When a team goes into a game, there is always a 50/50 chance that the team is going to win.

 

Similarly, there is also a 50/50 chance that a team is going to recover an onside kick during the game.

 

Combine the two and your chances of winning a game and recovering an onside kick become significantly smaller.

 

Call them lucky for accomplishing both or call them deserving of moving on due to their good play, but the Chicago Rush pulled the hat trick and defeated the Dallas Vigilantes for the third time this season with a 54 – 51 victory on Saturday night at Allstate Arena. The victory moves the Rush on to the National Conference Final game against the Arizona Rattlers this coming Saturday night.

 

“Was it a pretty victory? Did we deserve the victory?” asked Rush head coach Bob McMillen after the game. “Not according to someone on the other team telling me that. But whatever you guys want to say, it doesn’t make a difference. We are going on to the next round conference finals.”

 

It can be debated as to whether the Rush were outplayed by the Vigilantes for the duration of the game. After early scores by both teams, Dallas was able to take the upper hand after capitalizing on a fumble by Chicago wide receiver Charles Dillon.

 

With a three point lead at halftime, the Vigilantes came out and took a two-score lead when they scored a touchdown to start the third quarter.

 

The Rush hung tough and matched Dallas score for score throughout the second half and remained within reach. They were never able to get that much needed turnover that their defense has been accustomed to getting all season long. Something needed to go their way in order for them to regain another possession and take control of the game.

 

“I believed that we were going to win this game,” said McMillen “I knew that at some point in time, something was going to go our way. Charles Dillon tried to do something in the first quarter and unfortunately he loses the football. But I always believed that our defense was going to make a stop or we were going to do something special to get that possession back.”

 

That something special came late in the fourth quarter when Rush kicker Chris Gould executed a perfect onside kick that was recovered by Shatone Powers, who was playing in his first game for the Rush this season.

 

“Dallas’s alignment was a little off,” said Gould. “They had a guy about five yards to the left of the ball. And that was what I saw. From there, I wanted to kick it to an open spot. So what happens there is the ball goes about nine and a half yards and the guy (on the opposing team) has to make a decision to either block, let the ball go by him, or step up and get smashed. Our kickoff team did a great job of letting the ball go ten yards and wiping everybody out so we could get it.”

 

McMillen stated emphatically of Gould’s kick, “it was his kick”. “He called it. We designed it in practice. It was all about the read and the guy in front of him. He kicked it perfect. I’m glad our guys were smart enough to stay onsides and not to hit the football within ten yards. And then Shatone Powers, in his first game with us, makes the biggest play of the night for us.”

 

As the Rush offense had been hoping for all evening, they finally had the chance to regain that possession and they did not disappoint themselves, the coaching staff, or any one of the Rush fans in attendance.

 

With the first pass of the drive after the recovery, Rush quarterback JJ Raterink completed a pass to former Vigilantes wide receiver Derek Lee, who took it all the way for the go ahead score.

 

“You just hope for the opportunity,” said Raterink, who now only has two interceptions in his six games for Chicago. “You can only dictate so much. You are trying to stay as even keel as possible, but inside you are churning pretty good because you know the time is winding down unless you get the ball or something happens, the clock is going to run out on you. You are just hoping for something to happen and it did.”

 

Even though the Rush did not want to score too fast, Lee appeared determined to reach the end zone once he caught the ball to give the rush their first lead of the game since early on at 7- 0.

 

With less than a minute to play in the game, the Vigilantes had one last attempt to retake the lead and move on in the playoffs. This was when the Rush defense stepped up and made plays when it had to.

 

On a fourth down with seconds to play, Vigilantes coach Clint Dolezel made the decision to go for a touchdown instead of attempting the field goal to potentially force the game into overtime.

 

On the play, Vigilantes quarterback Dan Raudabaugh overthrew his receiver and the Rush defense had made their first stop of the night and sent the team on to the next round of the playoffs.

 

“When the game was on the line, who stepped up?” asked McMillen. “The defense made a stop on fourth down. They held one of the best offenses in the league to just over 50 points. I thought they played a great game.”

 

Offensive lineman Vince Vance separated his left shoulder and continued to play in the game. He expects to play in the game on Saturday against the Rattlers.

 

The game was well officiated by the six man crew led by Shawn Hochuli. This may be something that the league wants to look at for next season for all games.

 

Rush wide receiver JJ McKelvey worked out before the game, but was unable to explode in his routes. He was unable to play and says he will definitely be ready and available to play against Arizona.

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.