Rush names 2006 team award winners
Published on June 21, 2006 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Chicago Rush News Release
Chicago Rush defensive specialist Jeremy Unertl, WR/LB DeJuan Alfonzo, lineman John Sikora, lineman Khreem Smith and DS Todd Howard were named winners of the 2006 Rush awards, the team announced today.
Unertl was voted the team's MVP; Alfonzo was voted Ironman of the Year; Sikora was voted Lineman of the Year; and Smith was voted the team's Rookie of the Year. In addition, Howard was named the winner of the team's Walter Payton Award for community service.
Acquired in a trade with Columbus prior to Week 3, Unertl went on to solidify the Rush defense and lead the team in tackles (74), interceptions (8) and passes broken up (11). He was named ADT Defensive Player of the Game three times, and his eight interceptions were the most by any Rush player in one season since Dameon Porter had 10 interceptions in 2002.
Alfonzo is one of the team's best all-around players, finishing the regular season with 20 receptions for 213 yards and five touchdowns. On defense he added 50 tackles, a safety, two passes broken up and two fumble recoveries - including one that he returned for a team-record 46-yard touchdown. Alfonzo also returned two onside kickoffs for touchdowns, scored three two-point conversions and served as the team's main holder on extra points and field goals. During the month of May he was named Ironman of the Game four-consecutive times (May 6 vs. Utah, May 13 at Grand Rapids, May 21 at Nashville and May 28 at Colorado) and was one of the team's best performers in the playoffs, catching 22 passes, recording 18 tackles and scoring eight touchdowns in the team's four postseason games.
Sikora was the team's most-consistent lineman during the course of the season. One of only four Rush players to play in all 20 games this season, Sikora finished the year with 10 tackles and two passes broken up, while serving as a stabilizing force on the offensive line.
Smith finished his rookie season as the AFL leader in forced fumbles (6) and ranked second in the AFL in sacks (8.0) and was named Second Team All-Arena and to the AFL's All-Rookie team. He also recorded 22.5 tackles, two passes broken up and one blocked kick. His sack total is the third-highest single-season total in Rush history, behind John Moyer's 10 sacks in 2004 and nine in 2003.
Howard was named the winner of the Walter Payton Award for his outstanding work in the Chicagoland community. From visiting patients at Children's Memorial Hospital and Rush University Medical Center, to speaking to youth football players at summer camps and end-of-season banquets, to reading to Chicagoland students as part of the team's "Rush to Read" program, Howard embodies the team's community relations' efforts and the spirit of Walter Payton.
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