by Paul Chivari
HOFFMAN ESTATES , IL – The past two weekends the Chicago Slaughter were unable to score or let their opponent score in the first quarter. Saturday night they had no problem, and though they did give up points in the first quarter, they still were up 21-10 on the Green Bay Blizzard by quarter’s end.
Cody Kirby and Dan Dufrene combined for 105 yards on the ground and each rushed for 3 TDs in a game that never saw the Slaughter (1-2) without the lead. Kirby led the Slaughter the whole way, completing 13 out 19 passes for 132 yards with one interception while also throwing a successful completion to Juice Williams in the first quarter for a touchdown. Newly acquired wide receiver Eyad Salem led the Slaughter receivers with 60 yards and was one of three players along with Delric Ellington and Dufrene with 4 receptions on the night.
The Slaughter defense held the Blizzard (0-2) to just 13 points in the first half, thanks to strong efforts from Jereme Green, Ameer Ismail, and Yemi Babalola. The Blizzard crept back into the game getting as close two points with a minute and a half to go on late rush by quarterback Donovan Porterie. Porterie’s hand off to Aaron Kapeliela-Higdon failed to net the Blizzard a game-tying two point conversion.
With just under a minute remaining in the game and the Slaughter up 43-41, Dufrene rushed for his final touchdown of the night. On the following Blizzard drive, recently signed Slaughter defensive back Robert Mago put the nail in the coffin with an interception to seal the Slaughter’s first victory of the 2013 season in front of a fired up Sears Centre crowd.
The Slaughter have this weekend off, which is well deserved after being the only team besides the undefeated Cedar Rapids Titans to play in the first three weeks of the season. The next Slaughter opponent is the IFL expansion team Texas Revolution who are visiting the Sears Centre on St. Patrick’s Day, Sunday, March 17th. Kickoff is at . There is a rumor of green uniforms and you know you don’t want to miss out on that. Wear some green and come out and join us in the festivities. For tickets, call the Slaughter office at 847-310-3190.