This One was Right

Jeff Sims
Tuesday May 31, 2011

It took the Chicago Rush more than 60 minutes to get a victory on Sunday afternoon at Allstate Arena.

And at the 60 minute mark, the Tulsa Talons thought that they had defeated the Rush for the second time this season.

On second down and goal from the two yard line with 10.6 seconds to play, trailing the Talons 48 - 42, Rush quarterback Russ Michna pitched the football to fullback Johnnie Kirton. Kirton was stopped just before the goal line and the Rush called a timeout with just under five seconds left.

On the next play, Michna faked a handoff and rolled out to pass. He was pressured hard by the Tulsa defensive line and was apparently sacked by Talons linebacker Nekos Brown.

Game over and Rush loss, right?

Not on this day. For the Chicago Rush on Sunday afternoon the saying could be, if at first you don’t succeed ...leave the game in the hands of the officials for a second chance.

As has been the case in a number of games this season around the league, critical plays are resulting in yellow laundry being thrown on the field.

There were offsetting penalties on the play. There was an illegal formation penalty on the Rush for having three men on the line of scrimmage. Even more important, there was also and an illegal formation penalty on the Talons. With there being a defensive penalty on the play, there would be one untimed down for the Rush.

On the play, Michna put springs in his shoes and leaped over the Tulsa defensive line and held the ball across the goal line for a Rush touchdown. After the touchdown, kicker Chris Gould hit the extra point to secure the 49 – 48 Chicago Rush victory.

After the game, Talons head coach Mitch Allner stormed into the tunnel back toward the locker rooms to voice his displeasure with what had just transpired.

“This is the worst officiating in the league so far this year,” screamed Allner at the officials as they went back to their locker room. He continued to voice his opinion to AFL Commissioner, Jerry Kurz, who was in attendance as well.

Some members of Allner’s team also came back to the locker room area screaming about the officiating and yelling things that cannot be printed in this article.

Now granted, I have been one to criticize some of the officiating in the league this season as much as the next guy. I will also give a little benefit of the doubt and state that they have one of the hardest jobs of officiating a sport that is as fast as Arena Football.

In this case, the fact of the matter is that the officials got it right.

Now I am not saying that this was a well officiated game as a whole, but I am saying that the one play that mattered most was called correctly.

In looking at the replay (thank goodness for DVR and the game being broadcast on Comcast SportsNet in Chicago), Talons mack linebacker Jamar Ransom (who was released from the Rush during training camp), moved toward the line of scrimmage before the snap.

That is a penalty.

“We knew they were going to come after us,” said Michna. “So we knew that we were going to get a penalty no matter what. There was just no way that they were going to sit back. We were hoping to surprise them a little bit, but we didn’t. That’s the call. Offsetting penalties and play another down, but we don’t want to make it that interesting.”

The Rush deserved the untimed down and were able to take advantage of it with the leaping skills, or lack thereof, of Michna.

“I don’t think I got up at all,” Michna said. “Good thing they (the Talons defensive line) went down. I went forward and may have only gotten (a couple of inches) off of the ground. Maybe.”

Both teams had the opportunity to run away with this game. The Rush lost two fumbles and Michna threw one interception that went right through the hands of his intended receiver.

Talons QB Justin Allgood matched his effort in week two when he was the starter for the Philadelphia Soul. Allgood came into Allstate Arena a second time and matched his three interceptions. All in all, he has thrown six interceptions against the Rush this season.

“We won this football game tonight because we were the better football team,” said McMillen. “We were the better football team, but we just executed like crap all night. And we were lucky enough to win the game and we will take it.”

The Rush are now 8 – 3 and now hold a two game lead in the central division after the Dallas Vigilantes lost to the Pittsburgh Power on Saturday night.

As they continue to pull out wins and improve in the process, the Chicago Rush are putting themselves in a position to make a solid playoff push this season.

Game Notes

Reggie Gray handled most of the kick return duties as Jason Simpson was still nursing his sore ribs. Gray took a kickoff in the first quarter and returned it 58 yards for a touchdown. Simpson did play on defense and recorded seven tackles. In the return game, Simpson had one return for 24 yards.

New Rush WR JJ McElvey made his Allstate Arena debut and put up some impressive numbers in a system that he is not yet familiar with. McElvey caught nine passes for 88 yards and three touchdowns. With McElvey, the recently acquired Derek Lee, Reggie Gray, and Charle Dillon, the Rush might have the most formidable receiving corp in the league right now.

Credit needs to be given to Talons WR Troy McBroom (6’3” 220). McBroom has put up solid numbers on the Rush twice this season. On Sunday, he caught ten passes for 126 yards and two scores. His continued consistent performances should make him a force to contend with for years to come in this league.

The Rush retired John Moyer’s number 99 on Sunday afternoon. Moyer was a lineman for the Rush from 2002 to 2008. A strong defensive presence that teams had to scheme to contain, Moyer holds the team record for sacks in a season (10) as well as career sacks. He was the AFL Lineman of the Year (notice no specification of offense or defense) in 2004 and was the team’s Lineman of the Year for four out of his seven seasons. He is a class act and well deserving of the honor.