The Chicago Rush season was the seventh season for the franchise. They looked to win the ArenaBowl again after winning it in 2006 with a 7–9 record. They won the American Football Conference Central Division with a 12–4 record and qualified for the playoffs as the #2 playoff seed in the conference, losing in the conference championship to the San Jose SaberCats.
Schedule
Regular season Week Date Opponent Home/Away Game Result 1 March 4 Kansas City Brigade Away L 54–41 2 March 9 San Jose SaberCats Home W 48–45 3 March 18 New York Dragons Home W 61–40 4 March 24 Columbus Destroyers Away W 55–47 5 April 1 Los Angeles Avengers Home W 66–31 6 April 7 Nashville Kats Away W 66–54 7 Bye Week 8 April 21 Grand Rapids Rampage Away W 75–54 9 April 30 Philadelphia Soul Home W 54–43 10 May 7 Colorado Crush Home W 59–48 11 May 14 Dallas Desperados Away L 52–48 12 May 19 Nashville Kats Home L 44–27 13 May 26 Arizona Rattlers Away W 53–47 14 June 2 Los Angeles Avengers Away L 50–47 15 June 9 Grand Rapids Rampage Home W 55–32 16 June 18 Colorado Crush Away W 66–57 17 June 23 Kansas City Brigade Home W 48–21
Playoffs Round Date Opponent Home/Away Game Result AC Divisional March 4 Los Angeles Avengers Away W 52–20 AC Championship March 4 San Jose SaberCats Away L 61–49
Coaching Mike Hohensee started his seventh season as head coach of the Rush.
Personnel moves
Acquired
Departures
2007 roster Uniform # Player Position Height Weight (lb) 23 DeJuan Alfonzo DS 6'0" 205 13 Kevin Beard WR 6'1" 192 88 D.J. Bleisath OL/DL 6'2" 280 94 Robert Boss OL/DL 6'5" 296 75 Jason Holshoe OL/DL 6'4" 285 96 E.J. Burt OL/DL 6'2" 265 1 Woody Dantzler WR/DB 6'0" 205 10 Matt D'Orazio QB 6'4" 215 55 Curtis Eason OL/DL 6'2" 290 4 Dan Frantz K 6'1" 200 0 Pete McMahon OL 6'8" 330 44 Bob McMillen FB/LB 6'3" 260 85 Andy McCullough WR 6'4" 216 81 Ahmad Merritt WR 5'10" 195 8 Russ Michna QB 6'2" 220 66 Frank Moore OL/DL 6'2" 315 99 John Moyer OL/DL 6'3" 265 5 Nick Myers OL/DL 6'3" 285 20 Jonathan Ordway DB 5'10" 178 93 Joe Peters OL/DL 6'5" 275 21 Dennison Robinson WR/DB 6'0" 195 7 James Sadler WR/DB 6'0" 205 3 Russell Shaw WR/DB 5'10" 190 98 John Sikora OL/DL 6'4" 280 3 Bobby Sippio OS 6'3" 220 58 Khreem Smith OL/DL 6'4" 270 37 Jeremy Unertl WR/DB 6'2" 220 97 Demetrios Walker DL 6'3" 260
Stats
Offense
Passing Player Comp. Att. Comp% YardsTD's INT's Long Rating Matt D'Orazio35150669.43789821048122.4
Rushing Player Car. Yards Avg. TD's Long Matt D'Orazio611342.21218 Bob McMillen35912.6514 DeJuan Alfonzo13574.4738 Rob Mager5275.4211 Etu Molden4143.516 Bobby Sippio4112.808 Ahmad Merritt48204 Joe Peters24213 Russ Michna33112 Buchie Ibeh1−2−20−2
Receiving Player Rec. Yards Avg. TD's Long Bobby Sippio125173913.95348 Etu Molden8197712.11344 Rob Mager7581110.81345 DeJuan Alfonzo2724519.1731 Ahmad Merritt2020310.2233 Bob McMillen9849.3131 Buchie Ibeh77110.1016 Kevin Beard7476.709 Robert Boss2199.5214 Woody Dantzler11515015 John Moyer16616
Touchdowns Player TD's Rush Rec Ret Pts Bobby Sippio530530318 DeJuan Alfonzo15771120 Etu Molden15213090 Rob Mager14212084 Matt D'Orazio12120074 Bob McMillen651036 Jonathan Ordway300318 Robert Boss202014 Ahmad Merritt202012 John Moyer101012 Russ Michna11006 Joe Peters11006
Defense Player Tackles Solo Assisted Sack Solo Assisted INT Yards TD's Long Dennison Robinson 102 88 28 0 0 0 7 45 0 22 DeJuan Alfonzo 93 66 54 0 0 0 6 147 3 47 Jeremy Unertl 72.5 64 17 0 0 0 6 75 0 26 James Sadler 40 31 18 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Jonathan Ordway 39 35 8 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 D.J. Bleisath 32.5 24 17 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 John Moyer 30.5 19 23 3 3 0 1 39 1 39 Joe Peters 25.5 14 23 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 E.J. Burt 21.5 15 11 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 Curtis Eason 16.5 8 17 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Russell Shaw 14.5 12 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dan Frantz 12.5 11 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Bob McMillen 5 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ahmad Merritt 5 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Etu Molden 5 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 John Sikora 4 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Robert Boss 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Bobby Sippio 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Matt D'Orazio 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Rob Mager 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Special teams
Kick return Player Ret Yards TD's Long Avg Ret Yards TD's Long Avg Jonathan Ordway 40 812 3 57 20.3 1 13 0 13 13 Russell Shaw 16 321 0 43 20.1 2 47 0 25 23.5 Etu Molden 12 126 0 16 10.5 0 0 0 0 0 Woody Dantzler 6 101 0 27 16.8 0 0 0 0 0 Rob Mager 3 46 0 16 15.3 0 0 0 0 0 DeJuan Alfonzo 4 35 0 19 8.8 2 20 1 12 10 Bobby Sippio 1 35 0 35 35 0 0 0 0 0 Bob McMillen 1 5 0 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 James Sadler 1 2 0 2 2 1 23 0 23 23 Ahmad Merritt 0 0 0 0 0 1 32 0 32 32 Dennison Robinson 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 24 12 John Sikora 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Kicking Player Extra pt. Extra pt. Att. FG FGA Long Pct. Pts Dan Frantz 104 115 11 27 56 0.407 137
Playoff Stats
Offense
Quarterback Player Comp. Att. Comp% YardsTD's INT's
Running backs Player Car. Yards Avg. TD's Long
Wide receivers Player Rec. Yards Avg. TD's Long
Special teams
Kick return Player Ret Yards Avg Long
Kicking Player Extra pt. Extra pt. Att. FG FGA Long Pts
Regular season
Week 1: at Kansas City Brigade
at Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri
Scoring summary:
1st Quarter: 11:42 – CHI 18 yd Pass to Bobby Sippio from Matt D'Orazio (Failed PAT) 07:21 – KC 1 yd Run by Raymond Philyaw (PAT by Clay Rush) 02:07 – CHI 24 yd Interception Return TD by DeJuan Alfonzo (PAT by Dan Frantz)
2nd Quarter: 12:11 – KC 5 yd Pass to Jerel Myersfrom Raymond Philyaw (PAT by Rush) 11:29 – KC Safety 06:41 – KC 11 yd Pass to Jerel Myers from Raymond Philyaw (PAT by Rush) 01:10 – CHI 2 yd Pass to Bobby Sippio from Matt D'Orazio (Failed PAT by Dan Frantz)
3rd Quarter:
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Week 2: vs San Jose SaberCats
at Allstate Arena, Chicago
Scoring summary:
1st Quarter: 10:40 CHI – Bobby Sippio 23 yd pass from Matt D'Orazio (Dan Frantz kick) – 7–0 CHI 06:04 SJS – George Williams 5 yd pass from Mark Grieb (A.J. Haglund kick) – 7–7 02:00 CHI – Dan Frantz 56 yd field goal – 10–7 CHI 01:20 SJS – Rodney Wright 43 yd pass from Mark Grieb (A.J. Haglund kick) – 14–10 SJS 00:32 CHI – Jonathan Ordway 57 yd kickoff return (Dan Frantz kick) – 17–14 CHI
2nd Quarter: 03:26 CHI – Bobby Sippio 3 yd pass from Matt D'Orazio (Dan Frantz kick) – 24–14 CHI 00:09 SJS – A.J. Haglund 25 yd field goal – 24–17 CHI 00:00 CHI – Dan Frantz 39 yd field goal – 27–17 CHI
3rd Quarter: 11:20 CHI – Andy McCullough 12 yd pass from Matt D'Orazio (Dan Frantz kick) – 34–17 CHI 05:42 SJS – George Williams 2 yd pass from Mark Grieb (A.J. Haglund kick) – 34–24 CHI
4th Quarter: 14:14 CHI – Bobby Sippio 9 yd pass from Matt D'Orazio (Dan Frantz kick) – 41–24 CHI 09:49 SJS – James Roe 9 yd pass from Mark Grieb (A.J. Haglund kick) – 41–31 CHI 05:58 SJS – James Roe 12 yd pass from Mark Grieb (A.J. Haglund kick) – 41–38 CHI 03:07 CHI – Andy McCullough 8 yd pass from Matt D'Orazio (Dan Frantz kick) – 48–38 CHI 00:43 SJS – Ben Nelson 5 yd pass from Mark Grieb (A.J. Haglund kick) – 48–45 CHI
Week 3: vs New York Dragons
at Allstate Arena, Chicago
Scoring summary:
1st Quarter: 11:34 NYD – Ja'Mar Toombs 1 yd run (Carter Warley kick) – 7–0 NYD 06:44 CHI – Matt D'Orazio 4 yd run (Dan Frantz kick) – 7–7 02:01 NYD – Mike Horacek 4 yd pass from Rohan Davey (Carter Warley kick) – 14–7 NYD
2nd Quarter: 10:13 NYD – Carter Warley 48 yd field goal – 17–7 NYD 09:50 CHI – Jonathan Ordway 55 yd kickoff return (Dan Frantz kick) – 17–14 NYD 07:27 NYD – Kevin Swayne 25 yd pass from Rohan Davey (Carter Warley kick failed) – 23–14 NYD 05:52 CHI – Bobby Sippio 33 yd pass from Matt D'Orazio (Dan Frantz kick) – 23–21 NYD 01:20 CHI – Bobby Sippio 15 yd pass from Matt D'Orazio (Bobby Sippio rush failed) – 27–23 CHI 00:32 NYD – Mike Horacek 29 yd pass from Rohan Davey (Carter Warley kick) – 30–27 NYD
3rd Quarter: 09:24 NYD – Carter Warley 24 yd field goal – 33–27 NYD 06:42 CHI – Bobby Sippio 24 yd pass from Matt D'Orazio (Dan Frantz kick) – 34–33 CHI 00:53 CHI – Ahmad Merritt 9 yd pass from Matt D'Orazio (Dan Frantz kick) – 41–33 CHI
4th Quarter: 13:09 CHI – DeJuan Alfonzo 2 yd fumble recovery (Dan Frantz kick failed) – 47–33 CHI 09:11 CHI – Bobby Sippio 12 yd pass from Matt D'Orazio (Dan Frantz kick) – 54–33 CHI 05:14 CHI – Bobby Sippio 16 yd pass from Matt D'Orazio (Dan Frantz kick) – 61–33 CHI 02:01 NYD – Ja'Mar Toombs 2 yd run (Carter Warley kick) – 61–40 CHI
Week 4: at Columbus Destroyers
at Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
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Week 5: vs Los Angeles Avengers
at Allstate Arena, Chicago
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Week 6: at Nashville Kats
at Nashville Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
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Week 8: at Grand Rapids Rampage
at Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
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Week 9: vs Philadelphia Soul
at Allstate Arena, Chicago
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Week 10: vs Colorado Crush
at Allstate Arena, Chicago
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Week 11: at Dallas Desperados
at the American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
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Week 12: vs Nashville Kats
at Allstate Arena, Chicago
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Week 13: at Arizona Rattlers
at the US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
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Week 14: at Los Angeles Avengers
at the Staples Center, Los Angeles
Scoring summary:
1st Quarter: 10:46 LA – Remy Hamilton 26 yd field goal – 3–0 LA 06:20 CHI – Rob Mager 19 yd pass from Matt D'Orazio (Dan Frantz kick) – 7–3 CHI 01:47 LA – Terrance Stubbs 10 yd pass from Sonny Cumbie (Remy Hamilton kick failed) – 9–7 LA
2nd Quarter: 14:18 CHI – Matt D'Orazio 6 yd run (Dan Frantz kick) – 14–9 CHI 08:51 LA – Lonnie Ford 1 yd run (Remy Hamilton kick) – 16–14 LA 04:49 CHI – DeJuan Alvonzo 10 yd pass from Matt D'Orazio – 20–16 CHI 00:33 LA – LaShaun Ward 13 yd pass from Sonny Cumbie (Remy Hamilton kick) – 23–20 LA 00:22 LA – Robert Quiroga 0 yd fumble recovery (Remy Hamilton kick) – 30–20 LA
3rd Quarter: 06:40 CHI – Joe Peters 1 yd run (Dan Frantz kick) – 30–27 LA 02:04 LA – Sonny Cumbie 5 yd run (Remy Hamilton kick) – 37–27 LA
4th Quarter: 14:55 CHI – Rob Mager 19 yd pass from Matt D'Orazio (DeJuan Alvonzo pass failed) – 37–33 LA 12:31 LA – Rob Turner 21 yd pass from Sonny Cumbie (Remy Hamilton kick) – 44–33 LA 09:12 CHI – Bob McMillen 3 yd pass from Matt D'Orazio (Dan Frantz kick failed) – 44–39 LA 05:20 LA – Remy Hamilton 33 yd field goal – 47–39 LA 04:16 CHI – Rob Mager 20 yd pass from Matt D'Orazio (Matt D'Orazio rush) – 47–47 00:00 LA – Remy Hamilton 29 yd field goal – 50–47 LA
Attendance: 13,142
Week 15: vs Grand Rapids Rampage
at Allstate Arena, Chicago
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Week 16: at Colorado Crush
at the Pepsi Center, Denver
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Week 17: vs Kansas City Brigade
at Allstate Arena, Chicago
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Playoffs
Round 2: vs (4) Los Angeles Avengers
at Allstate Arena, Chicago
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Conference Championship: at (1) San Jose SaberCats
at HP Pavilion, San Jose, California
External links