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SaberCats top Rush, advance to ArenaBowl XXI

Jul 15, 2007 - 12:19 AM SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) -- Mark Grieb threw six touchdown passes, including four to Ben Nelson, as the San Jose SaberCats captured the American Conference championship and a berth in ArenaBowl XXI with a 61-49 triumph over the Chicago Rush on Saturday.

Matt Kinsinger also ran for two TDs for San Jose (15-3), which will take on the Columbus Destroyers for the league title on July 29.

With the game even at 7-7 after one quarter, the SaberCats scored three straight touchdowns in the second - including a pair of one-yard runs by Kinsinger - to take the lead for good.

Chicago (13-5) climbed within 34-28 in the third on DeJuan Alfonzo's three-yard scoring run with 1:52 remaining. But Grieb connected with both Rodney Wright and Nelson early in the fourth to give San Jose a 48-28 cushion.

The Rush refused to surrender, however, as backup quarterback Russ Michna threw three scoring strikes to Bobby Sippio down the stretch. But in between, Julius Gant returned a kickoff for a TD and Grieb found Nelson from four yards out to maintain control.

Grieb was 27-of-37 for 291 yards with one interception and James Roe made 10 catches for 108 yards for the SaberCats.

Michna, who entered the game when Matt D'Orazio went down in the second quarter with a sore back, completed 22-of-30 passes for 247 yards and five touchdowns with one interception for the Rush. Sippio hauled in 15 passes - including five TDs - for 194 yards.