Most of us have memories of a kid in school who always found a way to beat us at everything. No matter how much we practiced, he jumped just a little higher and threw just a bit harder. We were high as a kite after getting an "A" on the test, only to find out our nemesis got an "A+". Proud as could be taking our date to prom in the freshly waxed Monte Carlo, he showed up for prom in his new Bimmer, the head cheerleader on his arm.

For the Chicago Rush and head coach Mike Hohensee, that kid is the San Jose SaberCats.

Four times the Rush and the defending AFL champion SaberCats have clashed over the past three years, and four times the Rush have come up short. Mike Hohensee has faced the SaberCats eight times in his 12 seasons as a head coach in the Arena Football League, and each time he has gone home the loser.

When the Rush and ‘Cats met in the regular season in 2004, the Rush were in good position to win the game with a full minute to play and only down a point. But the SaberCats recovered an on-side kick and scored two plays later to secure a 51-43 victory.

The one that really hurt though, literally and figuratively, was the 2004 AFL semifinal game. With the game tied 7-7 in the second quarter, Rush quarterback Raymond Philyaw could not find an open receiver and sprinted down the sideline. He cut to avoid a defender and sustained a season-ending knee injury. The Rush outplayed the SaberCats for most of the game, but questionable officiating on a pivotal play at the end of the first half, a fumble, and an interception by San Jose WR/DB Charles Pauley – now a member of the Rush – sealed the victory for the ‘Cats once again, 49-35.

San Jose comes to Allstate Arena on Sunday on a five-game winning streak and standing atop the AFL’s Western Division with a 6-3 record. The Rush (5-4) are coming off a hard-fought victory over the Eastern Division-leading New York Dragons last week and battling for a playoff spot.

The AFL’s 2005 playoff scheme admits the four division winners and two wild card teams from each conference, with the Central and Western Divisions comprising the American Conference. From here on out, every game will have playoff implications for the Rush as they will face conference foes in all seven remaining contests. After San Jose, the Rush will host John Elway’s Central Division-leading Colorado Crush. Next up will be Los Angeles and Las Vegas, the other two American Conference playoff contenders.

There is no danger of the Rush looking past San Jose to the road ahead. In the SaberCats, the Rush will encounter one of the most potent offenses in the league, led by QB Mark Grieb and the AFL’s Offensive Player of the Month for March, OS Rashied Davis. The ‘Cats are also dangerous on defense, featuring perennial All-AFL defensive specialist Clevan Thomas and newcomer DS Tremain Mack, who started his first game on March 6 and proceeded to win the Defensive Player of the Game award in four successive weeks, tying an AFL record.

The Rush will face the SaberCats, and possibly the rest of the season, without two of their veterans, as FB/LB Jamie McGourty and OL/DL Jon McCall were placed on injured reserve this week. McGourty tore a tendon in a toe, while McCall is recovering from surgical repair of a tendon in the middle finger of his left hand.

Quarterback Raymond Philyaw is expected to play, however. How sweet it would be for him to vent all of the frustrations of an offseason of rehabilitation and the ArenaBowl berth that wasn’t on the team that caused him so much anguish, and help his team and his coach finally come out ahead against that darned kid.