It’s Not Avengers’ Day

Avenger quarterback Tony Graziani engineered two consecutive victories by throwing last-second scoring passes to receiver Greg Hopkins.

On Sunday, Chicago defensive back Dameon Porter foiled Graziani’s bid to make it three in a row.

With one minute left, Porter intercepted a short pass from Graziani to Hopkins in the end zone and the previously winless Rush held on for a 54-53 Arena Football League victory before 16,132 at Allstate Arena.

“I guess we ran out of miracles,” Graziani said.

The Avengers’ bid for the first four-game winning streak in franchise history was ruined by blown coverages on defense, breakdowns on special teams and a Chicago defensive front that battered Graziani throughout the game.

“We didn’t play any phase of the game at a high level,” Avenger Coach Ed Hodgkiss said.

Graziani completed 22 of 38 passes for 257 yards and five touchdowns against a Rush defense that ranked second in the Arena League. But he suffered a sprained left ankle when he was hammered while throwing a second-quarter touchdown pass. He also sustained a bruised left knee.

“Graziani was on the ground a little bit too much,” said receiver Chris Jackson, who had eight receptions for 140 yards and two touchdowns. “That affects the timing with receivers.”

Chicago (1-3) was averaging only 32 points, but the Rush eclipsed that in the first half en route to a 34-30 lead at the break. Chicago’s Antonio Chatman, who played at Dorsey High, broke a 27-27 tie with 18 seconds left when he fielded a kickoff that hit the net and returned it 58 yards for a touchdown.

The Avengers (3-1) overcame the four-point halftime deficit and moved ahead, 53-48, on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Graziani to Jackson with 7:31 left.

But they failed to recover the ensuing on-side kick and the Rush scored two plays later on a four-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Billy Dicken to Chatman for a 54-53 lead.

Graziani then moved the Avengers to the Rush four-yard line with a 30-yard completion to Jackson, setting up the key play of the game.

On first and goal from the four, Graziani rolled to his left, just as he did two weeks ago when he found Hopkins in the end zone for a two-point conversion that gave the Avengers a victory over defending Arena Bowl champion San Jose.

Porter, a former standout at Crenshaw High and one of the top defensive backs in the AFL, had seen the tape.

“I knew there was a good chance he was coming to him again,” said Porter, who had 12 interceptions in 2001 and 10 last season. “I rolled the dice. Sometimes you win your money and sometimes you lose.”

Said Graziani: “[Hopkins] was open and I threw it behind him.... We were going in for the winning score and I throw an interception. That’s ridiculous.”

In the Arena League, of course, one minute is an eternity. But the Rush made a key play to maintain possession when Dicken completed a five-yard pass to Lindsay Fleshman on a fourth and two from the Chicago 13 with 42 seconds left.

The Avengers used three timeouts before the Rush ran out the clock.

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OTHER AFL GAMES

Arizona 62, Indiana 54 -- Sherdrick Bonner threw for 313 yards and eight touchdowns at Indianapolis as the Rattlers (2-2) handed the Firebirds their first loss.

Detroit 53, Dallas 49 -- Junior Lord caught a seven-yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds left to give the Fury (3-1) a victory over the Desperados (2-2) at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Grand Rapids 58, Tampa Bay 56 -- Ian Howfield kicked a 23-yard field goal on the last play of the game as the Storm (2-2) defeated the Rampage (3-1) at Grand Rapids, Mich.

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Associated Press contributed to this story.