Rush mounts big comeback
April 21, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Chicago Rush News Release
Grand Rapids - It took the Chicago Rush nearly three quarters to shake off the rust from its bye week, but once the team found its stride, it poured it on en route to a 75-54 road win Saturday night over the Grand Rapids Rampage.
The win was the team's sixth in a row, giving the Chicago a 6-1 record - the best start to a season in team history.
Trailing 47-34 with less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Rush rattled off 34-consecutive points to take a 68-47 lead with one minute remaining and put the game out of reach.
"I am really proud of the way the team responded in the second half," said Rush head coach Mike Hohensee. "This is a tough place to play and we were not sharp in the first half. However, we didn't panic and began to make plays in the second half."
Wide receiver Bobby Sippio caught 12 passes for a team record 252 yards and five touchdowns - including scores of 42, 45 and 48 yards - to continue his sensational season. He now has scored 32 touchdowns in seven games - just three shy of his career best for touchdowns in a season set last year.
The defense, again, was a key to the turnaround, as the Rush forced four more turnovers to bring its season total to 24.
Linebacker DeJuan Alfonzo, who always seems to be around the ball, was responsible for two of the turnovers.
First, Alfonzo started the Rush rally by forcing a Timon Marshall fumble with the Rush trailing 47-41. The Rush converted the turnover into points when Sippio took a 20-yard pass from D'Orazio, broke a couple of tackles and turned it into a 42-yard TD to tie the score at 47-47.
Then, with just 20 seconds remaining in the game, Alfonzo intercepted a Chad Salisbury pass and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown to give the Rush its final margin of victory. It was Alfonzo's fourth interception of the season and the second he has returned for a TD.
"Coach Hohensee told us to just keep playing hard," said Alfonzo. "He told us that things would turn around and we would begin making plays and he was right."
In between the two Alfonzo turnovers the Rush defense twice held the Rampage on downs and benefited from rookie James Sadler's first career interception to take control of the game.
The Rush returns home for back-to-back Monday night games against Jon Bon Jovi's Philadelphia Soul on April 30 and arch-rival Colorado on May 7.
NOTES: Rookie Rob Mager, signed this week and playing in his first career game, scored three touchdowns - two rushing and one receiving...lineman E.J. Burt recorded his fifth sack of the season ... in addition to his first career interception, Sadler also recovered the fumble forced by Alfonzo.
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