The Rush built a big second half lead and then hung on for dear life Saturday night at Allstate Arena, defeating the Arizona Rattlers 55-50 to win its 10th game of the season and clinch its ninth-consecutive trip to the playoffs.Leading by 17 points entering the fourth quarter, the Rush (10-4) looked to be on cruise control to the postseason, but things got a bit dicey in the final period as Arizona (8-5) came storming back.With the Rush leading 55-42 and just 47 seconds left in the game, Rush wide receiver Marco Thomas – who led all Rush receivers with 13 catches for 147 yards – got behind the defense and looked to be heading into the end zone for a touchdown. However, Thomas took a bad step and badly twisted his knee. On his way to the ground he fumbled the ball, and it was scooped up by Arizona.One play later, Rattlers QB Nick Davila connected with Rod Windsor for a 28-yard TD. After Arizona was successful on the two-point conversion, the Rush lead was trimmed to 55-50.Arizona then recovered the ensuing on-side kick with just 26 seconds left and looked to have all the momentum in the game.The Rattlers marched down inside the Rush 5-yard line with five seconds remaining, but Davila’s two final passes into the end zone were broken up by Rush defensive backs Nygel Rogers and Josh Ferguson, respectively, to seal the win.
“It’s not the way I wanted to play the fourth quarter,” said Rush head coach Mike Hohensee. “But I am proud of how the defense stepped up in the final series. I also thought we played exceptionally well on both sides of the ball for the first three quarters.It feels great to know we have made the playoffs, and now we need to set our sights on winning the division.”
Offensively, Rush QB Russ Michna completed 28 of 38 passes for 321 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. And while Thomas was his main target, Michna also managed to connect with Syvelle Newton seven times for 125 yards and four touchdowns.On the other side of the ball, a week after not being able to stop the Tampa Bay Storm at all during the game, the Rush defense came up with five stops – three interceptions, a stop on downs and the stop on the game’s final series. Each of the team’s three DBs intercepted a pass, but it was Chris Martin’s first quarter interception that set the tone for the evening.With the Rush leading 14-7 and 2:28 left in the first quarter, Martin intercepted Davila’s pass intended for Trandon Harvey and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead.Playing from ahead, the Rush lead see-sawed between a one and two score lead until the final minute of the game when things began to unravel.
NOTES—The Rush’s magic number to clinch the division is two – any combination of Rush wins and Milwaukee losses totaling two give the Rush the division title and a home game in the opening round of the playoffs … The 42 points the Rush scored in the first half was tied for the most the team has scored in the first half this season, while the 13 second half points is the fewest the Rush has scored in the second half of any game this season … Rush starting center Beau Elliott returned to the lineup after missing the last two games with a knee injury … Shawn McMackin was activated this week from the league’s Injured Reserve list and played fullback, replacing Robert Boss who left the team this week to join the coaching staff at Northern Michigan University.