ArenaBowl XX
Encyclopedia
ArenaBowl XX, held on Sunday, June 11, 2006, was played to determine the championship
Championship
Championship is a term used in sport to refer to various forms of competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.- Title match system :...

 of the 2006 season
2006 Arena Football League season
The 2006 Arena Football League season was the 20th season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the Chicago Rush, who defeated the Orlando Predators in ArenaBowl XX....

 of the Arena Football League. For the second consecutive year, the game was played at the neutral site of the Thomas & Mack Center
Thomas & Mack Center
The Thomas & Mack Center is an arena, located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. For ring events, the capacity is 19,522, for basketball, the capacity is 18,776.-History:...

 in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

. It pitted the National Conference Champions, the Orlando Predators
2006 Orlando Predators season
The 2006 Orlando Predators season was the 16th season for the franchise. They lost the Arenabowl against the Chicago Rush-Coaching:Jay Gruden started his third season as head coach of the Predators. He'd also coached for four years from 1998–2001....

, against the American Conference Champions, the Chicago Rush
2006 Chicago Rush season
The 2006 Chicago Rush season is the sixth season for the franchise. They won the ArenaBowl XX in 2006 with an 7-9 record. They defeated The Orlando Predators....

. The Chicago Rush won 69-61. This game was televised on AFL on NBC, and was the final game played under the AFL's contract with NBC.

Chicago Rush

The Chicago Rush
Chicago Rush
The Chicago Rush is an arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. It is a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League. The team was founded in 2001 and is co-owned by Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach.The Rush have qualified for the...

 was entering its sixth season in the Arena Football League
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League is the highest level of professional indoor American football in the United States. It is currently the second longest running professional football league in the United States, after the National Football League. It was founded in 1987 by Jim Foster...

 and coming off back-to-back appearances in the AFL's American Conference Championships, falling in 2004 to the San Jose SaberCats
San Jose SaberCats
The San Jose SaberCats are a professional arena football team in the Arena Football League. They began play as a 1995 expansion team. They played in the Western Division of the American Conference. Their final coach in the original Arena Football League was Darren Arbet, who will be a part of the...

 and in 2005 to the Colorado Crush
Colorado Crush
Colorado Crush were an Arena Football League team that began play as a 2003 expansion team. The Crush played in the Central Division of the American Conference until the Arena Football League suspended operations in 2009...

 in the "Confetti Bowl." Both San Jose and Colorado would go on to win the respective ArenaBowls.

The Rush opened the season on the road against the Crush at the Pepsi Center
Pepsi Center
Pepsi Center is a multi-purpose arena in Denver, Colorado, United States. The building is home to the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association, the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League, and the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League...

, and Colorado unveiled its ArenaBowl XIX
ArenaBowl XIX
ArenaBowl XIX was the 2005 championship game of the Arena Football League , and was played at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The first-ever neutral-site title game in AFL history drew 10,822 fans to see the Colorado Crush defeat the Georgia Force 51–48 to claim the Foster ArenaBowl...

 championship banner before the game. For the Rush, Matt D'Orazio
Matt D'Orazio
Matthew Louis D’Orazio is a professional American football quarterback Free Agent. He played college football at Otterbein College....

 was named the team's starting quarterback, replacing Raymond Philyaw
Raymond Philyaw
Raymond Philyaw is an arena football quarterback who currently plays for the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings in the Arena Football League league...

 in the off-season, and beating out Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...

 finalist Michael Bishop in training camp. The Rush faced adversity before the game even started, when kicker Keith Gispert was injured in pre-game warm-ups. Without a backup on the roster, Bishop would kickoff for the Rush and Chicago attempted two-point conversations after every touchdown. The Rush lost when Colorado's Damian Harrell
Damian Harrell
Damian Deron Harrell is an arena football wide receiver who is currently a free agent in the Arena Football League. He played college football at Florida State University....

 broke a tie game, catching the game-winning pass with one second left in the game.

The following week Chicago's home opener, the team lost another heart-breaker to the New York Dragons
New York Dragons
The New York Dragons were an Arena Football League team based in the New York metropolitan area. The team was founded in as the original incarnation of the Iowa Barnstormers, and relocated to New York in . They played in New York until 2008, when the league folded...

. It appeared that D'Orazio had scored the game-winning touchdown run with no time left on the clock, but an offensive penalty nullified the score and ended the game. Chicago was 0-2. The Rush traded for defensive specialist Jeremy Unertl
Jeremy Unertl
Jeremy Dale Unertl is an safety with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2002...

 who intercepted eight passes on the season, and Chicago began a three-game win streak to move to 3-2, with two wins coming in overtime.

But the Rush lost six of its next seven games to fall to 4-6. Then the Rush signed Bobby Sippio
Bobby Sippio
Robert Lee "Bobby" Sippio, Jr. is an American football wide receiver for the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League. He was signed by the Peoria Pirates in 2002...

 to bolster the offense. In the regular season, Sippio caught 38 passes, 17 for touchdowns, and put up 654 receiving yards.

But the Rush sat at 5-9 and had to win its last two games to make the playoffs. The Rush would answer the call to finish the year 7-9, blowing out the Utah Blaze
Utah Blaze
The Utah Blaze is a professional arena football team based in Salt Lake City, Utah and competes in the West division of the Arena Football League. Home games are played at the EnergySolutions Arena.-The original Utah Blaze :...

 84-48 and defeating the Grand Rapids Rampage
Grand Rapids Rampage
The Grand Rapids Rampage was an Arena Football League team that began playing as a 1998 expansion team. They were coached by Steve Thonn.-History:...

 70-47.

It was the Rush's first and only losing season in franchise history, but ironically, would produce the team's best playoff run. But the Rush would have to go on the road the entire time.

Chicago opened the post-season on the road against the Nashville Kats
Nashville Kats
The Nashville Kats were an Arena Football League team, located in Nashville, Tennessee. They were last coached by Pat Sperduto, who coached the team's original incarnation to two ArenaBowl appearances prior to the original franchise's move to Atlanta in 2002...

. As divisional rivals, the teams met twice in the regular season, and spit the games. Both teams won at home, in overtime, with both games coming down to a made or missed two-point conversation. The Rush defense came up big and Chicago won 55-47. Up next was the Colorado Crush
Colorado Crush
Colorado Crush were an Arena Football League team that began play as a 2003 expansion team. The Crush played in the Central Division of the American Conference until the Arena Football League suspended operations in 2009...

, the defending ArenaBowl
ArenaBowl
The ArenaBowl is the Arena Football League's championship game. From 1987 to 2004, the ArenaBowl was hosted by either the team with the better regular-season record or the higher seeding in the playoffs. From ArenaBowl XIX in 2005 until ArenaBowl XXII in 2008, the game was played at a neutral site...

 champions who had beat the Rush twice in the regular season. But Chicago scored on an interception return for a touchdown by Dennison Robinson
Dennison Robinson
Marquette Dennison Robinson is an American football defensive back for the Chicago Slaughter of the Indoor Football League. He attended the University of West Georgia.-High school years:...

, Unertl recovered a ball off the net after a kickoff and DeJuan Alfonzo
DeJuan Alfonzo
DeJuan R. Alfonzo is an American football wide receiver/linebacker for the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League . Alfonzo attended Indiana State University.-College and NFL career:...

 returned a fumble for a touchdown. The Rush led 13-0 after the first quarter, 33-14 at halftime and held on 63-46.

The San Jose SaberCats
San Jose SaberCats
The San Jose SaberCats are a professional arena football team in the Arena Football League. They began play as a 1995 expansion team. They played in the Western Division of the American Conference. Their final coach in the original Arena Football League was Darren Arbet, who will be a part of the...

 stood between the Rush and its first trip to the ArenaBowl
ArenaBowl
The ArenaBowl is the Arena Football League's championship game. From 1987 to 2004, the ArenaBowl was hosted by either the team with the better regular-season record or the higher seeding in the playoffs. From ArenaBowl XIX in 2005 until ArenaBowl XXII in 2008, the game was played at a neutral site...

. San Jose beat Chicago in the conference championship in 2004. The Rush fell behind 21-10 in the second quarter, but fought back to take a 32-28 lead. The team's exchanged scores until the Rush got up by two possessions 52-42 and held on to a 59-56 win to advance to the its first ArenaBowl in franchise history.

Orlando Predators

The Predators had a much more orthodox run to the ArenaBowl. Orlando finished the season 10-6, won the Southern Division and had the No. 2 seed in the National Conference, earning a bye during the Wild Car Playoffs.

After losing in Week 1 to the Georgia Force
Georgia Force
The Georgia Force are an Arena Football League team based in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States that plays in the South Division of the American Conference. The team is owned by Doug MacGregor and Donn Jennings...

, Orlando won its next three games. A two-game losing streak had the team at 4-4, but the Predators won their next five games to move to 9-5. The team ended the regular season losing two of three.

Orlando swept the rival Tampa Bay Storm
Tampa Bay Storm
The Tampa Bay Storm are an Arena Football League team based in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida. They play their home games in the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa....

 in two games. The Predators were coached by Jay Gruden
Jay Gruden
Jay Gruden is an American football coach and former quarterback. He is currently the offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals and was formerly the head coach of the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League. He is also a decorated player and coach in Arena Football League history,...

, brother of Jon Gruden
Jon Gruden
Jon David Gruden is an American football analyst and former head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for seven seasons and prior to that the Oakland Raiders for four seasons. In his first year as the head coach of Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers won Super Bowl XXXVII, defeating the Raiders whom he had...

. Joe Hamilton quarterbacked the team.

In the Divisional Playoffs, Orlando knocked off the Philadelphia Soul
Philadelphia Soul
The Philadelphia Soul are an Arena Football League team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They began play in as an expansion team. The team plays in the Eastern Division of the American Conference. They won their first ArenaBowl in 2008, defeating the San Jose SaberCats 59–56 in ArenaBowl XXII...

 in a defensive battle, 31-27. The Soul led for the game's entire first 57 minutes before Orland got the game's final score. In the National Conference Championship, defense also was the key story for Orlando. Traveling to face the Dallas Desperados
Dallas Desperados
The Dallas Desperados were a professional Arena Football team. The Desperados played in the Southern Division of the now-defunct Arena Football League from 2002 to 2008....

, Dallas had finished the season 13-3 and were heavy favorites, but the Predators held the Desperados to 28 points, pitching a fourth-quarter shutout and won 45-28.

It was the Predators seventh trip to the ArenaBowl. Orlando was a two-time champion, winning ArenaBowl XII
ArenaBowl XII
Arena Bowl XII was the Arena Football League's twelfth Arena Bowl. In this match-up, it pitted the #4 Orlando Predators of the National Conference against the #1 Tampa Bay Storm , also of the National Conference. This would be the second and final ArenaBowl to have the "War On I-4" rivalry on...

 and ArenaBowl XIV
ArenaBowl XIV
ArenaBowl XIV is widely hailed as one of the most exciting games in ArenaBowl history, ranking alongside classics such as ArenaBowl XVIII and ArenaBowl XIX. Featuring two teams from the Arena Football League's Southern Division, the game went as a Southern Division game might be expected to: a...


First Quarter

The Chicago Rush got off to a 10-0 lead after the first quarter. The Rush received the opening kickoff and quarterback Matt D'Orazio
Matt D'Orazio
Matthew Louis D’Orazio is a professional American football quarterback Free Agent. He played college football at Otterbein College....

 scored on a one-yard run to cap off the first drive. The Orlando Predators
Orlando Predators
The Orlando Predators are an Arena Football League team based in Orlando, Florida that was founded in 1991. Their playoff streak is currently 19 seasons in a row, as of the season, becoming the ArenaBowl champions in 1998 and 2000...

 fumbled on their first drive, Chicago recovered the loose ball and turned it into a field goal.

Second Quarter

The Predators finally got on board in the second quarter. Orlando quarterback Joe Hamilton connected with Javarus Dudley over the air to cut Chicago's lead to 10-7. The Orlando made up for its first possession fumble, recovering a Rush fumble on the ensuing kickoff. The Predators turned the turnover into a touchdown to take their first lead, 14-10. The games traded touchdowns throughout the second quarter, in a fast paced period that saw seven touchdowns alone. Late in the quarter, Rush wide receiver Bobby Sippio
Bobby Sippio
Robert Lee "Bobby" Sippio, Jr. is an American football wide receiver for the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League. He was signed by the Peoria Pirates in 2002...

 caught an eight yard pass from D'Orazio, and Chicago retook a 31-28 lead. Orlando had one final chance to try a long field goal attempt. The kick was no good, and the Predators were called for a penalty that gave Chicago one un-timed down on offense. The Rush elected to try a 51 yard field goal from kicker Dan Frantz
Dan Frantz
Daniel Lee Frantz is a former American football kicker for the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League. He was released by them on June 3, 2008...

. Frantz hit the kick, giving Chicago a 34-28 lead at the break. It was the fourth straight time Frantz had connected on a long field goal on the last play of the first half, doing so in all three of Chicago's previous playoff games.

Third Quarter

The game turned in the third quarter. Orlando was set to return the second half kickoff, but the ball took a funny bounce off the net, and the Rush recovered. It set Chicago's offense up for another D'Orazio rushing touchdown, and Chicago led 41-28. On the Predator's next drive, Hamilton was picked off by Rush defensive back Dennison Robinson. Robinson returned the interception 44 yards for a touchdown, giving Chicago a 48-28 lead. The Predators got on the board to end the quarter, a Hamilton pass to Dudley to make it 48-34 after Orland missed the extra point.

Fourth Quarter

The Rush answered with a touchdown of its own to start the final quarter, a 31 yard reception to Sippio. Forced to try to score in a hurry and play catch up, Orlando got a stop on the Rush and scored back to back drives, cutting the score to one-possession 55-47 with 4:04 left in the game. Chicago answered, going up 62-47 on a touchdown pass from D'Orazio to Etu Molden
Etu Molden
Etu Baraka Molden is an Arena Football League wide receiver/linebacker who is currently a free agent...

. The play was designed for the ball to be intentionally thrown off the net, and Molden caught the deflection, sliding in the endzone. Orlando would not go home easily. The Predators continued to answer the Rush scores. Three times in the fourth quarter, Orlando cut the Rush lead to one score and scored two touchdowns in the game's final 33 seconds, but that was as close as it could get. Chicago ended the game with its Victory Pass play. Lining up, D'Orazio took the snap and ran around behind the line of scrimmage, finally throwing the ball high into the stands when the pressure came, and the Rush ended the game ahead 69-61.

First Quarter

CHI - 12:00 - Matt D'Orazio
Matt D'Orazio
Matthew Louis D’Orazio is a professional American football quarterback Free Agent. He played college football at Otterbein College....

 1 yd TD run (Dan Frantz
Dan Frantz
Daniel Lee Frantz is a former American football kicker for the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League. He was released by them on June 3, 2008...

 kick) (CHI 7-0)

CHI - 1:49 - Dan Frantz 23 yd FG (CHI 10-0)

Second Quarter

ORL - 14:22 - 4 yd TD pass from Joe Hamilton
Joe Hamilton (football player)
Joe Hamilton is a former American football player who now serves as running backs coach at Georgia State University. Before joining the Georgia State football staff in 2010, he had played professionally as a quarterback, most recently for the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League...

 to Javarus Dudley
Javarus Dudley
Javarus Dudley is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Voodoo of the Arena Football League. He was a former player for the Orlando Predators for two years. He attended Fordham University....

 (Jay Taylor
Jay Taylor
James "Jay" Taylor is an American professional football kicker for the Orlando Predators in the Arena Football League. He played collegiately for the West Virginia Mountaineers.-High school years:...

 kick) (CHI 10-7)

ORL - 11:56 - 7 yd TD pass from Joe Hamilton to Javarus Dudley (Taylor kick) (ORL 14-10)

CHI - 10:38 - 24 yd TD pass from Matt D'Orazio to Etu Molden
Etu Molden
Etu Baraka Molden is an Arena Football League wide receiver/linebacker who is currently a free agent...

 (Frantz kick) (CHI 17-14)

ORL - 8:39 - Khalil Carter
Khalil Carter
Kahlil Rafiq "Khalil" Carter is a former professional gridiron football player in the Arena Football League, NFL Europe, and the Canadian Football League. His last season of professional football was spent playing defensive back in the AFL for the Iowa Barnstormers in 2010...

 36 yd TD run (Taylor kick) (ORL 21-17)

CHI - 4:39 - 3 yd TD pass from Matt D'Orazio to Bobby Sippio
Bobby Sippio
Robert Lee "Bobby" Sippio, Jr. is an American football wide receiver for the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League. He was signed by the Peoria Pirates in 2002...

 (Frantz kick) (CHI 24-21)

ORL - 2:10 - 30 yd TD pass from Joe Hamilton to DeAndrew Rubin
DeAndrew Rubin
DeAndrew Tarjo Rubin is an American football wide receiver and defensive back, who is currently a Free Agent of the Arena Football League. Rubin attended Dixie Hollins High School in Saint Petersburg, Florida and the University of South Florida and was a starting receiver after being redshirted...

 (Taylor kick) (ORL 28-24)

CHI - 0:06 - 8 yd TD pass from Matt D'Orazio to Bobby Sippio (Frantz kick) (CHI 31-28)

CHI - 0:00 - Dan Frantz 51 yd FG (CHI 34-28)

Third Quarter

CHI - 14:31 - Matt D'Orazio 5 yd TD run (Frantz kick) (CHI 41-28)

CHI - 9:07 - Dennison Robinson
Dennison Robinson
Marquette Dennison Robinson is an American football defensive back for the Chicago Slaughter of the Indoor Football League. He attended the University of West Georgia.-High school years:...

 44 yd interception return TD (Frantz kick) (CHI 48-28)

ORL - 7:58 - 45 yd TD pass from Joe Hamilton to Javarus Dudley (kick failed) (CHI 48-34)

Fourth Quarter

CHI - 13:09 - 31 yd TD pass from Matt D'Orazio to Bobby Sippio (Frantz kick) (CHI 55-34)

ORL - 9:00 - 11 yd TD pass from Jake Eaton to Jimmy Fryzel
Jimmy Fryzel
James David Fryzel was an Arena Football League wide receiver for the Orlando Predators. The Predators cut Fryzel prior to the 2008 season after he tore his ACL...

 (Taylor kick) (CHI 55-41)

ORL - 4:04 - Joe Hamilton 5 yd TD run (kick failed) (CHI 55-47)

CHI - 1:58 - 2 yd TD pass from Matt D'Orazio to Etu Molden
Etu Molden
Etu Baraka Molden is an Arena Football League wide receiver/linebacker who is currently a free agent...

(Frantz kick) (CHI 62-47)

ORL - 0:33 - 1 yd TD pass from Joe Hamilton to Javarus Dudley (Taylor kick) (CHI 62-54)

CHI - 0:27 - 15 yd TD pass from Matt D'Orazio to DeJuan Alfonzo
DeJuan Alfonzo
DeJuan R. Alfonzo is an American football wide receiver/linebacker for the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League . Alfonzo attended Indiana State University.-College and NFL career:...

 (Frantz kick) (CHI 69-54)

ORL - 0:13 - 29 yd TD pass from Joe Hamilton to Charlie Davidson (Taylor kick) (CHI 69-61)

External links

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