Sippio, D'Orazio lead Rush past Gladiators, 67-47
Published on April 23, 2006 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Chicago Rush News Release
Not this time.
There would be no blown lead and no four-game losing streak. The Rush remains in control of its own playoff chances.
Chicago made the most of its return home to Allstate Arena by pounding Las Vegas 67-47. The Rush offense, which has been so inconsistent throughout most of the season, put on a powerful display as QB Matt D'Orazio hit WR Bobby Sippio with a team record six TD passes, leading the Rush to its fifth win of the season.
The win was the 100th of head coach Mike Hohensee's career, who said he has learned that Sippio has much better hands than he ever realized before he came to the Rush via waivers on March 29. "He has soft hands - really soft hands - and he knows how to make big plays," Hohensee said.
The win in front of a record 16,230 fans improved the Rush record to 5-8. After losing consecutive road games to Orlando, Philadelphia and Arizona, the Rush was determined to set the pace by breaking out on top. D'Orazio took that charge seriously and was nearly flawless in directing the attack. He threw eight TD passes - tying a team record held by Billy Dicken (twice) and Raymond Philyaw - and also ran for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
As strong as the combination of D'Orazio to Sippio was, the Rush defense also deserves credit. That unit set the tone with several stops and forced fumbles in the first half and came through with a huge series in the late stages of the fourth quarter to clinch the win for Chicago.
After Las Vegas had closed to a 60-47 deficit midway through the fourth quarter on Craig Whelihan's 15-yard TD pass to Junior Lord, it looked like the Gladiators might climb back in the game when Rush kicker Keith Gispert missed a 25-yard field goal.
However, after three losses in a row, the Rush defense would have none of it. Led by the hard rush of rookie Khreem Smith, the defense pressured Whelihan on every snap and refused to allow him even one completion.
The Rush took over deep in Las Vegas territory and D'Orazio clinched the win with his TD run.
Hohensee's team took charge in the first half and played fundamentally sound football, knocking the Gladiators back a step on nearly every occasion
After Las Vegas kicker Eric Houle got the Gladiators on the board with a 36-yard field goal, the Rush got right down to business and put the ball in the endzone. D'Orazio directed a 2-play, 29-yard drive highlighted by a 15-yard TD pass to Etu Molden. The Rush receiver battled his way through four Las Vegas tacklers to get into the endzone for a 7-3 lead.
After an exchange of field goals, D'Orazio fired three more TD passes the rest of the half - and all three went to Sippio. Those TD passes, combined with a safety from lineman Curtis Eason gave the Rush a 31-13 lead at the half.
Not only was D'Orazio quite sharp in the first half - he completed 15-of-23 passes in the first 30 minutes - he also got plenty of help from a Chicago defense that forced three fumbles and held the Gladiators to 53 yards of total offense.
The Rush will try to register their first road win since February 18 when it plays at Georgia (7-6) on Saturday. Chicago hosts Utah (5-8) in its home finale Saturday, May 6.
RUSH NOTES: D'Orazio completed 22-of-34 passes for 309 yards and eight touchdown passes without throwing an interception...Sippio caught eight passes for 168 yards and six TDs...Woody Dantzler added six receptions for 49 yards...DS Marvin Taylor led the Rush with 6.0 tackles. ... Eason had 2 tackles, 1 assist, 1 TFL, 1 forced fumble and 1 sack.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 23, 2006
- Sippio, D'Orazio lead Rush past Gladiators, 67-47 - Chicago Rush
- Rampage beat Rattlers 45-42 on last-second field goal - Grand Rapids Rampage
- SaberCats Rally From 22 Down For 63-59 Win Over Austin - San Jose SaberCats
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