Rush Find a Way to Win, Again

By: Jerome Cusson

It wasn’t always pretty, and it was surely a question of whether they’d even pull this game off, but the Chicago Rush once again found a way to win a game they had no business winning. A 52-47 victory over the Kansas City Brigade puts the Rush within one victory or one San Jose Sabercats loss of homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

In a game that featured 21 penalties and Rush defense that wasn’t able to play in its usual manner, the Rush (10-3) had what Coach Hohensee called a character win. It’s something he points out his team has had all year, but he went further.

“We’re not embarrassed,” Hohensee said, “there’s a lot of pride on this team.”

Things didn’t look particularly good, especially when quarterback Russ Michna made what Hohensee called the worst decision of the season. With less than nine minutes to go in the game, Michna scrambled out of the pocket before deciding to throw the ball. It ended up in the hands of Brigade defensive back Chris Demaree for an interception and subsequent touchdown, giving Kansas City a 47-35 lead.

From there, it was all downhill, as the Rush came back like only them seem to be able to do. Michna rebounded quickly for a 6-yard touchdown pass to Damian Harrell. Michna’s overall stats were a little better than last week. He threw for 296 yards, five touchdowns, and the one interception.

The next drive for the Brigade (3-10) was a huge moment for the Rush defense. After struggling all game long to figure out Kansas Ciity quarterback D. Bryant, they bunkered down and got the one stop they absolutely had to have. Michna then ran for what proved to be the game winning touchdown. To give themselves a full field goal advantage, Michna found a wide open Travis LeTendresse for the two-point conversion. With the game 50-47, the Rush had to make one more stop.

It was then that James Baron, one of the angrier looking players in the AFL, made his presence felt by doing what he’s done all year. A botched center/quarterback exchange led to a Brigade fumble and safety. The Rush were now safely up by five points.

Baron talked about always wanting to get off the ball quickly. He and Coach Hohensee also discussed how much of an asset it was to be able to have the ability to intimidate opponents by timing the snap.

While the last quarter pretty much was the story of the game, Donovan Morgan put together another fantastic game. He caught 14 passes for 153 yards. Damian Harrell was in the supporting role again with five catches for 45 yards and two touchdowns.

Even in a losing effort, D. Bryant showed what a great quarterback he could be in this league. After defeating the Philadelphia Soul last week, he threw for only 164 yards but four touchdown passes. He also rushed for an additional touchdown and as a mobile quarterback, gave the Rush defense fits all game long.

After playing two teams desperate for a win in the American Conference, the Rush go on the road for the first of three consecutive games against the National Conference. The Rush end the 2008 season against the American Conference having lost just one game to the Utah Blaze. Playing the Cleveland Gladiators will be another test. The Gladiators, who are led by former Rush quarterback Raymond Philyaw, are also fighting for their playoff lives in a far tougher (and frankly better) National Conference. It won’t be easy, but then again the Rush never seem to make things easy.

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Jerome Cusson is a proud graduate of Columbia College Chicago. Currently, he is a freelance writer and a contributer to such websites as The Cool Kids' Table and giveawaytheending.com. Check out his NSR blog as well.

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