Sports stats



Colorado Crush game notes

March 7, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Colorado Crush News Release


QUICK FACTS:

Colorado Crush (5-1) at Chicago Rush (3-3)

Date: March 10, 2006
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. MT
Site: Allstate Arena (16,000)
Television: OLN (Ari Wolfe: play-by-play, Charles Davis: analyst, Mitch Robinson: sidelines)
Radio: KHOW 630 AM (Marc Stout: play-by-play, Andy Lindahl: analyst)
Coaches: Mike Dailey, Colorado (92-59, 10th Year)
Mike Hohensee, Chi. (98-87, 13th Year)
Officials: Referee: Steve Pamon
Umpire: Wes Fritz
Head Linesman: Neil Brunner
Line Judge: R.G. Detillier
Back Judge: Tony Lombardo
Series Record: Chicago leads the series 4-3
@ Colorado 58, Chicago 76 (4/13/03)
Colorado 35, @ Chicago 65 (2/22/04)
@ Colorado 56, Chicago 47 (5/30/04)
@ Colorado 48, Chicago 51 (2/13/05)
Colorado 51, @ Chicago 75 (4/17/05)
@ Colorado 49, Chicago 43 OT* (6/5/05)
@ Colorado 65, Chicago 56 (1/29/06)
* indicates postseason game

THE GAME:

The 2005 ArenaBowl Champion Colorado Crush head out for their third road game in four weeks when they travel to Chicago to face the Rush on Friday, March 10th at 6:30 p.m. MT. Colorado has never won at Allstate Arena going 0-2 and falling by an average of 27 points per contest.

In the first meeting between these two teams in the season opener, Damian Harrell snared four touchdown receptions, including a tiebreaking score with one second left, to help give Colorado a 65-56 win at the Pepsi Center. Harrell's score capped a tit-for-tat duel between the Central Division rivals that saw just one defensive stop between the two teams.

With the Crush's 66-54 victory over Grand Rapids last weekend, Colorado's fourth 60+ point game of the season, the Crush regained the top spot as the league highest scoring team averaging 56.8 points per game. Colorado has led the AFL in scoring in all but one week this season.

As a team, Colorado has scored the most touchdowns on the season amassing 48 total scores. Harrell is currently tied for the league lead with 21 receiving touchdowns and ranks second in the AFL with 716 receiving yards, while John Dutton is only one TD pass away from the top spot in the AFL with 36.

The Chicago Rush are coming off a 59-42 loss to the Dallas Desperados this past Sunday at home. The defeat snapped Chicago's three-game win streak and moved them to 3-3 on the year. The Rush will be playing their third straight contest in the
confines of Allstate Arena, where they have went 2-2 with wins over Nashville and San Jose and losses to New York and Dallas. For the second week in a row, Rush FB/LB Bob McMillen needs just seven yards to become the AFL's all-time leading rusher. Against the Desperados, McMillen did not attempt a single run. Over his 12-year career, he has gained 1,376 yards on the ground.



PRACTICE SCHEDULE:

Tues, March 7- Practice at South Suburban Sports Dome
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Wed, March 8- Practice at South Suburban Sports Dome
9:00 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.

Thurs, March 9- Travel to Chicago

Fri, March 10- Crush vs. Chicago, 6:30 p.m. MT

Sat, March 11- Travel to Denver

Sun, March 12- Players Off Day

Mon, March 13- Players Off Day

THE SCHEDULE:

COLORADO CRUSH (5-1)

Date OPPONENT RESULT SCORE
Jan. 29 CHICAGO W 65-56
Feb. 5 at Georgia W 61-59
Feb. 12 LAS VEGAS W 65-55
Feb. 18 at Nashville L 36-58
Feb. 26 at Philadelphia W 48-38
March 5 GRAND RAPIDS W 66-54
March 10 at Chicago
March 19 at Los Angeles
March 25 COLUMBUS
April 1 NASHVILLE
April 8 at Grand Rapids
April 16 at Kansas City
April 21 UTAH
April 28 ORLANDO
May 6 at San Jose
May 12 ARIZONA

CRUSH NEXT WEEK:

The Crush travel to Los Angeles on Sunday, March 19th to face the Avengers at the STAPLES Center at 4:00 p.m. MT. Colorado will be playing their fourth road contest in their last five games. The Crush-Avengers series is tied 2-2 with Colorado captures wins in the last two meetings.

CONNECTIONS:

Crush Head Coach Mike Dailey and Rush Head Coach Mike Hohensee are best friends, having spent a great deal of time on the same coaching staffs. Dailey was Hohensee's best man in his wedding and is the godfather to his children. They both began as assistants at Montgomery Junior College in Rockville, Md ... Crush OS Damian Harrell played two seasons under Hohensee in New England ... Colorado QB Todd Hammel went to training camp with the Rush in 2006.

STATISTICS:

A look at how Colorado and Chicago match-up on both sides of the ball based on 2006 regular season statistics:

Statistical COLORADO CHICAGO
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 1st 56.8 7th 53.3
Scoring Defense 12th 53.3 13th 54.0
Total Offense (yds/g) 6th 293.3 T-7th 292.7
Total Defense (yds/g) 7th 280.7 T-11th 287.2
Pass Offense 4th 281.8 11th 261.7
Pass Defense 6th 255.5 13th 269.5
Rushing Offense 13th 11.5 5th 31.0
Rushing Defense 15th 25.2 6th 17.7
Passer Rating 7th 112.0 2nd 127.7
Def. Passer Rating 17th 121.3 13th 110.8
Kickoff Returns 7th 17.8 10th 16.9
Turnover Margin T-14th -4 T-3rd +3
Field Goals 3rd 3-4 T-4th 6-9
PATs 1st 40-48 17th 26-31
First Downs T-4th 128 7th 125
Opp. First Downs T-7th 116 17th 128
Off. Penalties (yds/g) 5th 35.8 15th 44.5
Sacks By 7th 7-28 2nd 10-55
Sacks Against 3rd 2-13 17th 13-49
Time of Possession 12th 29:40 4th 31:34
Red Zone Offense 11th 25-31 T-3rd 25-29
Red Zone Defense 18th 23-24 15th 26-29

THE CRUSH THIS SEASON ARE:

O H R
Overall Record 5-1 3-0 2-1
Overtime Games 0-0 0-0 0-0
Score first 2-0 1-0 1-0
Opponent scores first 3-1 2-0 1-1
Score 40+ points 5-0 3-0 2-0
Score less than 40 points 0-1 0-0 0-1
Games decided by 10+ pts 3-1 2-0 1-1
Games decided by 7 pts or less 2-0 1-0 1-0
Games decided by 3 pts or less 2-0 1-0 1-0
Lead at halftime 2-0 1-0 1-0
Trail at halftime 2-1 1-0 1-1
Are tied at halftime 1-0 1-0 0-0
Lead after 3rd quarter 4-0 3-0 1-0
Trail after 3rd quarter 0-1 0-0 0-1
Are tied after 3rd quarter 1-0 0-0 1-0
Lead time of possession 3-1 1-0 2-1
Trail time of possession 2-0 2-0 0-0
Positive turnover margin 2-0 1-0 1-0
Negative turnover margin 2-1 1-0 1-1
Even turnover margin 1-0 1-0 0-0
More total yards offense 2-1 0-0 2-1
Less total yards offense 3-0 3-0 0-0
On Fridays 0-0 0-0 0-0
On Saturdays 0-1 0-0 0-1
On Sundays 5-0 3-0 2-0
vs. American Conference 3-1 3-0 0-1
vs. Central Division 2-1 2-0 0-1
vs. Western Division 1-0 1-0 0-0
vs. National Conference 1-0 0-0 1-0
vs. Eastern Division 1-0 0-0 1-0
vs. Southern Division 1-0 0-0 1-0

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

Feb. 10, 2006- Signed QB Todd Hammel. Placed on Injured Reserve OL/DL Chris Berg.
Feb. 17, 2006- Activated from Injured Reserve OL/DL Craig Heimburger. Placed on Injured Reserve OL/DL Aaron Johnson.
Feb. 20, 2006- Waived WR/DB Toure Carter.
Feb. 25, 2006- Activated from Injured Reserve OL/DL Chris Berg.
March 5, 2006- Placed on Emergency Hold K Clay Rush. Signed Emergency K Jason Ball.
March 6, 2006- Placed on Injured Reserve K Clay Rush. Activated from Emergency Kicker Jason Ball.

HEAD COACHES:

MIKE DAILIEY, Colorado (93-59, 10th Year): Dailey enters his third season in Colorado and tenth as head coach in the AFL, after becoming the Crush's second head coach on June 26, 2003. Dailey joined the Crush following 13 seasons in the Albany/Indiana Firebirds organization, including the final seven as head coach.

One of the most successful and well-respected coaches in AFL history, his teams have made seven postseason appearances and he has won four division titles and two championships.

Last season under Dailey's guidance, the Crush captured their first Central Division title en route to claiming a 51-48 victory in ArenaBowl XIX giving Colorado their first AFL championship in only their third year of existence. With the team's win over Chicago in the American Conference championship game on June 5th, Dailey became the fourth winningest coach in AFL history surpassing Perry Moss.

In his first season in Colorado, Dailey helped guide the Crush to the largest turnaround in AFL history, inheriting a 2-14 team and leading them to an 11-5 record in 2004, tied for the best in the league. He also led the Crush to their first playoff appearance and first win, advancing to the AFL Semifinals.

In 1999, Dailey led the Firebirds to their only ArenaBowl championship and was named AFL Coach of the Year. Before being named head coach of the Firebirds in 1997,
Dailey served as an assistant in Albany for five seasons.

Dailey began his AFL coaching career with the Washington Commandos where he served as offensive/defensive line coach in 1990. He joined the Firebirds organization in the same capacity in 1991.

Prior to the AFL, Dailey worked as an assistant coach at Towson State University and was the offensive coordinator at Montgomery College-Rockville (Md.). Dailey got his start in coaching in 1981 as a 22-year-old assistant at Georgetown Prep High School in Rockville, Md. The move to coaching followed a semi-pro football career in the Washington D.C. area.

All-Time Winningest AFL Coaches
Including Postseason

Rank Name-Team Wins
1. Tim Marcum- Tampa Bay 180
2. Danny White- Utah 143
3. Mike Hohensee- Chicago 98
4. Mike Dailey- Colorado 93
5. Perry Moss- not active 86
6. Darren Arbet- San Jose 84
7. Michael Trigg- not active 80
8. John Gregory- not active 73


MIKE HOHENSEE, Chicago (98-87, 13th Year): With Chicago's 51-48 win in Colorado February 13th, Rush head coach Mike Hohensee moved into sole possession of third place on the AFL's all-time wins list. Hohensee, in his 13th 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 95-84 (including a 44-33 mark with the Rush). He has a career 7-9 mark in the postseason. He has led the Rush to five-consecutive playoff berths and two Central Division titles (2002 and 2004). Hohensee is 4-2 all-time when taking on the Crush.
Hohensee joined the Rush after spending the previous two seasons as head coach and director of player personnel for the New England Sea Wolves. He has spent a total of 12 seasons coaching in the Arena Football League, including prior head coaching stints with the Washington Commandos (1990), the Albany Firebirds (1994-96), the Anaheim Piranhas (1997) and the New England Sea Wolves (1999-2000).
He began his coaching career as an assistant for the Chicago Bruisers in 1989 before becoming the youngest head coach in league history for the Washington Commandos in 1990.
Hohensee played professional football for the Washington Federals of the USFL, the CFL's Ottawa Rough Riders and Toronto Argonauts and the Pittsburgh Gladiators of the AFL- where he is credited with throwing the first touchdown pass in AFL history. He also saw action with the Chicago Bears during the 1987 season.
Hohensee was an all-America quarterback at San Antonio Junior College before transferring to the University of Minnesota.

LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET:

DENVER -- Damian Harrell snared four touchdown receptions, including a tiebreaking score with one second left, to help give the Colorado Crush a 65-56 win over the Chicago Rush in a season-opening rematch of the 2005 American Conference championship game in front of 14,832 at Pepsi Center on Sunday afternoon.
Harrell's score capped a tit-for-tat duel between the Central Division rivals that saw just one defensive stop between the two teams, who spent most of the afternoon exchanging touchdowns.
The streak of scores finally ceased when Colorado's Saul Patu jarred the football loose from Chicago's Henry Douglas late in the third quarter, allowing the Crush to recover and gain possession at the Chicago 8-yard-line. Three plays later, Harrell scored his third touchdown of the third quarter to give the Crush a 49-36 lead, its largest to that point in the game.
Colorado would increase its lead to 14 points at 56-42 before the Rush rallied with back-to-back touchdown drives sandwiched around a Russell Shaw interception at the Chicago 1-yard-line.
Chicago played without injured kicker Keith Gispert, forcing Todd Howard and Michael Bishop into emergency kicking duties. The duo split work on kickoffs, while Howard attempted an extra point that missed wide left. The absence of a full-time kicker forced Chicago to go for it on four fourth downs -- all of which they converted.
John Dutton completed 22-of-34 passes for 291 yards and eight touchdowns with one interception for the Crush; he also ran for another score. Chicago quarterback Matt D'Orazio made his starting debut for the Rush and completed 22-of-32 passes for 265 yards and five scores. He also ran for three touchdowns and finished as the game's leading rusher with 23 yards on 10 carries.
Colorado featured a pair of 100-yard receivers: Harrell, with 111 yards on seven receptions, and wide receiver/linebacker Andy McCullough, who grabbed seven passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns.

LAST WEEK:

DENVER -- Only the stragglers of the Grand Rapids Rampage kickoff-coverage unit kept Willis Marshall from the promised land.
Whether it was a tackle from behind or a diving, hit-absorbing stop by Rampage kicker Peter Martinez, Grand Rapids put up just enough roadblocks to keep Marshall out of the end zone on his seven kickoff returns. They didn't, however, preclude him from dashing upfield for an average of 28.3 yards on seven returns. That pace set the Colorado Crush in good field position from start to finish Sunday afternoon and helped propel them to a 66-54 win in front of 14,597 at the Pepsi Center.
But the way Colorado's offense moved the ball, it wasn't an issue. It scored on 10 of its first 11 possessions, and at one point found the end zone on six consecutive drives, a streak that wasn't snapped until the game's final seconds, when the Crush looked merely to gain positive yardage and run out the clock, and not to extend a 12-point lead.
Nine of the Crush's 10 scoring drives found the end zone, and five of the nine touchdowns landed in Damian Harrell's hands, as he snagged nine passes for a season-high 149 yards. He wasted no time beginning his scoring, catching a 20-yard scoring pass from John Dutton on the game's first play from scrimmage.
That touchdown commenced a day-long theme of running plays to get Harrell into single coverage or, in the case of that touchdown, into wide-open space. Dutton veered left upon taking the snap and the flow of the play went in that direction. Harrell, meanwhile moved to the right side of the field. By the time he got inside the 5-yard-line, no Rampage defenders were in sight, and Dutton threw across the field and found the offensive specialist at the goal line for the touchdown.
Three of Harrell's five touchdowns came on one-play possessions, including the game's first and last scores.
Colorado kicker Clay Rush missed the game with an upper-right leg strain. Jason Ball, who last kicked with the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz of af2, filled in and made seven-of-nine extra-point attempts, along with a 25-yard field goal.



THINGS TO WATCH:

IT'S NOT OVER TILL IT'S OVER:

Since head coach Mike Dailey has arrived in Colorado in 2004, the Crush have claimed victory in the final minute of the game in six contests. Both of the Crush wins in 2006 have come down to the final 60 seconds of play.

2004
- vs. Las Vegas (2/6)- QB John Dutton tosses two touchdown passes to OS Damian Harrell in the final 12 seconds to give Colorado a stunning 43-42 victory.

- at Detroit (5/23)- QB John Dutton found WR/DB Willis Marshall for a 10-yard touchdown pass with one second on the clock as the Crush won 45-42.

2005
- vs. Nashville (5/13)- K Clay Rush splits the uprights on a 31-yard field goal as time expires to give Colorado a 52-49 win.

- vs. Georgia (6/12)- K Clay Rush connects on a 20-yard field goal as time expires to give the Crush a 56-48 victory in ArenaBowl XIX.

2006
- vs. Chicago (1/29)- QB John Dutton hits OS Damian Harrell for a touchdown with one second remaining as the Crush go on to win 65-56.

- at Georgia (2/5)- QB John Dutton finds OS Damian Harrell for a 13-yard touchdown with 45 seconds left to lift Colorado to a 61-59 victory.

THE STEAK STOPS HERE:

In Week 2, with the Crush's 61-59 victory over Georgia, Colorado snapped the Force's 11-game regular season home winning streak. Georgia's steak was tied for the third longest in AFL history. The Force had also won two playoff games in Philips Arena pushing their mark to 13 straight home games before the lost to Colorado.

Three weeks later, the Crush ended the Philadelphia Soul's perfect mark at home for the 2006 season. The Soul had started the year a perfect 3-0 at the Wachovia Center before Colorado captured a 48-38 victory on 2/26/06.

BUILDING A WINNING TRADITION:

The Crush are the winningest team in the AFL since head coach Mike Dailey's arrival, having tied for the league's best record in 2004 (11-5) and finishing with the American Conference's top seed in 2005 (10-6).

Team 2004 2005 2006 Total
Colorado 11 10 5 26
Orlando 10 10 4 24
Chicago 11 9 3 23
Tampa Bay 9 10 4 23
New York 9 10 3 22
San Jose 11 9 2 22
Los Angeles 9 10 1 20
New Orleans 11 9 0 20

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH:

After finishing their inaugural season 0-8 at home, the Crush are now 18-3 under Mike Dailey (2-0 in the postseason) at the Pepsi Center. Two of the three losses consist of an overtime field goal by Indiana's kicker Clay Rush (now with Colorado) in 2004, and a 51-48 Chicago win in 2005 on a field goal with 3 seconds remaining.

Through six weeks of the 2006 season, Colorado is one of only four teams still undefeated at home (Austin, Nashville and Orlando).

STEEL CURTAIN:

After allowing 14 sacks in 2003 (12 on Dutton), the Crush pass protection has been stellar under head coach Mike Dailey. The team allowed just four sacks in 2004, and none after Week 6 at San Jose (3/14/04). Colorado did not allow a sack in their final 446 offensive plays of the 2004 regular season (10+ games).

The Crush allowed just six sacks in 2005, which includes an unforced fumble by QB John Dutton that the Crush recovered, on the opening play vs. Los Angele (2/27/05). On the 2005 season, Colorado held 10 opponents sackless.

The Crush have now allowed just seven sacks in their last 30 regular season games (total of 1,434 plays).

ALL-PURPOSE MARSHALL:

Following his selection to the All-Ironman team last season, Willis Marshall is making a case to make it two years in a row.

Against Grand Rapids (3/5), Marshall amassed 275 all-purpose yards, the second highest single-game total in team history (291- Willis Marshall, vs. San Jose 4/22/05) and the most all-purpose yards by ANY player in the league this season.

His 198 kickoff return yards vs. the Rampage were also second all-time in club history (227- Willis Marshall, vs. San Jose 4/22/05).

Currently, he stands fourth in the AFL in all-purpose yards with 1,004 on the season (10 rushing, 398 receiving and 596 return).

JUST FOR KICKS:

Crush kicker Clay Rush is among the all-time great AFL kickers. A two-time AFL Kicker of the Year, Rush currently ranks fourth on the all-time scoring list by kickers and fifth for field goals made.

AFL All-Time Leading Scorers (Kickers)
Rk Player Years Pres. Tm Points
1. Mike Black 1993-04 n/a 1,240
2. Steve Videtich 1996-pres. Utah 1,304
3. Remy Hamilton 1998-pres. L.A. 1,125
4. Clay Rush 1999-pres. Colorado 957
5. Daron Alcorn 1997-04 n/a 771
6. Kenny Stucker 1994-99, 2003 n/a 754

AFL Most All-Time Field Goals Made
Rk Player Years Pres. Tm FGM
1. Mike Black 1993-04 n/a 175
2. Steve Videtich 1996-pres. Utah 163
3. Remy Hamilton 1998-pres. L.A. 144
4. Kenny Stucker 1994-99, 2003 n/a 118
5. Clay Rush 1999-pres. Colorado 113
6. Daron Alcorn 1997-04 n/a 100

A BROKEN RECORD:

Damian Harrell has caught a touchdown pass in an AFL record 55 straight regular season games, including all 52 games as a member of the Crush. That streak is also the longest active streak of consecutive games scoring a TD. He broke the record for consecutive games with a receiving touchdown on 4/3/05 in the win over Las Vegas. It is also second-longest streak of consecutive games with a TD. Harrell's streak began with the Toronto Phantoms vs. Carolina on 7/4/02.

AFL Consecutive Games with a TD Reception
Year (Week)
Player (team) Stk began Stk ended # Games
Damian Harrell (Tor/Col) 2002 (Wk 12) --- 55
Eddie Brown (Albany) 1997 (Wk 3) 2000 (Wk 1) 41
Eddie Brown (Albany) 1994 (Wk 1) 1996 (Wk 14) 33
Chris Jackson (LA) 2000 (Wk 1) 2002 (Wk 7) 28

AFL Consecutive Games Scoring a Touchdown
Year (Week)
Player (team) Stk began Stk ended # Games
Eddie Brown (Alb/Ind) 1997 (Wk 3) 2002 (Wk 3) 65
Damian Harrell (Tor/Col)2002 (Wk 12) --- 55
Chris Jackson (LA) 2000 (Wk 1) 2003 (Wk 14) 47
Barry Wagner (Orlando) 1992 (Wk 10) 1996 (Wk 11) 43
Eddie Brown (Albany) 1994 (Wk 1) 1996 (Wk 14) 33

MAN OF STEEL:

A true AFL Ironman, Kyle Moore-Brown is in his 12th season in the league and has never missed a game. ArenaBowl XIX marked his AFL record 176th consecutive start. The first 139 all came with the Firebirds organization before he signed with the Crush prior to the 2004 season.

With Grand Rapids OL/DL Otis Moore missing two games in 2005, Moore-Brown now stands alone in the record books with 159 straight regular season games. Each had appeared in every game since 1995, with Moore-Brown having the overall edge with more playoff appearances.

AFL Record for Consecutive Games
Player (current team) Reg. Season Playoffs Total
Kyle Moore-Brown (Colo.)* 164 18 182
Otis Moore (Gra.) 153 1 155
*streak current

CRADLE OF COACHES:

Strangely enough, little Montgomery Junior College in Rockville, Md., is the cradle of AFL coaches. Crush head coach Mike Dailey (offensive coordinator) and Chicago head coach Mike Hohensee (quarterbacks coach) were assistants on the same staff there. Los Angeles head coach Ed Hodgkiss also coached there. Seven future NFL players played at Montgomery as well as Columbus quarterback John Kaleo, who finished his collegiate career at Maryland after leading Montgomery to the national championship game. Sadly, despite all of these successes and an all-time record of 315-154-13, Montgomery JC discontinued the football program in 2002.

Former Montgomery Junior College Coaches
Mike Dailey (current Colorado head coach) Ernesto Purnsley (1997-98, 2000-03)
Mike Hohensee (current Chicago head coach)
Ed Hodgkiss (current Los Angeles head coach)
Brent Winter (current Los Angeles assistant head coach)
Earl Hoffman (former Albany Firebirds quarterback coach)

AND THE AWARD GOES TO:

The Crush have been recognized for some of their achievements this season, both as a team and as players by being honored with the following awards:

AFLWA Schutt Top 12 Poll
# 1 ranking- Week 1
# 1 ranking- Week 2
# 1 ranking- Week 3
# 1 ranking- Week 4

AFL Offensive Player of the Week
John Dutton- Week 1

Beckett.com Player of the Week
John Dutton- Week 1

AFLWA Player of the Week
Damian Harrell- Week 1

ArenaFan Offensive Player of the Week
Damian Harrell- Week 1

ArenaFan Defensive Player of the Week
Rashad Floyd- Week 3

AFLWA pre-season Offensive Player of the Year
Damian Harrell

AFLWA pre-season Defensive Player of the Year
Rashad Floyd



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 7, 2006


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Colorado Crush Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central