Defense Rules as Rush Pound Avengers
July 9, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Chicago Rush News Release
The Arena Football League's best defense was on display Monday night at Allstate Arena, as the Chicago Rush began the defense of its ArenaBowl title with an impressive 52-20 win over Los Angeles in an American Conference Divisional playoff game.
The win sends the Rush (13-4) to the American Conference Final in San Jose this Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. It will be the second-consecutive season, and third time in the last four years, that the Rush has played an AFL semifinal game in San Jose, with the teams splitting the previous two meetings.
"Doesn't it seem like we always have to find a way to go through San Jose to get where we want?" asked Rush linebacker John Moyer after the game.
"It should be a fantastic game," said Rush head coach Mike Hohensee. "Both teams are very talented and match up well against each other."
The tone for Monday's win was set early, as Rush DB Jeremy Unertl intercepted a Sonny Cumbie pass on the game's third play and returned it 24-yards for a touchdown, giving Chicago an early 7-0 lead.
In addition to the Unertl interception, the Rush defense pressured Cumbie all night long, holding him to just 26 completions on 50 attempts for 257 yards and three TDs. The Rush defense held LA scoreless in the second half - the second-consecutive game in which the Rush shut out its opponent in the second half.
Rush linebacker John Moyer recorded two sacks, giving him nine career in the playoffs, second best in AFL history behind former Rush lineman James Baron who has 9.5.
Meanwhile, as the defense was shutting down LA, the Rush offense kept extending its lead. QB Matt D'Orazio, playing with back so sore he looked like he was struggling at times to walk, completed 14 of 20 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns before giving way to backup Russ Michna early in the fourth quarter.
D'Orazio also caught a touchdown pass from Bobby Sippio, who lined up at QB for several plays during the game.
"I feel better than I look," said D'Orazio after the game. "I was just having some muscle spasms, but I'll be fine."
Leading 17-14 with 11:34 left in the second quarter, the Rush closed the game on a 35-6 run, beginning with a Sippio six-yard TD reception to make the score 24-14.
The Rush defense then held the Avengers on their next drive, forcing LA into attempting a 30-yard field goal. Kicker Remy Hamilton, however, missed the kick wide left, and the Rush regained possession.
A great catch by Sippio and some goal line trickery then helped extend the Rush lead to 31-14 with just 37 seconds remaining in the half.
On fourth-and-21 from its own 21-yard line, Mike Hohensee elected to go for it and D'Orazio responded by finding Sippio with a 28-yard completion to the LA 1-yard line. Sippio's athletic catch set the Rush up with first-and-goal. One play later, Sippio, now at quarterback, hit D'Orazio, who was lined up at receiver, for a touchdown.
The Avengers used the last 37 seconds of the half wisely, scoring on a 2-yard reception by Josh Jefferies with just eight seconds remaining. But when Hamilton missed the PAT, the Rush lead was 31-20 at the half.
Chicago extended its lead to 38-20 just 2:35 into the third quarter when Sippio, with a defender draped all over him, came down with the ball in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown reception.
Then, after shutting our LA for the entire third quarter, the lead grew to 45-20 on the first play of the fourth quarter when Sippio, again lined up at QB, kept the ball himself and scored on a four-yard run.
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