RUSH STARTING TO HEAT UP

LOS ANGELES- Matt D’Orazio threw three touchdown passes, including two to Cornelius White, as the Chicago Rush (2-2) defeated the Los Angeles Avengers (1-3), 65-46, at the Staples Center.

D’Orazio finished 20 of 26 for 251 yards, 3 TDs and no INTs.

White had two touchdown receptions on only three catches, while Bob McMillen ran for two scores.

Chicago used the final minute of the first half and the first 10 minutes of the third quarter to blow open a close game and win its second in a row before heading home for a three-game homestand which begins next Sunday, February 26, against San Jose.

Leading 27-24 with 45 seconds left to go in the first half, Chicago managed the clock perfectly, moving downfield to the LA 8-yard line before QB Matt D’Orazio found Cornelius White in the end zone with six seconds remaining, giving the Rush a 34-24 lead at the break.

The Rush extended its lead to 41-24 on the first drive of the second half, as FB Bob McMillen carried the ball around the right corner for a six-yard score, capping a four-play drive.

Then, on LA’s first play from scrimmage of the second half, Rush rookie lineman Khreem Smith sacked LA quarterback Brian Mann, forcing a fumble that was recovered by John Moyer at the Avengers’ 15-yard line. Two plays later, McMillen dove in from one-yard out to put the Rush up 48-24. It was McMillen’s 77th rushing TD of his career.

McMillen finished the night with six rushing yards, leaving him just five shy of breaking Les Barley’s AFL record for career rushing yards.

After a Los Angeles 28-yard field goal by Remy Hamilton narrowed the score to 48-27, Rush kick returner Carlos Wright returned Hamilton’s kickoff 55-yards for a TD, putting the Rush ahead 55-27, and putting the game out of reach for good.

“Our defense has been improving each week,” said Rush head coach Mike Hohensee. “We felt we were better than our 1-2 record and we talked to the players all week about coming out here and proving it.

“The addition of Jeremy Unertl in our secondary has given us a physical presence that we were lacking and really has helped sure up our defense.”

Unertl was named ADT Defensive Player of the Game after picking off a Mann pass at the Rush 5-yard line on the first play of the second quarter and returning it 45-yards for a touchdown – the first Rush interception returned for a TD since Lindsay Fleshman did it opening day in 2004 vs. Grand Rapids. Unertl didn’t stop with just the interception, however. Playing in only his second game in a Rush uniform, the DS from Wisconsin-LaCrosse recorded 5.5 tackles and two passes broken up in the game.

It was a performance that rubber off on the entire defense as a whole, which intercepted Mann twice, sacked him twice, batted down five passes and forced a fumble.

Not to be overshadowed, D’Orazio led the offense well, completing 20 of 26 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns, without throwing an interception. D’Orazio’s favorite target was C.J. Johnson who caught seven passes for 94 yards in the win.

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