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Chicago spoils reunion by crushing Soul, 62-28

ROSEMONT, Ill. - Not much went right in the first half for the error-prone Soul on Friday night. A 26-point halftime deficit proved too much to overcome. The revived Soul suffered a 62-28 Arena Football League blowout loss to the Chicago Rush at Allstate Arena.

ROSEMONT, Ill. - Not much went right in the first half for the error-prone Soul on Friday night.

A 26-point halftime deficit proved too much to overcome. The revived Soul suffered a 62-28 Arena Football League blowout loss to the Chicago Rush at Allstate Arena.

The hosts scored 40 consecutive first-half points, including several scores off Soul mistakes, and improved to 2-0. The Soul slipped to 1-1.

"You can't spot a team [40] points and expect to win," said coach Mike Hohensee, who coached the Rush for nine seasons before departing for the Soul. "You got three fumbles, you throw two [first-half] interceptions, you line up wrong . . . and we made mental mistakes at critical positions."

It was a mixed night for starting quarterback Justin Allgood, who completed 12 of 22 attempts for 165 yards and two touchdowns. He also was picked off three times while teammates fumbled five times.

The Soul took just 75 seconds to seize the early edge. Allgood combined with wide receiver Syvelle Newton on a 34-yard touchdown strike and a 7-0 lead.

Chicago replied with a lengthy drive capped by a 4-yard Johnie Kirton touchdown run. On the next possession, Allgood was picked off by linebacker Kelvin Morris, and five plays later the Rush went up, 14-7, as Chicago quarterback Russ Michna found Mike Turkovich on a 5-yard touchdown strike.

The Soul's subsequent possession started just steps from their end zone and went awry with a fumble and an end-zone recovery by Chicago linebacker Marcus Waugh for a 21-7 Chicago lead.

A Rush goal-line stand early in the second quarter preserved a 14-point lead, and they subsequently marched 47 yards to extend the advantage to 28-7 on Michna's 9-yard toss to wide receiver Micah Rucker.

The Soul misplayed the ensuing kickoff return as the ball bounced off the iron back on the field, and an alert Perry Kyles scooped it up at the 3 and ran in for Chicago's fifth touchdown and a 34-7 lead with 10 minutes, 8 seconds remaining in the half.

The teams traded touchdowns in the final minute as Chicago opened a 40-14 halftime lead.

The Rush kept the game out of reach in the second half, outscoring the Soul by 8-7 in the third and by 14-7 in the fourth. Soul backup quarterback Ryan Vena saw some time in the second half and scored on a pair of 2-yard runs.

"We came out in the second half and played hard and played them fairly even," Hohensee said. "I just don't think we had enough left in our sails toward the end there."