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Chicago Rush game notes

April 5, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Chicago Rush News Release


The Quick Facts
TV: NBC...Allen Bestwick, Ray Bentley, Mark Schanowski
Radio: WCKG, 105.9 FM ... Tom Dore, James "Big Cat" Williams, Sharon Jackson
Overall Series Record: San Jose leads 4-0
Last Meeting: June 12, 2004, San Jose 49, Rush 35 (AFL semifinals)
Coaches (regular season records):
Mike Hohensee (84-73 — 12th season)
Darren Arbet (70-27 — 7th season)
Officials: Terry Brown (Referee), Rick Lowe (Umpire), Rusty Baynes (Head Linesman Gary Caveletto (Line Judge), Scott Helverson (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* W, 48-45 8,110
March 20 New Orleans L (OT), 40-46 13,614
March 27 BYE
April 2 @ New York W, 44-43 11,719
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 6 @ 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 7-2-0 509 425 2-1
RUSH 5-4-0 418 427 3-0
Nashville 2-7-0 358 420 1-2
Grand Rapids 1-8-0 432 554 0-3


BRING ON THE CHAMPS: The Rush welcomes the AFL's defending ArenaBowl champion San Jose SaberCats to Allstate Arena this weekend. After opening the year 1-3, the SaberCats have won five in a row, including a 48-27 win last week over Arizona, and have regained the lead in the AFL's Western Division. Chicago has never defeated San Jose, losing to the SaberCats three times during the regular season and once in the playoffs.

RUSH SLAYS DRAGONS: Leading 44-43 with less than one minute to play Saturday in New York, the Rush turned the ball over on downs at the Dragons 12-yard line. The Chicago defense, however, rose to the occasion, forcing New York quarterback Aaron Garcia into four-consecutive incomplete passes – the last three of which were knocked away by Rush DB Charles Pauley – and the Rush held on for a one point victory to raise its record to 5-4. Rush QB Raymond Philyaw completed 21 of 32 passes for 248 yards and four touchdowns in the win, including 11 completions and two touchdowns to offensive specialist Henry Douglas.

TOUGH PATH AHEAD: After defeating the Eastern Division-leading New York Dragons last week, the schedule does not get any easier for the Rush in the near future, as the team's next three games are against opponents (San Jose, Colorado, Los Angeles) with an 18-9 combined record.

RUSH LOOKING FOR FIRST WIN VS. SAN JOSE: The Rush is seeking its first-ever victory over the SaberCats, after losing to San Jose four times over the past three seasons, including twice in 2004. In addition, Rush head coach Mike Hohensee has never beaten San Jose, losing all eight games he has coached against the SaberCats.

RUSH-SABERCATS HISTORY:
In 2004, the Rush and SaberCats met in the regular season and again in the AFL semifinals. In the semifinals, with the game tied 7-7, the Rush lost quarterback Raymond Philyaw to a knee injury on the first play of the second quarter. The Rush then turned the ball over twice in the second half en route to a 49-35 defeat.

Perhaps the key play of the game (other than the Philyaw injury) occurred with one minute remaining in the first half. Leading 21-14 the Rush forced a fumble by San Jose QB Mark Grieb and recovered it for a touchdown, giving the Rush an apparent 27-14 lead.

However, the officials ruled the play an incomplete pass, not a fumble, and San Jose retained possession. The SaberCats scored with 18 seconds left in the half and the teams went to the locker room tied 21-21.

Chicago never recovered. It turned the ball over on downs on its first series of the second half, giving momentum to San Jose. Then an interception and a fumble in the game's final four minutes sealed Chicago's fate.

When the two teams met during the 2004 regular season, the Rush held a 43-37 lead with less than five minutes remaining before San Jose mounted its comeback. Chicago was driving for another score when San Jose DS Omarr Smith intercepted a Raymond Philyaw pass. San Jose capitalized, marching down the field and scoring a TD to take a 44-43 lead with one minute remaining. The SaberCats then recovered the ensuing on-side kick and scored two plays later, giving the SaberCats a 51-43 victory.

In 2002 in San Jose, it also was Smith who intercepted a Billy Dicken pass at the San Jose 16-yard line with less than 1:30 to play and the Rush trailing 67-62. Then, on the game's next play, San Jose QB Mark Grieb hit Smith with a 34-yard touchdown pass to give the SaberCats a 74-62 lead and put the game out of reach.

In 2003 at Allstate Arena, the Rush fell behind 43-20 early in the third quarter. After mounting a furious comeback, the Rush cut the lead to 43-35 and was driving. On the first play of the fourth quarter Rush offensive specialist Antonio Chatman attempted an option pass that was intercepted by WR/DB James Roe. San Jose scored four plays later, and cruised to a 71-49 win.

BETTER AFTER A BYE: With its 44-43 win in New York last week the Rush improved its record after a bye week to 3-1. In 2001 the Rush opened its season with a bye week, before losing at Oklahoma in its first game in team history. Since that loss, the Rush is 3-0 when coming off a bye week.

Here is a look at the Rush record after its bye weeks:
Year After Bye
2001 L, 44-45 @ Oklahoma
2002 W, 60-47 vs. Dallas*
2004 W, 58-15 vs. Orlando
2005 W, 44-43 @ New York
* AFL Quarterfinals

BETTER AFTER THE BREAK?: The Rush reached the midpoint of its season with a 4-4 record. Here is a look at the team's record in the first and second halves of the past four 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 5-3 11-5
2005 4-4 1-0 ?

OT NOT KIND: The Rush has struggled in overtime in 2005, falling in both of its chances this year. The Rush lost the season opener in Dallas, 66-65, when Etu Molden's game-winning two-point conversion attempt fell one-yard short of the end zone. Against New Orleans on March 20, Rush QB Raymond Philyaw threw his only interception of the game on Chicago's first possession in OT, and VooDoo QB Andy Kelly capitalized, leading New Orleans on a 47-yard drive for the game-winning TD.

PHILYAW SHARP IN NEW YORK: QB Raymond Philyaw looked like he did for most of the 2004 season in last week's win at New York. Philyaw completed 21 of 32 passes for 248 yards and four touchdowns, without throwing any interceptions. Since returning to the lineup March 20 after missing the previous two games with a sprained MCL in his right knee, Philyaw has looked sharp, completing 44 of 64 passes for 509 yards, seven touchdowns and only one interception.

THE OLD MAN CAN STILL PLAY: Backup QB Todd Hammel has played in three games this season (including two starts), while filling in for an injured Raymond Philyaw. Hammel has shown that after 14 years he still can throw the ball, completing 46 of 63 passes for 647 yards and 12 touchdowns and posting a passer rating of 125.5. He is 2-0 as a starter this year and was named Offensive Player of the Game after completing 21 of 25 passes for 348 yards and six touchdowns and leading the Rush to a 48-45 win in Grand Rapids March 13.

FINALLY NO TURNOVERS: Saturday in New York was the first time all season the Rush made it through a game without turning the ball over. Last season the Rush was one of the best teams in the AFL at taking care of the ball, only turning the ball over 15 times all season, and finishing the year tied for the lead in turnover margin (+15). This year, however, the Rush already has equaled its 2004 turnover amount, turning the ball over 15 times. The Rush has forced just 12 turnovers, and ranks 12th in the AFL with a –3 turnover margin.

DOUGLAS RETURN ADDS SPARK: Henry Douglas was named Offensive Player of the Game for his performance last week in New York. Douglas caught 11 passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns and returned five kicks for 55 yards in the win. In his three games back in the lineup since he missed two games with a groin injury, Douglas has caught 23 passes for 300 yards and five touchdowns and returned 19 kicks for 340 yards and a touchdown. Despite missing two and a half games this year, Douglas still ranks fourth in the AFL in all-purpose yards with 1,423.

MOLDEN STREAKING: WR/LB Etu Molden is certainly not suffering through a sophomore slump. In his second year Molden leads the team in receptions (62), and receiving yards (736) and has scored 20 touchdowns this season, ranking 10th in the AFL in scoring with 120 points.

CAREER YEAR ON BOTH SIDES FOR SHAW: Given an opportunity to play for the first time in his five-year AFL career, WR/DB Russell Shaw is making the most of his opportunity. Through eight games, Shaw already has set career-highs by catching 30 passes for 369 yards. In addition, Shaw has recorded career-highs on defense with 30.0 tackles, seven passes broken up and two interceptions.

MCMILLEN AIMS FOR TOP SPOT ALL-TIME: Rush FB/LB Bob McMillen rushed for 17 yards vs. New York, giving him 110 for the season and 1,260 for his career. He is the first player in AFL history to rush for 100 or more yards in seven-consecutive seasons and currently sits in second place all-time on the league's career rushing list. Les Barley is the AFL's all-time leading rusher with 1,382 career yards. If McMillen averages 17.5 yards per game over the season's final seven weeks, he will finish the season as the league's all-time leading rusher.

HOWARD HITTIN' HARD: Rookie defensive specialist Todd Howard gave the Rush defense a big lift in the second quarter Saturday in New York when he tackled Dragons WR/DB DaShane Dennis at the Rush 4-yard line and forced him to fumble. Howard then recovered the fumble, which led to a Rush touchdown and a 27-14 Rush lead. On the play Howard was injured and was forced to leave the game. Howard has played in four games since being activated from injured reserve March 4 and has recorded 23 tackles, one interception and five passes broken up in addition to the fumble forced and recovered. He has been named ADT Defensive Player of the Game twice – March 6 against Nashville and March 13 at Grand Rapids, and co-Defensive Player of the Game once – April 2.

KICKIN' KEITH: Rush kicker Keith Gispert continues to be one of the AFL's most consistent kickers. Gispert connected on five of six PAT attempts and his only field goal attempt last Saturday in New York, bringing his season totals to 46 of 51 extra-point attempts and eight of 11 field goal attempts. Last season Gispert connected on 95 of 108 PAT attempts and 12 of 22 field goal attempts.

BLOCK THAT KICK: March 6 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.

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 84-73 (including a
40-29 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 0-8 all-time vs. the SaberCats, 0-4 as coach of the Rush.

All-Time Winningest AFL Coaches
Including Postseason
Coach Team Wins This Week
Tim Marcum Tampa Bay 171 vs. Orlando
Danny White 141
Mike Hohensee Rush 90 vs. San Jose
Perry Moss 86
Mike Dailey Colorado 82 vs. Philadelphia
Michael Trigg 80
MOYER 8TH ALL-TIME: Rush lineman John Moyer recorded his fourth sack of the season last week against New York. The sack was Moyer's 32nd of his career and 27th 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 33.5 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 (2005) Jamie McGourty 5.5
John Moyer 4.0 (2002) Riley Kleinhesselink 5.0
James Baron 4.0 (2003) Tony Henderson 4.0
Tony Henderson 4.0 (2001)
James Baron 3.0 (2004)
James Baron 3.0 (2002)
Jamie McGourty 3.0 (2004)

THE OLD GUYS: In addition to the six rookies on the Rush roster, the team also features many players with a wealth of AFL experience. Todd Hammel leads all Rush players with 149 career games, followed by Bob McMillen (120), John Moyer (89), John Sikora (85) and Frank Moore (84).

INJURY REPORT: The following players appeared on this week's injury report to the AFL.
Out – Jon McCall (finger), Jamie McGourty (toe), Johnathan Taylor (elbow), Carlos Wright (left quad)
Doubtful – Todd Howard (right hip flexor strain)
Probable – Jeroid Johnson (left hip contusion)

TALE OF THE TAPE:
Chicago Category San Jose
9 Games 9
46.4 (14) Scoring Offense 59.9 (1)
47.4 (6) Scoring Defense 49.0 (9)
297.4 (5) Total Offense 314.6 (1)
291.8 (10) Total Defense 281.6 (9)
37-43, 86% Red Zone Offense 46-53, 86.8%
32-39, 82.0% Red Zone Defense 26-36, 76.2%
270.3 (6) Pass Offense 298.1 (1)
265.3 (10) Pass Defense 266.7 (11)
27.1 (5) Rushing Offense 15.8 (11)
26.4 (14) Rushing Defense 14.9 (2)
418 (14) Scoring 539 (1)
62 (9) Scoring (Kicking) 60 (11)
54-879-2 Kickoff Returns 48-1061-4
16.3 Kick Return Average 22.1
5-60-0 Missed Field Goal Returns 1-3-0
12.0 Missed FG Return Avg. 3.0
-3, (T-12) Turnover Margin +4, (5)
8-11, 72.7% Field Goals 2-7, 28.6%
46-52, 88.5% PAT Kicking 63-75, 84.0%
6-21 yards Sacks By 6-55 yards
4-24 Sacks Against 8-41
26-50, 52.0% Third Down Conversion 19-45, 42.2%
5-12, 41.7% Fourth Down Conversion 10-15, 66.7%
79-487 Penalties (#-Yards) 79-520
71-480 Opp. Penalties (#-Yards) 72-460
BOLD – AFL Leader

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

Henry Douglas: kickoff returns (4th—29), kickoff return yards (3rd—631), missed field goal return leaders (7th—41), all-purpose yards (4th—1423)

Keith Gispert: scoring (kicking) (8th—70 points), field goals made (T-4th—7), field goal percentage (2nd—70.0), PAT percentage (10th—89.2), PAT attempts (10th—46), touchbacks on kickoffs (T-8th—19)

Jeroid Johnson: passes defended (T-10th—9), tackles (12th—44.5)

Jamie McGourty: fumbles recovered (T-8th—2)

Bob McMillen: rushing attempts (T-7th—30), rushing yards (6th—110), third-and-one rushing (6th—60%)

Etu Molden: scoring (10th —120 points), touchdowns (T-9th—18), receptions (10th—62), interceptions (T-9th—2), first downs (T-9th—44)

John Moyer: sacks (T-5th –4.0), tackles for loss (T-3th—6.0), fumbles forced (T-7th—2)

Raymond Philyaw: completion percentage (4th—67.1)

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, 4/2 @ New York)
Etu Molden (3/6 vs. Nashville)
Todd Hammel (3/13 @ Grand Rapids)

ADT Defensive Player of the Game:
Russell Shaw (2/6 vs. Philadelphia)
Todd Howard (3/6 vs. Nashville, 3/13 @ Grand Rapids, April 2 @ New York)
Jeroid Johnson (3/20 vs. New Orleans)
Charles Pauley (April 2 @ New York)

U.S. Army Ironman of the Game:
Henry Douglas (1/30 @ Dallas)
John Moyer (2/6 vs. Philadelphia)
Etu Molden (3/6 vs. Nashville, 3/13 @ Grand Rapids)
Bob McMillen (3/20 vs. New Orleans)

RUSH PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Practice for the week of April 4:
Monday, April 4 – Player Meetings 10 a.m.
Tuesday, April 5 – Off
Wednesday, April 6 – 12:35 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.
Thursday, April 7 – 8:35 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
Friday, April 8 – 8:35 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
Saturday, April 9 – 8:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

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



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 5, 2005


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