Chicago Rush hits the road to face San Jose

The Rush will hit the road this weekend to play the San Jose SaberCats, an Arena Football League power that has not lost a home game since May 28, 2011.

The 6-3 Rush, just a half-game behind San Antonio in the Central Division, is 1-4 all time at the HP Pavilion, and San Jose leads the West Division with a 7-3 record.

“San Jose has always had a great fan base, the ownership puts everything they can into the organization and the team always ends up being fantastic,” Rush head coach Bob McMillen said.

Kickoff is scheduled for 9:30 p.m., Saturday and the game can be streamed at ustream.tv/chicagorush.

Chicago leads the all-time series against San Jose 6-5.

New kicker:

Due to his inconsistency, the Rush reassigned kicker Mike Salerno and replaced him with former USC kicker Joe Houston.

New record:

In the Rush’s last game in Arizona, wide receiver Reggie Gray broke team records for career all-purpose touchdowns and receiving touchdowns. Gray has recorded 72 touchdowns over his 29 games with the team.

He’ll team up Saturday with quarterback Russ Michna, who is returning after missing the team’s last game on May 12. In his last outing on May 6 against the Iowa Barnstormers, Michna threw for five touchdowns and 369 yards.

Turner steps up:

After watching the first two games of the season from the sidelines, Rush wide receiver Terrance Turner has caught 36 passes for 380 yards and 8 touchdowns over the past four games.

Turner said it took him some time to adjust to the style of the AFL.

“Everything is fast paced, which is good, but I had to get used to being on the field much longer than I was ever used to,” Turner said.

Looking ahead:

The Rush will reveal a new mascot at its June 3 home game against Spokane at Allstate Arena in Rosemont.