After two agonizing home losses to start the season, the Rush hit the road with a lot of  uncertainty on Friday night. It was their first road game of 2013 and the Rush had a ton of weight on their shoulders. They would go up against their division foes the San Antonio Talons.

The Rush lost both meetings to the Talons last year who went on to win the division. The Rush also had the burden of only winning three road games all of last season on them as well. But fear not, the Rush went on the road and did the unthinkable. They went to the Alamodome, and defeated San Antonio 48-41.

The Rush defense showed significant improvement from the previous two weeks, they held San Antonio to just three touchdowns in the first half. The Rush had a 28-21 lead at halftime. Bob McMillen’s group would continue to put on the pressure as they held the Talons to just one touchdown in the third quarter.

The Rush outscored the Talons 14-7 in the third quarter. The Talons would break through in the fourth as they outscored the Rush 13-6 and came within a hair of taking the lead. With 4:30 left in the game, Talons quarterback Rohan Davey threw a 12-yard-touchdown pass to wide receiver Burl Toler. The Rush led 42-41 and the Talons just needed the extra point to tie.

But the PAT was blocked by the Rush special teams unit, their second blocked PAT of the season. The Rush would finish the game with Carson Coffman throwing a 15-yard touchdown pass to fullback J.J. Payne. They attempted a two point conversion but it failed. The Rush defense would get a couple more stops to seal the deal.

The Rush would hang on to win, 48-41. Reggie Gray did not catch a touchdown, his first game without a score this year. Carson Coffman also had a rough night as he only completed 16-of-38 passes for 199 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also threw an interception and was sacked three times.

Rodney Wright was the leading receiver as he caught 6 passes for 77 yards and 2 touchdowns. The rushing game also chipped in as J.J. Payne, Rodney Wright, and Carson Coffman combined for 7 carries and 20 yards. Coffman had two rushing touchdowns in the game.

The defense also finally managed to get some turnovers, four of them to be exact. But they are still looking for their first sack of the season. Defensive back Joe Phinisee led the Rush in tackles with 9. The Rush can return home in a good mood as they have finally tasted victory.

They have a chance to get to the .500 mark with their second win of the season a week from Sunday when the winless Pittsburgh Power makes it’s way to Rosemont. It looks like the Rush are finally starting to get things together.

 

The Rush finish their home schedule on a losing note and here’s how it all went down:

First Quarter: A brawl between both teams broke out before kickoff. But once the game started Rush Receiver Reggie Gray returned the opening kick the full 50 yards to take a 7-0 lead with 14:10 remaining in the game.

But the Talons would tie the game on their first drive of the game. Aaron Garcia went 3-4 passing and capped it off with a 27 yard touchdown pass to Derek Lee to tie the game at 7 with 11:22 left in the first.

The Rush would turn the ball over when Russ Michna over threw Jared Perry and it was intercepted by the Talons. But the Rush would get the ball back 4 plays later when Jorrick Calvin picked off an Aaron Garcia pass. Russ Micha would drive the Rush downfield and cap the drive off with a 4 yard touchdown run by Luke Drone. But Joe Houston would miss the extra point so the Rush only led 13-7 with 2:22 remaining.

The first quarter would end with San Antonio making it all the way down to the Rush 15 yard line.

Second Quarter: Garcia puts the Talons in the end zone again with a touchdown pass to Receiver Jomo Wilson. It was 14-13 Talons with 12:00 remaining.

When the Rush went back on offense Russ Michna got sacked and knocked down twice. Then on 3rd down Michna under pressure again found a wide open Jared Perry from 41 yards out to take a 20-14 lead with 7:38 left before halftime.

On the Talons next possession it seemed like Jorrick Calvin had his 2nd pick of the game but it was wiped out by an illegal defense penalty. A few plays later Aaron Garcia found Derek Lee again but they would miss the extra point. The game was tied at 20 with 2:03 left before halftime.

But Russ Michna would answer back as he throws it to Jared Perry who makes a beautiful overhead catch to take a 27-20 lead at the one minute warning.

On the ensuing kickoff the Rush for whatever reason beyond any human understanding attempted an onside kick but the Talons would recover and score thanks to Derek Lee. The game was now tied at 27 with :57 left to play.

Third Quarter: San Antonio started the 2nd half on offense. First Aaron Garcia converted a huge 3rd down and 20 to put the Talons on the Rush 9. Then Garcia would hook up with Lee again for another touchdown pass. San Antonio would take a 34-27 lead with 9:09 remaining in the third.

But 3 minutes later Russ Michna would fin Jared Perry for the 2nd time to tie the game at 34 with 6:04 remaining in the third.

On the ensuing kickoff the Rush would strip the ball from Talons kick returner Brent Holmes but the referees initially ruled down by contact. Coach McMillen would issue a challenge and the replay proved it was a fumble and the Rush won the call. On the very next play Reggie Gray would score but then another fight would break out before the extra point. Once things calmed down the Rush would convert the PAT to take a 41-34 lead.

But then the Talons would come right back with another Aaron Garcia touchdown pass to tie the game at 41. 3:24 was left on the clock at that point.

Fourth Quarter: San Antonio started the game 1st and 10 from the Rush 15. Garcia threw a pass towards the end zone but it was broken up by Semaj Moody. But for some reason the refs called pass interference on Moody. So the Talons had it 1st and goal from the Rush 2. They tried a running play but the Rush defense stopped the play back at their own 15. But Garcia would throw another touchdown pass afterwards. But the Talons would miss the extra point so the game was tied at 41 with 13:22 left.
Then on the Rush’s next possession J.J. Payne would score from half of the field on a beautiful screen pass from Russ Michna with a great block from T.J. Watkins. The Rush would take the lead back 54-47 with 10:41 left in the game.

But the celebration would be short lived as the Talons would score again. It started with a monster kick return by Talons Receiver Jomo Wilson to take San Antonio down to the Rush 14 yard line. Aaron Garcia would follow it up with a 14 yard touchdown pass to Wide Receiver Jason Willis to tie the game at 54 with 9 minutes left.

The Rush would turn the ball over on downs as Russ Michna was sacked twice on the next drive. The Talons would get another generous call courtesy of today’s officials, illegal defense against the Rush. Then San Antonio scored on a 6 yard run by Fullback Chad Cook, Jeffery Fitzgerald was held on that play but it was not called. The Talons led 61-54 at the one minute warning.

The Rush would try to answer back but would turn the ball over on downs again when Russ Michna would get sacked. He was sacked 5 times on the day, the Talons would run the clock out from there and go on with a 61-54 win.

Later tonight I’ll have a full post-game report complete with the press conference, interviews, and the box score. Keep your browser log onto Q101.com

 

So far it’s quiet at the Allstate Arena

Today is the final home game for the Chicago Rush on the 2012 AFL season, but it is also the most important game of the season. Today the Rush welcome division rivals the San Antonio Talons to Rosemont. The Talons are first place in the Central Division and have already clinched a playoff spot. They are hoping to clinch the division title as well and they can do that with a victory over the rush today. But the Rush have other plans in mind as they continue to fight for a playoff spot of their own. They currently are fifth in the AFL’s National Conference but only the top four get into the playoffs.

San Jose currently occupies the fourth and final playoff spot in the conference but have yet to clinch. But they already have the advantage over the Rush because they beat them twice this season {including handing the Rush their first home loss of the season last week}, and the SaberCats won their game with New Orleans last night. Here is the box score from that game: http://www.arenafootball.com/game/new-orleans-voodoo-san-jose-sabercats-7-7-2012 They now own a full game lead over the Rush. The Rush can knock that lead back down to a half game with a victory today.

But it won’t be easy as San Antonio is currently on a 9 game winning streak. They also have one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play arena football in Aaron Garcia. The future hall of famer is one of the greatest passers this league has ever seen. And he has always given the Rush fits for every team that he’s ever played for. And to think Garcia’s career nearly ended four years ago when he sustained a serious shoulder injury. Garcia can read defenses, has a quick release, and is pretty good at avoiding the pass rush. Combine that with a solid San Antonio pass rush and the Rush have their work cut out for them today.

But the Rush are on their home turf where they have compiled a record of 7-1. They also want to keep the franchise record of playoff appearances alive. The team has made it to the playoffs in every season of their existence. The Rush know what’s on the line and they will do whatever it takes to get the job done. I expect a hard fought game today.

Rush Defensive Back Vic Hall is still on the injured list with his leg injury, but another defensive back joins him on that list. Brian Leinhart who was injured a couple weeks ago against Georgia is still healing from his injuries. The defensive secondary for the Rush has taken a pounding during these summer months but they’ve always found a way to get through the adversity.

Here are today’s starting lineups:

For The Rush:

Offense:

QB #12 Russ Michna

FB #43 J.J. Payne

WR #1 Reggie Gray

WR #6 Jared Perry

WR # 2 Terrance Turner

TE #73 T.J. Watkins {He has returned from his thigh injury}

C #51 Billy Eisenhardt

G #70 C.J. Cobb

Defense:

DE #93 Cedric McKinley

NT #92 Darrell Campbell

DE # 95 Jeffery Fitzgerald

MLB #56 Nekos Brown

JLB# 37 Kelvin Morris

DB #18 Boubacar Cissoko

DB #22 Semaj Moody

DB# 14 Jorrick Calvin

For San Antonio:

Offense:

QB #8 Aaron Garcia

FB #28 Chad Cook

WR #18 Derek Lee

WR #7 Jason Willis

WR # 10 Brent Holmes

TE #90 Ty Nsekhe

C #99 Jamarr Ward

G # 64 Ray Hisatake

Defense:

DE #42 Victor DeGrate

NT #56 Devon Allen

DE #22 Gabe Nyenhuis

MLB# 17 Wesley Mauia

JLB #44 Jamar Ransom

DB #6 Fred Shaw

DB # 2 Eric Crocker

DB #4 Kevin Fontenette

Last night, I along with other writers who cover the Rush were featured on the Rush website. We gave our predictions for today’s game, you can read that article here: http://arenarush.com/news/rush/index.html?article_id=208

You can follow me during the game on Twitter: @GabeSalgado82 Hashtag: #Q101Sports and I will be posting on q101.com again at halftime.

Here is a pre-game interview I conducted with Rush Head Coach Bob McMillen: