Rush QB Michna to play with Slaughter this season

Posted January 12, 2009 10:00 pm

By Bob LeGere

The Chicago Slaughter aims to fill the indoor football void created by the absence of the Chicago Rush and the Arena League, and they're hoping that former Rush quarterback Russ Michna will help.

Michna, a product of Conant High School and Western Illinois University, has signed on with the Slaughter, providing coach Steve McMichael's team with a local attraction and a player who threw for 57 touchdowns and ran for 14 more last year with the Rush. And with the Arena Football League having suspended operations for a year, Michna was available to run the Slaughter offense.

"I feel fortunate to have found a new home and to continue to play in my hometown," Michna said. "I am certainly looking forward to my new role with the Chicago Slaughter and working with Coach McMichael. I know we will bring a championship home to Chicago this season."

At WIU from 2000-2003, Michna was 20-6 as a starter and threw for 6,434 yards, second best in school history. He is also the only player to win back-to-back offensive player of the year awards in the Gateway Conference.

The Slaughter's home games will be played practically in Michna's former backyard, at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, starting with the season opener on March 6.

"Our No. 1 thing is to entertain our fans," said team president Gerry Clarke. "Originality and creativity go a long way, and we've lowered ticket prices."

The average ticket price for a Slaughter home game is $14.

Michna and McMichael, the former Bears standout defensive tackle, will be joined for the Slaughter's second season by former Bears wide receiver Marcus Robinson and linebacker Otis Wilson, a teammate of McMichael's' on the Super Bowl XX champions.

The former Bear greats will assist in evaluating prospective players at the Slaughter's final open tryout from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday at the Finish Strong Sports Complex, 551 W. Roosevelt Road, West Chicago.

For tryout information and to register, call 847-310-3190, or register on line at chicagoslaughter.com.

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