,213 yards in his career and needs just eight yards to pass Kelly (who also plays this Sunday) for third place and 29 yards to pass Bowden to move into second place all-time. Les Barley holds the AFL career rushing record with 1,382 yards. McMillen needs 170 more yards (an average of 17 yards per game this year) to become the AFL's all-time leading rusher.

FB=MC2: Perhaps the deepest position on the Rush roster is FB/LB, with AFL veterans Bob McMillen and Jamie McGourty manning the duties.
8 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 is playing in his 11th season in the AFL, ranking 4th in AFL history in rushing yards (1,213) and rushing attempts (372) and 5th in rushing touchdowns (67). McMillen enjoyed the best year of his career in 2004, rushing for a career-high 285 yards and 22 TDs.
8 McGourty is the last original member of the Rush, entering his 5th season in Chicago. In his six-year career, McGourty has rushed for 450 yards and scored 40 touchdowns. McGourty also ranks fourth in Rush history in sacks, with 5.5.

HOHENSEE NOW IN 3RD PLACE ALL-TIME: With Chicago's 51-48 win in Colorado February 13, Rush head coach Mike Hohensee moved into sole possession of 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
8 has a regular season record of 82-72 (including a
36-27 mark with the Rush).
8 has a career 6-8 mark in the postseason.
8 has led the Rush to four-consecutive playoff berths and two Central Division titles (2002 and 2004).
8 is 5-5 all-time vs. Grand Rapids.

All-Time Winningest AFL Coaches
Including Postseason
Coach Team Wins This Week
Tim Marcum Tampa Bay 170 vs. Arizona
Danny White 141
Mike Hohensee Rush 88 @ Grand Rapids
Perry Moss 86
Michael Trigg 80
Mike Dailey Colorado 78 @ Nashville

MOYER 8TH ALL-TIME: Rush lineman John Moyer recorded his third sack of the season February 25 against Orlando. The sack was Moyer's 31st of his career and 26th as a member of the Rush. This season Moyer has moved past Joe March into eighth place all-time. Next up for Moyer is San Jose's Joe Jacobs with 32.5 career sacks. Moyer holds both the Rush season and career records for sacks.

Here are Chicago's season and career sack leaders:
Player Season Player Career
John Moyer 10.0 (2004) John Moyer 26.0
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
John Moyer 3.0 (2005)
James Baron 3.0 (2004)
James Baron 3.0 (2002)
Jamie McGourty 3.0 (2004)

COSTLY TURNOVERS: Last season the Rush was one of the best teams in the AFL at taking care of the ball. The Rush only turned the ball over 15 times all season, and finished the year tied for the lead in turnover margin (+15). This year, however, the Rush already has turned the ball over 12 times in six games, while only forcing nine turnovers, giving the Rush a turnover margin of –3. Rush QB Raymond Philyaw has thrown five interceptions this season, one more than he threw all last season.

BLOCK THAT KICK: Last week against Nashville, lineman John Moyer blocked his second kick of the season, and seventh since the start of the 2004 season – a Gary Kral extra-point attempt on the final play of the first half. In the season opener against Dallas, Moyer blocked a Carlos Martinez 22-yard field goal attempt – also on the final play of the first half. In 2004 the Rush special teams blocked nine kicks – two field goals and seven extra points.

J-MAC BACK, THEN GONE: Jeremy McDaniel, Chicago's second-leading receiver in 2004, saw limited action in the team's first three games this season. Then, when Henry Douglas was injured February 19 at Columbus McDaniel jumped in and picked up right where he left off last season. In two games as the team's offensive specialist McDaniel caught 14 passes for 165 yards and three touchdowns. However, McDaniel injured his knee in practice last week and was placed on injured reserve. He is eligible to return to the lineup March 20 against New Orleans.

MOLDEN THE MAN: When the Rush needs a first down or a touchdown, it is very likely that the team will look to second-year WR/LB Etu Molden. Molden leads the team in receptions (40), receiving yards (426) and touchdowns (11 receiving and two rushing), and is tied for eighth in the AFL in scoring (78 points). Last week against Nashville Molden was dominant on offense and defense, catching six passes for 60 yards and a touchdown and recording 4.0 tackles and an interception. He was named Offensive Player of the Game and U.S. Army Ironman of the Game for his efforts.

SHAW STRONG ON BOTH SIDES: New Rush WR/DB Russell Shaw continues to make an impact on both sides of the ball for Chicago. Shaw already has set career-highs by catching 24 passes for 295 yards on the season. In addition, Shaw has recorded 16.5 tackles, a career-high five passes broken up and two interceptions. He is tied for seventh in the AFL in passes defended (INT + PBU) with seven.

KICKIN' KEITH: Rush kicker Keith Gispert continues to be one of the AFL's most consistent kickers. Through six games this season, Gispert has connected on 30 of 34 extra point attempts, including his last 12 in a row, and six of eight field goal attempts. Last season Gispert connected on 95 of 108 PAT attempts and 12 of 22 field goal attempts.

THE OLD GUYS: In addition to the five players who saw their first AFL action last week, the Rush roster also features many players with a wealth of AFL experience. Todd Hammel leads all Rush players with 148 career games, followed by Bob McMillen (117), John Moyer (86), John Sikora (82) and Frank Moore (81).

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, as well as one of Nashville's picks in the dispersal draft. The Rush used those picks to select four players: WR/DB Charles Pauley (San Jose), WR/DB Russell Shaw (LA), QB Todd Hammel (Philadelphia), and OL/DL Charlie Cook (Indiana). Then, Chicago hit the free agent market and signed AFL veteran defensive specialist Jeroid Johnson.

INJURY REPORT: The following players appeared on this week's injury report to the AFL.
Probable – QB Raymond Philyaw (MCL, right knee), OS Henry Douglas (groin)
Out – Tony Lukins (ankle), Jeremy McDaniel (knee)

RUSH PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Practice for the week of March 7:
Monday, March 7 – Meetings and Film – 1 p.m.
Tuesday, March 8 – Players Off
Wednesday, March 9 – 12:35 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.
Thursday, March 10 – 8:35 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
Friday, March 11 – 8:35 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
Saturday, March 12 – TBA

All practices this week will be held at the team's Hoffman Estates practice facility, Poplar Creek Sports Centre.

TALE OF THE TAPE:
Chicago Category Grand Rapids
6 Games 5
47.7 (13) Scoring Offense 54.2 (6)
48.8 (9) Scoring Defense 66.0 (17)
285.0 (7) Total Offense 296.0 (4)
297.3 (13) Total Defense 290.2 (12)
27-32, 84.4% Red Zone Offense 16-17, 94.1%
22-27, 81.5% Red Zone Defense 22-23,95.7%
264.0 (9) Pass Offense 239.4 (13)
269.3 (11) Pass Defense 271.0 (12)
22.3 (7) Rushing Offense 56.8 (1)
28.0 (13) Rushing Defense 19.2 (10)
286 (T-7) Scoring 271 (11)
48 (6) Scoring (Kicking) 43 (9)
32-552-1 Kickoff Returns 25-451-2
17.2 Kick Return Average 18.0
4-35-0 Missed Field Goal Returns 2-47-0
8.8 Missed FG Return Avg. 23.5
-4, (T-12) Turnover Margin -4, (T-12)
6-8, 75.0% Field Goals 6-14, 42.9%
30-34, 88.2% PAT Kicking 25-31, 80.6%
5-19 yards Sacks By 3-17 yards
4-24 Sacks Against 8-40
18-35, 51.4% Third Down Conversion 11-35, 31.4%
4-7, 57.1% Fourth Down Conversion 3-6, 50.0%
51-307 Penalties (#-Yards) 33-184
49-352 Opp. Penalties (#-Yards) 48-277
BOLD – AFL Leader

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

DeJuan Alfonzo: forced fumbles (T-8th—1), tackles (T-13th—30.0)

Henry Douglas: MFG return yards (9th—16), kick return touchdowns (T-5—1)

Keith Gispert: scoring (kicking) (6th—48 points), field goal attempts (10th—8), field goals made (T-3rd—6), PAT percentage (8th—88.2), PAT attempts (10th—34), PAT made (9th—30)

Jeroid Johnson: passes defended (T-6th—7)

Jamie McGourty: fumbles recovered (T-3rd—2)

Bob McMillen: rushing attempts (T-5th—20), rushing yards (9th—63)

Etu Molden: scoring (T-8th—78 points), interceptions (T-6th—2)

John Moyer: sacks (T-4th –3), tackles for loss (T-7th—3.5)

Raymond Philyaw: total offense (9th—260.8 yards per game), total offensive plays (9th—181), completion percentage (5th—66.3), passing yards (9th—1,301), completions (6th—116), passing average per game (7th—260.2), passing attempts (8th—175)

Russell Shaw: passes defended (T-6th—7), interceptions (T-6th—2), interception return yards (9th—23)

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

Offensive Player of the Game:
Raymond Philyaw (2/6 vs. Philadelphia)
Henry Douglas (2/13 @ Colorado)
Etu Molden (3/6 vs. Nashville)

ADT Defensive Player of the Game:
Russell Shaw (2/6 vs. Philadelphia)
Todd Howard (3/6 vs. Nashville)

U.S. Army Ironman of the Game:
Henry Douglas (1/30 @ Dallas)
John Moyer (2/6 vs. Philadelphia)
Etu Molden (3/6 vs. Nashville)

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