| ArenaBowl XX | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | June 11, 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arena | Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 13,476 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Offensive Player of the Game | Matt D'Orazio, QB, Chicago | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Defensive Player of the Game | Dennison Robinson, WR/DB, Chicago | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ironman of the Game | Bob McMillen, FB/LB, Chicago | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning Coach | Mike Hohensee | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Losing Coach | Jay Gruden | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. TV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Tom Hammond, Pat Haden, Lewis Johnson and Marty Snider | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
ArenaBowl XX, held on Sunday, June 11, 2006, was played to determine the championship of the 2006 season of the Arena Football League. For the second consecutive year, the game was played at the neutral site of the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. It pitted the National Conference Champions, the Orlando Predators, against the American Conference Champions, the Chicago Rush. 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.
==Game Summary
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 scored on a one-yard run to cap off the first drive. The Orlando Predators 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 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. 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. 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.
Scoring summary[]
First Quarter[]
CHI - 12:00 - Matt D'Orazio 1 yd TD run (Dan Frantz 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 to Javarus Dudley (Jay Taylor 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 (Frantz kick) (CHI 17-14)
ORL - 8:39 - Khalil Carter 36 yd TD run (Taylor kick) (ORL 21-17)
CHI - 4:39 - 3 yd TD pass from Matt D'Orazio to Bobby Sippio (Frantz kick) (CHI 24-21)
ORL - 2:10 - 30 yd TD pass from Joe Hamilton to DeAndrew Rubin (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 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 (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 (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 (Frantz kick) (CHI 69-54)
ORL - 0:13 - 29 yd TD pass from Joe Hamilton to Charlie Davidson (Taylor kick) (CHI 69-61)