D'Orazio, Sippio lead Rush to 66-31 rout of L.A.
April 1, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Chicago Rush News Release
Rush fans have grown accustomed to seeing games come down to the final moments and often the final play. While that makes it exciting for the paying customers, it causes nothing but anxiety for head coach Mike Hohensee. Every once in a while, a blowout would be nice.
Hohensee got his wish as the Rush (4-1) hit the Los Angeles Avengers (2-2) with 42 first-half points on its way to an easy 66-31 win in front of 15,846 satisfied fans at Allstate Arena Sunday afternoon.
Quarterback Matt D'Orazio and wide receiver Bobby Sippio would combine for five touchdowns, with Sippio setting team records with 14 catches and 224 receiving yards.
"I love Matt," said Sippio. "He is the best quarterback I've ever played with. I think we get along so well because we both came from places where people didn't have a lot of confidence in us. Here, though, the coaches and our teammates all have confidence in us and we work hard to prove them right.
"We work so hard together every day, and we are never satisfied. Yes, we scored 66 points today, but I still don't think we've played our best game offensively."
As well as the offense played, it was the alert and hard-hitting Rush defense that had as much to with the outcome as anything. Going into this game, the Avengers had turned the ball over just once in three games. But on Sunday, the Rush defense forced five Avenger turnovers, which continually led to scoring opportunities.
The game got off to a relatively slow start as neither team was able to get their offense untracked in the first quarter.
In fact, the game was scoreless until the 1:07 mark of the first quarter when D'Orazio hit Sippio with a 12-yard TD pass.
Drawing first blood in an Arena Football League game is always advantageous, but the visiting Avengers had no idea what was about to hit them in the second quarter. After Curtis Eason recovered a Los Angeles fumble at the Avenger 11-yard line, Sippio caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from D'Orazio on the next play.
Los Angeles placekicker Remy Hamilton, who had missed a 29-yard field goal earlier in the game, connected from 34 yards to get the Avengers on the board. However, the Rush was not about to play the role of congenial host as D'Orazio took care of business once again, hitting Sippio for their third TD hookup of the half.
The lead went to 28-3 when Jonathan Ordway made an athletic interception of a tipped pass thrown by Los Angeles quarterback Sonny Cumbie. That was the first pick of the year thrown by the Avenger signal caller. D'Orazio varied the formula this time, scrambling into the endzone from 4 yards out.
In the final minute of the half, Los Angeles head coach Ed Hodgkiss thought his team had a chance to get back in the game when Cumbie hit Kevin Ingram with an 18-yard TD pass with 45 seconds remaining. The Avengers went for the onsides kick, but the Rush recovered deep in LA territory. D'Orazio was not about to let the opportunity pass. He connected with tight end John Moyer for a 6-yard scoring pass to extend the lead to 35-10.
The Avengers tried to cut the margin on the ensuing series by sending Hamilton for another field goal attempt with four seconds remaining. The kick was wide right and when the Rush controlled the ball off the net, the clock ran out. However, the officials ruled Los Angeles had interfered with Chicago's attempt to catch the kick and they gave the Rush an untimed down from the Chicago 10-yard line.
D'Orazio bought time by escaping the initial pass rush and he found Sippio breaking free at midfield on a crossing pattern. The pass hit Sippio in stride and, as he headed toward the near wall, he quickly reversed direction and angled to the far corner of the endzone. He outran the Los Angeles secondary and the Rush headed into the lockerroom with a decisive 42-10 lead.
RUSH NOTES: Sippio's huge day knocked Antonio Chatman out of the Rush record book. Chatman had caught 13 passes for the Rush in 2003 vs. Indiana and Henry Douglas tied that record in 2005 at Colorado. ... D'Orazio had one of the best days of his career, completing 23-of-30 passes for 287 yards and 6 TDs. He did not throw an interception. ... Backup QB Russ Michna came into the game late in the fourth quarter and scored his first touchdown on a 1-yard run with 1:44 remaining. ... DeJuan Alfonzo and Jeremy Unertl led a physical Rush defense. Alfonzo registered 9 tackles and several huge hits, while Unertl had 7.5 tackles and stopped Avenger running back Lonnie Ford from plowing into the endzone in the first quarter. ... Bob McMillen had 4 rushing attempts for 17 yards, including a 2-yard TD run in the 3rd quarter. The touchdown was his first of the season and the 81st of his career.
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