Thank You Philadelphia
Jeff Sims
Monday June 23, 2008
Coincidentally, it was just after that announcement that the Dallas Desperados pulled their starting quarterback Clint Dolezel in favor of back-up Chris Sanders.
The win for Philadelphia meant that the Soul would gain a first round bye and home field advantage throughout the National Conference playoffs and that the Desperados would be playing next weekend in the wild card round.
It was on that possession that Dallas went four plays and out as the Rush gained their first stop of the game. Chicago would turn around and score on a one-yard run by QB Russ Michna. This put the Rush up by two scores and practically guaranteed them the top spot in the American Conference. Chicago would end up with a 75 – 63 victory late on Sunday afternoon.
“This game only meant something if New York won,” said Dolezel. “And they didn’t win; they got their butts kicked so there was no use in staying out there and possibly getting hurt.”
This game was a little bit more important to the Rush. Chicago needed the victory to ensure that they would have home field throughout the American Conference playoffs. A loss would have given the top spot to the San Jose SaberCats. Besides, the Rush needed to come out of their recent slide having lost three of their last four games.
To their credit, the Chicago Rush played a very solid game on Sunday and may have pulled out a victory of the team were at full strength for the entire game. They were not stopped by the Desperados defense all game.
“What we talked about was that they made their decision,” said Rush head coach Mike Hohensee in reference to his team message after Dallas made the switch. “We can’t do anything about that. Don’t use it as an excuse. Make sure that we take care of our business. They weren’t able to get done what they needed to get done. They realized that Philly had won, so they put that other quarterback in and we had to make sure that we took care of what we needed to take care of no matter what was going on over on their side.”
The game was tied 35 -35 at halftime and the Rush came out and scored on their first possession of the second half. That was when the decision was made to pull Dolezel from the game. Prior to his exit, Dolezel completed 17 of 21 passes for 165 yards and four touchdowns.
“We wanted to play it safe,” said Desperados head coach Will McClay. “We wanted to be smart and try to get out of this thing injury-free. We wanted to see how some other guys would respond because you never know what might happen next week.”
Dallas definitely has a concern if something happens. Sanders completed only 12 of 25 pass attempts in relief and appeared to struggle at times.
The Desperados were also without Ironman Will Pettis who sat out the game recovering from a concussion suffered last week.
Michna had a solid game for the Rush as he completed 16 of 23 passes for 181 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for two scores.
Wide receiver Donovan Morgan had the big day of the Rush big three wide receivers. He finished with nine catches for 123 yards and three scores.
Now for the first time in the eight year history of the Rush, the team finished at the top of its conference and has the ability to host a conference final prior to the ArenaBowl.
“Hopefully everyone comes out and supports us during the playoffs,” said Rush nose tackle James Baron on the house microphone right after the game. “Let’s show everyone that Chicago has the best fans and the best atmosphere in the league.”
It will be difficult for anyone coming into the Allstate Arena. The Rush are 15 -2 at home over the past two seasons. Having only won one conference title in four attempts the past four seasons, the Rush are anxious to have the road to the ArenaBowl come through their home.
“Now is when the real work starts,” said Hohensee.
Game Notes
The 75 points put up by the Rush was the highest point total for the team this season.
The Rush scored 926 points as a team this season. That sets a new team record.
It is evident that the Rush miss All-Arena linebacker and Ironman DeJuan Alfonso on more than just defense. The Rush gave up 202 yards during kickoff returns on Sunday. Alfonso was always involved in special teams play.
The Rush kicking carousel continued for a third week as Paul Edinger, who was signed to replace Dan Frantz, sat out his second straight game with a groin injury. Last week, the Rush pulled Joe O’Donnell from the stands (literally) to kick in their loss to Georgia. This week, the Rush signed Todd France, who was let go by the Orlando Predators so that they could sign Frantz after he was released from Chicago (this sounds like a badly written script). France went 9 – 11 on extra points on Sunday and did not attempt a field goal.
Jeff has been writing for ArenaFan.com since 2004. Originally from New York, Jeff has been living in the Chicago area for the past ten years and is an avid football fanatic. He holds a BA in communications from Hofstra University in New York and a sports management certificate from Loyola University in Chicago.
