Chicago Rush Game Notes
May 26, 2010 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Chicago Rush News Release
The Quick Facts
TV: None
Radio: None
Webcast: www.arenarush.com Mike Alzamora
Overall Series Record: This is the first meeting between the teams
Coaches (regular season, postseason records - AFL only):
Mike Hohensee (123-96, 12-11 16th season)
Steve Thonn (26-52, 2-2 6th season)
Officials: Ron Torbert (Referee), Ed Feaster (Umpire), Greg Shields (Head Linesman), Rob Holmberg (Line Judge), Alex Kemp (Back Judge)
2010 Chicago Rush Schedule
Date Opponent Time/Score TV/Attend
April 2 @ Iowa
* W, 61-43 12,184
April 9 Cleveland
* W, 59-56 8,075
April 17 @ Arizona W, 70-56 14,994
April 23 Utah W, 63-40 7,459
May 1 Bye
May 7 @ Milwaukee
* L, 71-48 5,386
May 15 Iowa
* L, 44-30 10,363
May 22 @ Dallas W, 63-56
May 29 @ Cleveland
* 6 p.m.
June 4 Jacksonville 7 p.m. NFL Net
June 12 @ Utah 8 p.m.
June 19 Milwaukee
* 7 p.m.
June 26 Orlando 7 p.m.
July 2 @ Tampa Bay 7 p.m. NFL Net
July 10 Arizona 7 p.m.
July 17 Dallas 7 p.m.
July 23 @ Spokane 7 p.m. NFL Net
* Midwest Division game
Midwest Division 2010 Standings
W-L-T PF PA Division
Milwaukee 5-2-0 459 397 2-0
RUSH 5-2-0 394 366 2-2
Cleveland 3-4-0 416 408 1-1
Iowa 3-4-0 357 378 1-3
CLEVELAND ROCKS: The Rush is on the road for a second-consecutive week, heading east to Ohio to take on the Cleveland Gladiators Saturday night. Chicago won the first meeting of the season between the teams, notching a 59-56 victory at Allstate Arena on April 9.
The Rush enters the game on the heels of a 63-56 win at Dallas last weekend, which snapped Chicago's two-game losing streak.
Cleveland, on the other hand, had its three-game winning streak snapped last week with a 46-44 loss at Jacksonville.
SHARK ATTACK: After this week's trip to Cleveland, the Rush returns home to Allstate Arena on Friday, June 4, to take on the Southern Division leading Jacksonville Sharks in a matchup of two of the AFL's top teams.
RUSH OUTGUNS VIGILANTES: It was an old fashioned Texas shootout in Dallas last Saturday as the Rush outlasted the Vigilantes 63-56 at the American Airlines Center.
After struggling to put points on the board the past two weeks, Chicago scored touchdowns on nine of its 10 possessions, while the Vigilantes scored on all but two.
Chicago's offense seemed to regain the well-balanced form that carried it to a 4-0 start, as six different players contributed touchdowns for the Rush - Robert Boss, Nichiren Flowers, Joe Peters, Clifton Smith, Russ Michna, and Kenny Higgins.
The game was without a defensive stop in the first half, with the teams combining for 11 touchdowns in the first 30 minutes. The only blemish in the half was a missed extra point by the Rush, but Chicago held a 41-35 lead at the break.
The third quarter opened with a five-minute Vigilante drive that saw Dallas drive the ball to the Rush 1-yard line. But on second and goal for Dallas, the Rush defense stepped up, and defensive back Josh Ferguson came up with his fifth interception of the season.
The interception stopped Dallas' streak of consecutive possessions with a touchdown at five, and proved to be the difference in the game.
Chicago took advantage of the turnover, mounting a seven-play, 44-yard drive and scoring on a one-yard dive by Clifton Smith that put the Rush up two scores at 48-35.
Chicago never looked back.
The Vigilantes did not go away, however, as quarterback Collin Drafts (26-29, 295 yards, 6 TDs, 2 INTs) continued to match the Rush score-for-score. Dallas simply could not get a stop when they needed one.
With Chicago leading by seven and attempting to run one final play to run the clock out, Rush QB Russ Michna fumbled with 1.2 seconds left in the game. Dallas recovered, giving the Vigilantes one final shot to tie the game.
A Hail Mary pass with no time remaining was intercepted by DeJuan Alfonzo and the Rush walked away with a win that puts the team back atop the Midwest Division.
RUSH 6-1 VS. GLADIATORS: Saturday's game will be the eighth in the series between the Rush and Gladiators - a series that began when the Gladiators played in New Jersey and continued when the team moved to Las Vegas in 2003. This week's game will be the third since the team was acquired by former Cleveland Browns QB Bernie Kosar and moved to Cleveland prior to the start of the 2008 season. The Rush won the first five games in the series before the Gladiators finally broke through with their first win in 2008.
Here is a look at the Rush-Gladiators Series Results:
2002: Rush 44, NJ Gladiators 14 (June 2 @ Chicago)
2003: Rush 68, LV Gladiators 48 (March 16 @ Las Vegas)
2004: Rush 57, LV Gladiators 55 (April 4 @ Las Vegas)
2005: Rush 63, LV Gladiators 62 (May 1 @ Chicago)
2006: Rush 67, LV Gladiators 47 (April 27 @ Chicago)
2008: Cle. Gladiators 65, Rush 44 (June 7 @ Cleveland)
2010: Rush 59, Cle. Gladiators 56 (April 9 @ Chicago)
Here is a recap of the first meeting of the season between the Rush and Gladiators:
Chicago Rush kicker Chris Gould booted a 20-yard field goal with two-seconds remaining to give the Rush a thrilling 59-56 victory over the Cleveland Gladiators April 9 at Allstate Arena.
Gould's game-winning kick was the conclusion to a see-saw game that saw no team hold a lead of more than seven points the entire 60 minutes. In fact, the final kick came only after Gladiators quarterback John Dutton connected with WR Ben Nelson on a 13-yard touchdown to tie the score at 56-56 with just 45 seconds remaining.
But 45 seconds was more than enough time for the Rush, as QB Russ Michna led the team down the field in six plays, setting up the game-winning kick.
Michna was sharp all night, connecting with Samie Parker on a 42-yard touchdown on the game's first play en route to a game that saw him complete 22 of 27 passes for 315 yards and a career-high eight touchdowns - without throwing an interception. For the second week in a row, Parker was Michna's favorite target, catching nine passes for 148 yards and three TDs.
But despite the great offensive performance, it was the defense that helped turn the game around. With the game tied 42-42 late in the third quarter, an interception by Chris Martin and an ensuing facemask penalty gave the Rush the ball at its 15-yard line. Two plays later, Nichiren Flowers scored on a 25-yard TD reception to give Chicago a 49-42 lead, and the Rush would not trail again.
A CHICAGO NATIVE: Cleveland head coach Steve Thonn is a Chicagoland native. He was a Division III All-American wide receiver at Wheaton College (1980-84) where he also played basketball. He began his Arena Football career as a WR/DB with the Chicago Bruisers from 1988-1989.
COACHING CONNECTIONS: Cleveland head coach Steve Thonn was a WR/DB for the Albany Firebirds from 1990 to 1993. For his final three seasons as a player in Albany, Rush head coach Mike Hohensee was the team's offensive coordinator. Then, when Hohensee became the team's head coach in 1994, he hired Thonn as his wide receivers and special teams coach.
The pair has met five times as head coaches - once in 1999, three times in 2008 and once in 2010 - with Hohensee holding a 4-1 edge in the series. The coaches were also scheduled to meet at Allstate Arena in 2001 when the Rush hosted Houston, but Hohensee missed the game due to his grandmother's funeral. The Rush won that game 48-43.
DUTTON vs. RUSH: Cleveland QB John Dutton has faced the Rush 14 times in his career - 13 times as the starting QB for the Colorado Crush and once as the starting QB of Cleveland - posting just a 4-10 record against Chicago.
Here are Dutton's career numbers against Chicago:
G Comp Att Pct. Yds. TD Int Rating
14 338 536 63.1% 4,073 81 18 111.9
MICHNA NAMED OFFENSIVE POY: Rush quarterback Russ Michna has been named the Arena Football League's Russell Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in the team's 63-56 win over Dallas Saturday night, the AFL announced this week.
Michna rebounded from a two-game slump to complete 28 of 35 passes for 339 yards and four touchdowns, without throwing an interception. He also rushed for seven yards and a TD in the game. He led the offense to touchdowns on each of the team's first nine possessions of the game, helping snap Chicago's two-game losing streak and moving the team back into a tie with Milwaukee atop the league's Midwest Division.
For the season, Michna has completed 143 of 217 passes for 2,057 yards and 37 touchdowns, while throwing eight interceptions.
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