The dream of a second Arena Football League title died hard for the Chicago Rush after absorbing a 58-41 upset at the hands of the upstart Grand Rapids Rampage Sunday afternoon at Allstate Arena. Despite coming into the AFL divisional playoff game with a 7-10 record, Grand Rapids played a tough, physical game and dictated the game’s pace throughout.

Photogallery by Mike Moran / Staff Photographer

The defeat was shocking and painful for the Rush, which had earned the No. 1 seed in the AFL’s American Conference playoffs. Head coach Mike Hohensee was hoping his team would earn its second AFL championship in three seasons, but the Rampage frustrated those plans.

“They played a very strong game,” Hohensee said. “They had a very good gameplan and they executed it very well. I think we had some opportunities, but we didn’t take advantage of every chance we had. They did. I thought nearly all of their players did an outstanding job.

The Rush trailed 31-21 at the half and appeared to be on its way to trailing by 17 as the Rampage drove deep in Chicago territory deep on their first possession of the third quarter. However, Rush DB Jeremy Unertl gave Chicago some hope when he intercepted James MacPherson’s pass at the Chicago 13-yard line. The Rush took advantage of the break three plays later as QB Russ Michna hit Travis LaTendresse with a 19-yard TD pass to cut the lead to 31-28.

With the crowd of 14,338 roaring, it would have been the perfect opportunity for Grand Rapids to show its anxiety and lose control of the game. But that was not about to happen. MacPherson led Grand Rapids on a 5-play, 41-yard drive that culminated with his 3-yard TD scoring pass to Kenny Higgins.

MacPherson was outstanding for the Rampage, completing 33 of 39 passes for 326 yards and six touchdowns.

Higgins caught 14 passes for 167 yards and 3 touchdowns while Cole Magner was also a major weapon for the Rampage, catching 15 passes for 117 yards and 2 scores.

The Rush still had hopes of getting back into the game in the fourth quarter. However, with the Rush trailing 45-35, fullback Dan Alexander fumbled at the Grand Rapids 2-yard line and the Rampage’s George Gause recovered, it made a difficult situation even worse for Chicago .

Hohensee challenged the call, saying Alexander was out of bounds before he lost the ball. But after reviewing the replay, the officials ruled that the ball was loose before the fullback hit the wall. The Rampage took advantage of the break, drove 47 yards on seven plays and scored on fullback Terrell Browden’s 1-yard TD run with 4:49 to play. That gave Grand Rapids an insurmountable 51-35 lead.

From the opening kickoff Grand Rapids showed that they were not going to be intimidated. After LaTendresse scored on a 33-yard TD pass from Michna on the first possession of the game, the Rampage tied the score on MacPherson’s 24-yard scoring pass to Jason Shelley.

Chicago ’s next possession ended on a missed 47-yard FG attempt by Todd France as the Grand Rapids defense held strong. The Rampage took advantage of the hold to take a 14-7 lead on MacPherson’s 4-yard scoring pass to Magner.

After that mini-break by Grand Rapids , the teams went back and forth throughout the first half. Michna had additional scoring passes to Morgan and LaTendresse, while MacPherson tossed a pair to Higgins.

The first of those was a 30-yard toss that shocked the Rush and the Allstate Arena crowd. Under tremendous pressure from the Rush front three, MacPherson took a big hit and was on his knees as he lofted a high pass to Higgins, who tipped it twice away from Unertl before coming down with the touchdown.

“That was a play that really told the story,” Hohensee said. “You don’t expect the quarterback to throw the ball from his knees and come away with a touchdown pass. That was a huge play for them and Higgins made a great catch. He was a difference maker.”

The Rush had a chance to tie the game at 28-28 before halftime as Michna drove Chicago to the Grand Rapids 4-yard line. But on a 4th down play, Michna’s pass to Harrell was intercepted in the end zone giving Grand Rapids another opportunity. Rampage head coach Steve Thonn settled for a field goal as former Northwestern Wildcat Brian Gowins kicked a 28-yard field goal on the final play of the half to give Grand Rapids a surprising 31-21 lead at the break.

RUSH NOTES: Michna finished the game 19-of-32 for 252 yards with 5 TDs and 1 interception. He was not sacked but he was under pressure throughout the game. … LaTendresse caught 7 passes for 115 yards and had 3 TDs … Unertl finished the game as Chicago ’s leading tackler 10.5 stops in addition to his interception … Grand Rapids will travel to San Jose for the American Conference championship game next week.

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