Rosemont, Ill. – The Colorado Crush started out fast Monday night, but couldn’t maintain the pace in a 59-48 loss to the Chicago Rush in an Arena Football League game that drew 14,528 fans to Allstate Arena.
The Rush (8-1) spotted the Crush an early 13-0 lead, then dominated the second half for its third consecutive comeback victory and extended its franchise-record winning streak to eight games.
Colorado (6-4) fell 2 1/2 games behind Chicago in the Central Division.
The game featured a duel between the league’s premier receivers, Colorado’s Damian Harrell and the Rush’s Bobby Sippio.
Harrell, a ninth-year pro from Florida State, had a career-high six touchdown receptions, including two spectacular, one-handed grabs in the first half.
Sippio was not to be outdone. The league’s touchdown and scoring leader and offensive player of the month for April pulled in five touchdown passes. His second, with eight seconds left in the opening half, gave him 37 for the season and set a league mark for touchdowns in the first nine games.
“You saw the best of the best. They are the cream of the crop,” Rush coach Mike Hohensee said. “How many one-handed touchdowns did (Harrell) have? We kept telling (Sippio), ‘We’re going to get you the ball, we’re going to find a way.”‘
Defensive back Dennison Robinson, meanwhile, came up with two gems that helped the Rush take command in the second half. He had a third-quarter interception and a fourth-quarter fumble recovery, and the Rush scored after both turnovers.
Colorado jumped to an early 13-point lead, becoming the first team to blank the Rush in a quarter this season.
The shutout ended three minutes into the second quarter when Rush quarterback Matt D’Orazio capped an 11-play, 45-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge.
The Rush claimed its first lead at 35-33 early in the third quarter when Sippio picked up his third touchdown reception, snagging a 19-yard pass from D’Orazio.
