ROSEMONT, IL-The Chicago Rush struck early and often in the first half, and cruised to an easy 38-10 victory over the Arizona Rattlers in a Week 3 AFL game.
Chicago started with a drive going 73 yards on 12 plays. Arman Drummond completed the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Keith Headrick with 9:53 to go in the first to take a 7-0 lead. Arizona's inital drive short-circuited as Melvin Jones fumbled and Darrell Archer sprinted 19 yards for a touchdown off the fumble to put the Rush up 14-0 with 8:10 to go in the first. Both teams traded punts through the end of the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, the Rush got rolling again as they moved the ball 47 yards on 7 plays. Dete Justen would kick a 42-yard field goal with 10:55 left in the second to make it 17-0 in favor of the Rush. On the Rattlers' next possession, Don Fawcett's pass was intercepted by Niko Simon. Two plays later, Drummond uncorked a 70-yard bomb to Zach Allen for a touchdown to put Chicago up 24-0 with 8:00 remaining in the half. Arizona punted again, and the Rush worked the ball down the field again, going 74 yards on 9 plays. Lonnie Clements ran the ball in from the 4, and put Chicago up 31-0 with a minute left in the half.
Once again, Arizona was forced to abandon the running game, but Chicago was pretty much in cruise control in the second half. After the Rattlers and Rush traded punts to start the third quarter, the Rattlers worked a 9-play, 37-yard drive that ended with Pancho Barrow kicking a 51-yard field goal with 6:41 to go in the third to make it 31-3. Chicago punted again, and Arizona drove 76 yards on 5 plays. Fawcett hit Jones for a 12-yard touchdown pass to make it 31-10 with 2:34 to go in the third.
But that was as close as the Rattlers would get. After Justen missed a 44-yard field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter, the Rattlers would punt, and pin the Rush at their own 2-yard line with 9:22 left in the game. Arizona seemed to have them stopped at their own 35, but were called twice on running into the kicker penalties to give Chicago a first down. After that, the Rattlers' morale sank even lower, and Clements ended the 20-play, 98-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown run with 1:05 left to put an end to the scoring at 38-10 in favor of Chicago.
Chicago (1-2) gained 436 yards of total offense. The Rush gained 139 yards rushing on 36 carries, with Clements leading the team with 60 yards on 20 carries and 2 TD. Drummond went 17-for-29 passing for 273 yards and 2 TD. He was sacked once, losing 6 yards. Allen caught 4 passes for 99 yards and a TD. Marty Margerum caught 4 passes for 75 yards, and Headrick caught 4 passes for 44 yards and a TD. The Rush visit the Iowa Barnstormers next week.
Arizona (0-3) gained 230 yards of total offense. The Rattlers only ran 10 yards on 15 carries. Jones was the main cog in the rushing "attack", gaining 5 yards on 7 carries. He was the Rattlers' leading receiver with 5 catches for 82 yards and a TD. Fawcett was 22-for-36 passing for 259 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. He was sacked four times, losing 39 yards. In their last two games, Arizona has been outscored 93-23. The Rattlers are on the road next week against the Colorado Crush.
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