The Chicago Blitz will travel to take on the Cincinnati Flex on Saturday, March 3, 2018 at the Game On! Sports Complex.  Game time is 7:15.  The Flex were the MPIF runner-ups last season and look to take a step forward, while the Blitz begin their rise from the ashes, looking to make a name for themselves in this early season tilt.  

The Blitz will call Grand Sports Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, home for the 2018 season.  We have four scheduled home games at GSA.  On Saturday, March 10th, we entertain the returning MPIF champions, the Midway Marauders.  Kickoff will be at 6PM.  Our second home contest will be against the Indianapolis Enforcers on Saturday, March 31st, again a 6PM kickoff.

In April we will host the Westchester Apaches  on April 8th and the Windy City Ravens on April 22nd.  Both of those games are on Sundays, and start at 1:30 PM.

Photo Courtesy of Briane Amodeo Chicago Blitz/BriAmo Photography 

​Villa Park IL-The Chicago Blitz (4-3) dropped a heartbreaker to the River City Raiders (7-1) by a final score of 37-31 at the Odeum Sports and Expo Center.  For the second time this season the Blitz fell to the Raiders despite having a fourteen point lead in each of the games.  “We let another one slip away to these guys, it is getting to be a bad habit getting up 14 and losing the game in the second half” recalled a disappointed Chicago Blitz head coach Mike Oliver.  The Blitz got out to a great start scoring on the first pass of the game and rolled to a 24-10 halftime lead.  Unfortunately the Blitz could not maintain their momentum in the second half being outscored 27-7 in the second half.  When asked what changed in the second half Blitz coach Mike Oliver had this to say “There are some darn good coaches in this league and they made a good adjustment they started bringing pressure up the middle and spying the QB.”
 
Offensively it was an up and down game for the Blitz putting twenty four points on the board in the first half and only managing seven points in the second half.  Quarterback Andre Locke had a very strong first half with three touchdown throws, two of which to Brian “Boobie” Miles and one to returning Blitz wide receiver David Brown.  Locke’s lone touchdown pass in the second half was to Bryant “Speedy” Pascascio.  “We had too many penalties, you can’t have those kind of mistakes when you have a young quarterback, you have to build a drive and we didn’t do that” shared Blitz head coach Mike Oliver on the difference for the offense between the first and second half.  When asked for his thoughts on the game Blitz running back Keenan Miller replied “This was very similar to the first time we played these guys, we were high energy, we were up 14 points at the half and almost had the knockout punch.” Chicago’s offensive line had trouble with the Raiders pass rush giving up more pressure and sacks of the quarterback than usual.  “We have to complete our drives and we have got to keep our energy up” was the response of Miller when asked what needs to change for the Chicago offense.
 
The Blitz defense had a strong outing despite the loss.  A few injuries in the second half of the game really affected the defenses effectiveness allowing the Raiders to claw back into the game and ultimately take the victory.  An obviously frustrated Blitz linebacker Lorenzo Hood had this to say about the loss “We followed the fundamentals of what we talked about all week and we get on the field and didn’t do that tonight especially in crucial situations.”  Much like the offense Chicago’s defense had a very strong first half only allowing one touchdown and one field goal.  The Blitz defense continued forcing turnovers with two total interceptions in the defeat.  Chicago’s defensive line had another strong game getting good pressure on the Raiders QB throughout.  Lorenzo Hood had a thought on the game that seemed to echo throughout the Blitz locker room with both players and coaches saying “It’s disappointing to get this far and work this hard against a team we were beating twice.”
 
Chicago’s special teams had a very difficult outing in Saturday night’s loss.  River City came into the game with a very dangerous return man that presented the Blitz with many problems in the first matchup.  He was very dangerous once again giving the Blitz kick coverage team fits all night long and even returning a missed field goal for a touchdown late in the game.  The Blitz return team did a good job of giving Chicago’s offense good starting field position for much of the game.  Kicker Igor Materic had an up and down night going 4-4 on extra point attempts and only 1 for 4 on field goal attempts. 
 
Disappointing does not even begin to describe the feeling around the team with this loss.  Just when the Blitz seemingly had this game in hand River City dug deep and found a way to win.  This loss was almost a mirror image of the team’s loss in River City back in late April.  Coming into this game it seemed like a loss would knock the Blitz out of playoff contention in the AIF.  However shortly after the game was over it was discovered there was an unfortunate situation with the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets making them ineligible for the playoffs and thus giving the Blitz new life.  “We are still in the playoffs there is a situation with philly and as a result we are still in the playoffs and we have to beat West Michigan in two weeks” replied Blitz coach Mike Oliver when asked about the playoffs.  So hold on to your seats Blitz fans as this could be a wild ride in the coming weeks and could lead to something very special.  Should the Blitz beat West Michigan at home in two weeks the likely first round matchup would be against River City.  And we all know what they say about beating a team three times in one season, but the Blitz need to get the win at home in two weeks first.   If the attitude and feeling surrounding the team when news of this chance spread is any indication, the Blitz should put on quite the show in their final regular season game. 
 
The Blitz return home to the Odeum Expo and Sports Center on May 28 for a 7PM kickoff versus the West Michigan Ironmen

Photo Courtesy  of Briane Amodeo Chicago Blitz/BriAmo photography inc.

​Villa Park IL-The Chicago Blitz (4-2) got back on track with a dominating 73-6 victory over the Memphis X Sound (0-1) Saturday May 7, 2014 at the Odeum in Villa Park.  Chicago really dominated the game from the opening kickoff to the final play of the game.  “We got back on track tonight, nobody was happy after last week’s loss when we had a two possession lead that slipped away in the second half” explained Chicago Blitz head coach Mike Oliver when asked what this victory meant to the team.  The Blitz dominated in all facets of the game never allowing Memphis to gain any kind of momentum.  Getting a win for the Blitz was very important Saturday night as just one more loss could end Chicago’s playoff hopes.
 
The Blitz offense had their strongest outing of 2016 in Saturday night’s victory.  Quarterback Andre Locke had a solid outing tossing eight touchdowns getting everyone of his receivers involved in the scoring action.  When Locke was asked about what this win means to him stated “This puts back on the right track to make the playoffs.” Blitz head coach Mike Oliver evaluated his quarterback saying “Andre is really an athlete and it is real fast at this level, even faster than it is outdoors and Speedy (Bryant Pascascio) did a great job of getting open making Andre’s job even easier.”  Locke to Speedy was a common occurrence in this game as the two connected for five touchdown passes on the night.  Locke had nothing but praise for his favorite target Saturday night saying “He gets open; it’s easy when you have someone that can take a two yard pass and take it fifty yards any given time.”  Jermel Smith, James Walton, and Brian “Boobie” Miles all had touchdown grabs in the victory as well.  Chicagos offensive line had a strong outing giving Locke a lot of time to find his receivers and work through his progressions.   An obviously happy Coach O had a lot of praise for his offensive performance stating “I’m real happy right now, we haven’t been averaging a ton of points.  I really wanted these guys to concentrate and get things right in this game.  They stayed focused and put a ton of points on the board tonight which was real nice.”
 
Defensively the Blitz dismantled the Memphis offense Saturday night only giving up one touchdown the entire game.    When asked what this win meant to him defensive end Deandre Mosley had this to say “This win means a lot to us, we started off hot needing to finish off the second half and I think we did that today.”  The Blitz defensive line continued their strong play creating constant pressure and forcing the Memphis quarterback to get rid of the football much sooner than he wanted to.  The defensive front five also did a tremendous job of completely shutting down the running game of the X Sound.  Chicago forced five turnovers in the victory.  Defensive end Deandre Mosley had two fumble recoveries that also ended up as touchdowns.  Linebacker Lorenzo Hood had a fumble recovery and an interception in the win.  Defensive back Jorrick Calvin added to the turnover party with an interception of his own.  “It feels great!  It’s always good when a defensive player gets to score a touchdown and I was lucky enough to get two fumbles in the end zone to help our team win” beamed Mosley when asked about his performance Saturday night. 
 
The special teams unit of the Chicago Blitz put together another solid performance to help setup the big win.  Kicker Igor Materic had arguably his best game of the season Saturday night going 1-1 on field goal attempts and 7 for 8 on extra point attempts.  The kick coverage teams had a good night containing the Memphis returners never allowing an opening for any kind of big return.  Chicago’s kick return teams setup the offense with good field position throughout the night. 
 
The Chicago Blitz needed a dominating game like this.  With only two games left on the schedule and both of those games being against the only teams to defeat the Blitz this season every game is a must win.  The confidence boost and momentum this gives the Blitz going forward was very important.  Seeing the chemistry build throughout the game on offense was a very good sign moving forward.  The defense that already was one of the, if not the best defense in the AIF seems to just get better and better as the season goes on.  Looking at and talking to everyone with this team you get a great sense of how important this final stretch of the season is.  Seeing the Blitz go on an incredible run of a five game winning streak to end the season as AIF champions is looking to be more and more of a reality.  But before they win five in a row the Blitz have to make it two in a row with a payback win over the River City Raiders next Saturday night at home. 
 
The Chicago Blitz next play Saturday May 14, 2016 at home in the Odeum in Villa Park with a 7 PM kickoff.  Please visit www.chicagoblitzfootball.com for tickets

​ST Charles MO-The Chicago Blitz suffered its second loss of the season to the River City Raiders by a final score of 47-34 on Saturday April 23, 2016 at the Family Arena in St. Charles Missouri.  Saturday night’s game was truly a game of two halves with River City pulling away late in the game.  At one point late in the second quarter the Blitz rolled off twenty one straight points and had a two score lead early in the third quarter before the Raiders took over.  This was not a typical indoor football game as both teams scored in bunches with the Raiders scoring three straight touchdowns after the Blitz twenty one straight points. When asked to evaluate his team’s performance Chicago head coach Mike Oliver recalled ““The first and second half were two completely different games, we came into half time and went up two scores which was our plan and we didn’t play so well in the second half.”  Wide receiver James Walton had a similar explanation on the Blitz  performance “We played hard and honestly they made more plays than we did, we had a two score lead and didn’t do enough as an offense to hold onto it.”
 
The Blitz offense got off to a slow start in Saturday night’s loss but that is to be expected with Andre Locke starting his first game of the season.  However after a slow first quarter Locke did a tremendous job in the second quarter leading his team to twenty one unanswered points.  “Andre did a great job and this was his first start he took quite a bang but bounced back from that” explained Coach O when evaluating his quarterbacks performance.  The Blitz wide receivers made life a little easier for their new quarterback with their performance against a very tall and talented Raiders defensive backfield.   “They had some holes in the zone that we were trying to exploit, Boobie (Brian Miles)and Speedy (Bryant Pascascio) did a great job of taking the top off allowing the underneath routes to come there” explained wide receiver James Walton on the wide receivers performance.  The Chicago offensive line did a solid job of protecting Locke in the first half.  However the Raiders began blitzing more often creating more pressure on Locke.  “They blitzed us pretty heavy and we had a hard time with that and it knocked him out of his vision and lane “explained Blitz coach Mike Oliver on the offensive lines second half performance.
 
The Chicago Blitz defense is currently the top ranked defense in the AIF and they showed why in Saturday night’s game despite falling short on the scoreboard.  Defensively the Blitz continue to force turnovers game in and game out with interceptions by defensive back Deshon Conley, defensive end/linebacker Deandre Mosley and one fumble recovery by defensive linemen Karl Grant against the Raiders.  When asked what makes his defensive unit so strong defensive linemen Karl Grant explained “We are all hungry to be the best defense in the league, I give the credit to the rest of this defense for all of us playing strong, and coach Stone for getting us ready up front every week.”  The Blitz also had another very strong game up front getting consistent pressure on the Raiders quarterback throughout the game.  Grant also had this to say about why this unit continues its success “The fact that we all bond well as players and teammates.” 
 
Special teams were a bit of a mixed bag in the loss.  Blitz defensive back/kick returner Jorrick Calvin had a solid game returning kicks and setting up the offense with good field position for the majority of the contest.  The kick coverage unit struggled a bit against a very dangerous returner for the Raiders they were awarded some very good field position much of the game on some long kick returns.  Blitz kicker Igor Materic evaluated his game saying “The Open high ceilings helped a little bit but I could have been better.”  It was an onside kick that was returned for a touchdown that sealed the victory for the Raiders.  It was a bit of an unusual onside kick as Materic barely kicked the ball letting it dribble the ten yards in an attempt for the Blitz to recover and give their offense the ball back.  The ball ultimately went off of a Raiders player’s foot into the endzone and River City recovered the football for a touchdown.  When asked about the onside kick Materic explained “We worked on it with the semi pro team I played with, we tried to get it ten yards down the field while trying to get the point guys to create the opening for me to recover it.  Unfortunately the ball took a bad bounce and went backwords instead of forwards”
 
This loss was a very difficult one for the Blitz on Saturday night.  With a short eight game schedule this loss will make it a much tougher road for the Blitz to make it back to the playoffs.  “We are 2-2 and we could still qualify mathematically so we have to pick up the pieces, move on to our next game and get right back to work” explained Blitz head coach Mike Oliver about where the Blitz goes from here.  The resolve of this Blitz team is going to be strongly tested over these last few weeks of the AIF regular season.  That being said this Blitz team has shown every game they do not back down no matter what the situation presents.  Running the table and making the playoffs is not out of the question for the Chicago Blitz.
 
The Blitz returns home for their next game on Saturday May 7, 2016 for a 7 PM kick versus the Memphis X Sounds at the Odeum in Villa Park

​Villa Park IL- The Chicago Blitz (2-1) bounced back this week with a solid 36-24 win over the North Kentucky Nightmare (0-4) on Saturday April 9, 2016 at the Odeum in Villa Park.  Getting off to a fast start was the goal for the Blitz and ultimately it was the key to getting the win over the Nightmare for the second time this season.  Chicago exploded out of the gates outscoring the Nightmare 20-6 in the first quarter.  However the Nightmare would not go away clawing their way back into the game and giving the Blitz everything they could handle in what could be best described as a slugfest right until the final seconds of the game.  Ultimately a interception returned for a touchdown by defensive back Deshon Conley with less than a minute to play in the game sealed the victory for the Blitz.  “This win gets us back on track, we really need to win out to make sure we make the playoffs, we have our work cut out for us but we are back on track” explained Blitz head coach Mike Oliver on the importance of this victory.  When asked about his team’s resiliency for a second straight week a beaming Coach Oliver responded “They are warriors there’s no give up in these guys, there are some things we need to work on but these guys just never give up”
 
The Blitz offense was really able to find its openings early on in this game putting up 20 points in the first quarter.  Chicago’s offense did a particularly good job of running the ball at the goal line as evidenced by running back Keenan Miller’s back to back rushing touchdowns in the first quarter.  Not to be left out of the scoring party receiver and team captain Bryant “Speedy” Pascascio found the end zone late in the first quarter.  In his second game with the team and first full start of the season Quarterback Tony Powell put another solid game together spreading the ball around and not allowing the Nightmare defense to key on any particular receiver.  A key piece to the Blitz offense the last two weeks has been the return of wide receiver Brian “Boobie” Miles.  When asked how he has been able to make such an impact Miles explained ““The anxiousness of getting back to the team and really missing it, and really having a passion of being back with the guys it has just been really great.”  The second half however was not as kind to the Blitz offense as they were only able to muster three points for the entire half. 
 
Defensively the Blitz put together yet another strong outing. “The talent and the comradery, we play great as a defensive unit and it is all working in our favor right now” explained defensive back Deshon Conley about the strength of his defense.  The defensive line continued to impress with constant pressure on the Nightmare quarterback.  The Blitz defensive line was able to continue to play well despite losing defensive end Ryan O’Neill and defensive end Deandre Mosley playing linebacker this week.  Defensive back Jorrick Calvin continued his strong season with an interception with just under seven minutes to play in the game.  The Nightmare were knocking on the endzone door with less than a minute to play in the game when Blitz defensive back Deshon Conley read a passing play intercepting the pass and taking it all the way back for the game sealing touchdown for the Blitz.  When asked about what he saw on the play Conley reminisced “I knew from when we played them in week one what they like to run in the goal line situation, so I read it and just broke on the flat.” 
 
The Chicago Blitz special teams had a strong bounce back game with this week’s win.  New Blitz kicker Igor Materic had a very solid outing going 4-5 on extra points and 1-2 on field goal attempts.  Kick returns were another area of strength for the Blitz giving the Chicago offense good starting field position for the majority of the game.  Brian “Boobie” Miles had a very impressive kick return for a touchdown early in the second quarter.  “Everyone keeping composure and just keeping that next play mentality, it’s not always going to happen and be in our favor we always have to have that next play mentality and keep moving and going” explained Miles about his thought process on the kick return touchdown.  Chicago’s kick coverage teams had a much improved game not giving the Nightmare returners any room to work with. 
 
While this game was not a perfect one, it was a win and in the end that is all that matters. The Chicago Blitz refusal to get rattled by any situation continues to loom large in every game they have played this season.  Adversity continues to knock on the door of this team and continually the Blitz refuse to answer that door, and that is the mentality that champions are made of.  The Blitz have played in 3 fairly close games scoring wise to start 2016.  With only eight games played in the AIF (American Indoor Football league) schedule the Blitz are already near the midpoint of the season.  With River City and West Michigan each suffering one loss already this season it is a tight race for who will make the playoffs.  The mental makeup of this team will continue to be important moving forward as it could be the difference in making the playoffs or not.  If the showing by the Blitz the first three games is any indication it would not be wise to sleep on the 2016 Chicago Blitz.
 
The Blitz are off this coming weekend but return to action on April 23, 2016 with a road game versus the River City Raiders in St. Charles MO.