# 2007 Chicago Rush season

The 2007 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
### 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% | Yards | TD's | INT's | Long | Rating |
| Matt D'Orazio | 351 | 506 | 69.4 | 3789 | 82 | 10 | 48 | 122.4 |

#### Rushing

| Player | Car. | Yards | Avg. | TD's | Long |
| Matt D'Orazio | 61 | 134 | 2.2 | 12 | 18 |
| Bob McMillen | 35 | 91 | 2.6 | 5 | 14 |
| DeJuan Alfonzo | 13 | 57 | 4.4 | 7 | 38 |
| Rob Mager | 5 | 27 | 5.4 | 2 | 11 |
| Etu Molden | 4 | 14 | 3.5 | 1 | 6 |
| Bobby Sippio | 4 | 11 | 2.8 | 0 | 8 |
| Ahmad Merritt | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Joe Peters | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Russ Michna | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Buchie Ibeh | 1 | −2 | −2 | 0 | −2 |

#### Receiving

| Player | Rec. | Yards | Avg. | TD's | Long |
| Bobby Sippio | 125 | 1739 | 13.9 | 53 | 48 |
| Etu Molden | 81 | 977 | 12.1 | 13 | 44 |
| Rob Mager | 75 | 811 | 10.8 | 13 | 45 |
| DeJuan Alfonzo | 27 | 245 | 19.1 | 7 | 31 |
| Ahmad Merritt | 20 | 203 | 10.2 | 2 | 33 |
| Bob McMillen | 9 | 84 | 9.3 | 1 | 31 |
| Buchie Ibeh | 7 | 71 | 10.1 | 0 | 16 |
| Kevin Beard | 7 | 47 | 6.7 | 0 | 9 |
| Robert Boss | 2 | 19 | 9.5 | 2 | 14 |
| Woody Dantzler | 1 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| John Moyer | 1 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 6 |

#### Touchdowns

| Player | TD's | Rush | Rec | Ret | Pts |
| Bobby Sippio | 53 | 0 | 53 | 0 | 318 |
| DeJuan Alfonzo | 15 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 120 |
| Etu Molden | 15 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 90 |
| Rob Mager | 14 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 84 |
| Matt D'Orazio | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 74 |
| Bob McMillen | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 36 |
| Jonathan Ordway | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 18 |
| Robert Boss | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| Ahmad Merritt | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
| John Moyer | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| Russ Michna | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Joe Peters | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |

### 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% | Yards | TD'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

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| CHI | 13 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 41 |
| KC | 7 | 16 | 12 | 19 | 54 |
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:
4th Quarter:

### Week 2: vs San Jose Sabercats

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| SJS | 14 | 3 | 7 | 21 | 45 |
| CHI | 17 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 48 |
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

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| NYD | 14 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 40 |
| CHI | 7 | 20 | 14 | 20 | 61 |
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

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| CHI | 14 | 24 | 7 | 10 | 55 |
| CLB | 14 | 14 | 6 | 13 | 47 |
at Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Scoring summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:

### Week 5: vs Los Angeles Avengers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| LA | 0 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
| CHI | 7 | 35 | 14 | 10 | 66 |
at Allstate Arena, Chicago
Scoring summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:

### Week 6: at Nashville Kats

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| CHI | 21 | 10 | 14 | 21 | 66 |
| NSH | 14 | 7 | 7 | 26 | 54 |
at Nashville Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Scoring summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:

### Week 8: at Grand Rapids Rampage

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| CHI | 7 | 20 | 20 | 28 | 75 |
| GR | 19 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 54 |
at Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Scoring summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:

### Week 9: vs Philadelphia Soul

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| PHI | 14 | 20 | 3 | 6 | 43 |
| CHI | 7 | 13 | 14 | 20 | 54 |
at Allstate Arena, Chicago
Scoring summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:

### Week 10: vs Colorado Crush

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| COL | 13 | 20 | 7 | 8 | 48 |
| CHI | 0 | 28 | 21 | 10 | 59 |
at Allstate Arena, Chicago
Scoring summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:

### Week 11: at Dallas Desperados

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| CHI | 7 | 14 | 6 | 21 | 48 |
| DAL | 14 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 52 |
at the American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Scoring summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:

### Week 12: vs Nashville Kats

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| NSH | 7 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 44 |
| CHI | 7 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 27 |
at Allstate Arena, Chicago
Scoring summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:

### Week 13: at Arizona Rattlers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| CHI | 3 | 21 | 14 | 15 | 53 |
| ARI | 14 | 0 | 13 | 20 | 47 |
at the US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Scoring summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:

### Week 14: at Los Angeles Avengers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| CHI | 7 | 13 | 7 | 20 | 47 |
| LA | 9 | 21 | 7 | 13 | 50 |
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

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| GR | 0 | 17 | 0 | 15 | 32 |
| CHI | 14 | 34 | 0 | 7 | 55 |
at Allstate Arena, Chicago
Scoring summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:

### Week 16: at Colorado Crush

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| CHI | 7 | 28 | 10 | 21 | 66 |
| COL | 10 | 14 | 7 | 26 | 57 |
at the Pepsi Center, Denver
Scoring summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:

### Week 17: vs Kansas City Brigade

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| KC | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| CHI | 14 | 14 | 17 | 3 | 48 |
at Allstate Arena, Chicago
Scoring summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:

## Playoffs
### Round 2: vs (4) Los Angeles Avengers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| (4) LA | 7 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| (2) CHI | 10 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 52 |
at Allstate Arena, Chicago
Scoring summary:
1st Quarter:
2nd Quarter:
3rd Quarter:
4th Quarter:

### Conference Championship: at (1) San Jose SaberCats

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| (2) CHI | 7 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 49 |
| (1) SJS | 7 | 21 | 6 | 27 | 61 |
at HP Pavilion, San Jose, California