Chicago Rush Game Notes
June 9, 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: Rush leads 2-1
Series Streaks: Chicago won the last meeting
Last Meeting: April 23, 2010, Rush 63, Utah 40
Coaches (regular season, postseason records - AFL only):
Mike Hohensee (124-97, 12-11 16th season)
Ron James (13-19, 0-0 3rd season)
Officials: Steve Strimling (Referee), Scott Campbell (Umpire), John Jenkins (Head Linesman), Bart Longson (Line Judge), Clay Reynard (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 4,583
May 29 @ Cleveland
* W, 52-49 8,688
June 4 Jacksonville L, 64-56 7,430
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 6-3-0 589 513 2-0
RUSH 6-3-0 502 479 3-2
Cleveland 4-5-0 540 479 1-2
Iowa 3-5-0 401 423 1-3
BLAZING A TRAIL WEST: The Rush is back on the road this week, heading west to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Blaze Saturday night. The Rush will be looking to complete a season sweep of the Blaze, as Chicago defeated Utah 63-40 at Allstate Arena earlier this season.
Utah has struggled all year, beginning the season 1-6 before firing its entire coaching staff last week. New head coach Ron James took over the team in time for its trip to Cleveland last Friday, but James was unable to turn things around in his first week on the job, as Utah fell to Cleveland 75-39.
TOUGH TWO-GAME STAND UP NEXT: After this week's game in Utah, the Rush returns home to host the Milwaukee Iron and Orlando Predators in back-to-back weeks. With the Rush and Iron currently tied atop the Midwest Division, the June 19 game against Milwaukee could end up being the determining factor in the division race - setting up home field advantage in the playoffs.
Chicago's following game against Orlando will bring former Rush star wide receiver Bobby Sippio back to Allstate Arena. Sippio played for the Rush from 2006-2007 before signing with the Kansas City Chiefs. The game will mark Sippio's first trip back to Allstate Arena since the end of the 2007 season.
RUSH BITTEN BY SHARKS: A battle between two teams tied for the best record in the AFL lived up to the hype last Friday, but the Chicago Rush fell short, losing to the Jacksonville Sharks 64-56 at Allstate Arena.
Shorthanded with the loss of injured starting wide receivers Nichiren Flowers and Kenny Higgins, the Rush battled hard, but a few untimely bounces and Sharks' quarterback Aaron Garcia's historic night proved too much for Chicago to overcome.
The Rush was on the wrong end of two kickoffs that bounced off the iron - one in each half - resulting in 14 free points for the Sharks.
Despite the crazy bounces, the Rush trailed by just eight points and had a chance to tie the game when DB Josh Ferguson intercepted a Garcia pass with less than two minutes remaining in the game.
Rush QB Russ Michna led the team down to the Jacksonville 4-yard line, but the Chicago drive stalled when Michna's passes on third and fourth down fell incomplete.
Jacksonville took over on downs and proceeded to run the clock out to end the game.
It was an evenly matched contest throughout the first half, but a costly intentional grounding penalty on Michna in the end zone turned the game in the Sharks favor.
With the Rush leading 28-27 and just 46 seconds remaining in the half, Michna slipped and fell while dropping back to pass. Hoping to avoid a sack, he jumped to his feet and threw the ball into the stands. However, an intentional grounding penalty in the endzone was called, resulting in a safety and a 29-28 Sharks lead.
On the ensuing possession, Jacksonville kicker Paul Edinger connected on a 25-yard field goal, making the score 32-28 Sharks going into the half.
Jacksonville received the ball to start the second half and made the most of it, scoring on a 24-yard completion from Garcia to Jason Willis making the score 39-28. The passing touchdown was number 932 of Garcia's career, putting him atop the AFL's all-time leaderboard.
The teams continued to trade blows throughout the third quarter, and went into the fourth quarter with Jacksonville on top 52-49.
Two straight touchdowns and missed extra points later, Jacksonville pulled away 64-49.
But the Rush refused to go away, and Robert Boss' 10-yard touchdown run put the Rush within a score and set the stage for Ferguson's interception.
BACK-TO-BACK LOSSES AT ALLSTATE: Chicago's loss last week to Jacksonville at Allstate Arena was the team's second-consecutive home loss this season, having lost at home to Iowa on May 15. It is the first time the Rush has lost consecutive home games since 2006 when the team lost to Dallas and Colorado on March 5 and March 10, respectively.
Overall, Chicago is 49-21 all-time at Allstate Arena (including postseason).
RUSH UPENDS BLAZE IN APRIL: The Rush defeated the Utah Blaze 63-40 earlier this season when the teams met at Allstate Arena. Here is a recap of the game:
The Rush passing game was on full display as quarterback Russ Michna went 22 for 31 for a career-high 330 yards and six passing touchdowns to go along with his first rushing touchdown of the season.
Michna's favorite target proved to be Nichiren Flowers, who caught nine passes for 129 yards and three touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, the Rush defense held the Blaze to a Rush opponent season-low 40 points. And although the defense only forced one turnover - Nygel Rogers' league-leading fifth interception of the season - the Rush stopped the Blaze offense on three fourth down attempts.
SHORT HISTORY BETWEEN RUSH & BLAZE: Including the game earlier this season, the Rush and Blaze have met only three times, with Chicago holding a 2-1 series lead.
In 2006, the Rush set a franchise record for points scored in an 84-48 rout of the Blaze. In 2008 at Utah, the Blaze evened the series at 1-1, winning 51-48 when Utah kicker Steve Videtich kicked an 18-yard field goal as time expired.
Here is a look at the Rush-Blaze Series Results:
2006: Rush 84, Blaze 48 (May 13@ Chicago)
2008: Blaze 51, Rush 48 (May 24 @ Utah)
2010: Rush 63, Blaze 40 (April 23 @ Chicago)
THE SECOND HALF: The Rush reached the season's midway point with a record of 6-2, which at the time was tied for the best record in the AFL with Jacksonville, Milwaukee and Spokane.
Here is a breakdown of Chicago's history in the first and second halves of the season:
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 5-3 9-7
2006 3-5 4-4 7-9
2007 7-1 5-3 12-4*
2008 6-2 5-3 11-5*
2010 6-2 0-1 ?
* Central Division champion
LOOKING FOR A HEALTHY BODY: The Rush coaches are spending time this week looking for a few healthy bodies - both at wide receiver and on the line.
Prior to last week's game against Jacksonville, the Rush lost two of its three starting wide receivers to injury - Kenny Higgins and Nichiren Flowers. Both players were placed on Injured Reserve on Friday, June 4 and will miss a minimum of four weeks.
Then, during the game with Jacksonville, linemen Shawn McMackin and Darnell Whitley each left the game with injuries. The Rush should receive an update on the status of each player later this week.
The Rush currently has four players on its Injured Reserve list - three of which are wide receivers.
Here is a list of Chicago's players on IR:
WR James Banks
WR Nichiren Flowers
WR Kenny Higgins
DL Jamus Martin
VICKERSON TRADE VOIDED: Chicago's deal last week to acquire defensive lineman Quartez Vickerson from Oklahoma City in exchange for offensive lineman Thaddeus Coleman was voided by the league. With the AFL's trade deadline now past, the Rush must look to the free agent market to find help on the defensive line.
MICHNA'S ROLL CONTINUES: Rush QB Russ Michna has been playing some of his best football the last three weeks. In the team's last three games, Michna has completed 72 of 95 passes for 903 yards and 13 touchdowns, without throwing an interception. In fact, dating back to the third quarter of the team's May 15 game vs. Iowa, Michna has attempted 106 consecutive passes without throwing an interception.
His quarterback rating for the last three games is an outstanding 139.1.
For the season, Michna has completed 187 of 277 passes for 2,621 yards and 46 touchdowns, while throwing eight interceptions. His QB rating for the year is 125.3.
Currently, Michna ranks second in the AFL in passer rating, second in completion percentage and fourth in passing yards.
PARKER NOW THE MAN: With injuries to starting wide receivers Nichiren Flowers and Kenny Higgins, WR Samie Parker is the only one of the team's starting wide receivers who remains healthy.
Parker, who signed with the Rush just after training camp started, has played in each of the team's nine games, catching 60 passes for 923 yards and 12 touchdowns.
As evidence of his big-play ability, Parker's 923 receiving yards rank him sixth in the league, despite only ranking 15th in the AFL in receptions.
A fourth-round draft choice of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2004, Parker spent four seasons in Kansas City, catching 110 passes for 1,529 yards and seven TDs. After leaving KC, Parker had stints with the Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders before playing with the UFL's Las Vegas Locomotives in 2009.
TURNER'S TIME TO SHINE: The injuries to starting receivers Nichiren Flowers and Kenny Higgins - along with the early season injury to reserve WR James Banks - have opened the door for rookie wide receiver Alan Turner. Turner moved into the starting lineup May 29 at Cleveland and will remain there for the foreseeable future.
In his two games as a starter, Turner has caught 11 passes for 139 yards and three touchdowns.
HE'S THE BOSS: Rush fullback Robert Boss continues to excel after making the switch from tight end to fullback this season. Last week against Jacksonville, Boss rushed for 14 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 14 yards and a TD.
So far this season Boss has rushed for 65 yards and six touchdowns and caught seven passes for 73 yards and three TDs. His nine total touchdowns rank third on the team behind Nichiren Flowers and Samie Parker.
`ZO CONTINUES TO DO IT ALL: Rush linebacker DeJuan Alfonzo continues to prove he is one of the most valuable players in the AFL. In addition to being one of the best Jack linebackers in the league - as well as the team's holder on kicks - Alfonzo proved last week he can still play on the offensive side of the ball as well. With the Rush receiving corps depleted by injuries, Alfonzo moved to wide receiver last week and ended up leading the Rush with 10 receptions for 124 yards.
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