Hoffman Estates, IL - The Force was strong in Chicago on Star Wars tribute night as the Slaughter beat the Green Bay Blizzard by a score of 50-41.

“We had a week of practice that was a little off due to the weather, but tonight I thought that as a team we really come together” said Chicago quarterback Cody Kirby, who had three rushing touchdowns.

In Kirby’s mind, the victory was a statement that had to be made. “We started the season slowly, and the results were not what we hoped for or expected. To turn things around tonight means a lot to every player on this team. Every phase worked well tonight and we started strong. Things began to slip away a little bit towards the end, but then we tightened things up and came away with the win. It feels great to have this right now. There's something positive to build on. We expect to continue this positive momentum on through the season.”

The Slaughter had 102 net rushing yards and 143 passing yards in a total of 52 offensive plays. Daniel Dufrene led Chicago on the ground with 59 rushing yards. Eyad Salem topped the receiver corps with 4 receptions for 60 yards. Chicago had 6 penalties for 41 yards and one pass intercepted. The time of possession was 33:31.

Defensively, Jereme Green, Kyle Jenkins, Lenny Radke and Ameer Ismail were standouts. DB Robert Mago grabbed a crucial last minute Green Bay pass to protect the Slaughter’s lead as the clock wound down.

“I felt we let down somewhat in the second half” Kyle Jenkins said after the game, “But then we were able to bring it up a notch and close things out. I felt this contest was vitally important for several reasons. First of course is that is always is a good thing to beat Green Bay. But even more than that, we needed to turn thing around form the first two games of our season. We knew that we had the talent but the results weren’t reflecting that. This game tonight is more the team we want to be.”

Chicago scoring plays were credited to Cody Kirby, Juice Williams, and Daniel Dufrene. The Slaughter also got a safety on Green Bay quarterback Donovan Porterie in the first half.

Ameer Ismail credited Slaughter fans with amping up the energy level at Sears Centre. “I wonder if fans understand how we feed off of them” Ismail said. “Having them there in the stands is so important. When we hear them screaming in support of us, it means a lot. I am glad we were able to come out here tonight on our home turf and bring them a win.”

Ismail did mention one regret, however. “Where was Yoda? He’s my favorite. I saw Darth Vader, the Storm Troopers, Boba Fett, all those guys. You’d have thought that somebody would have invited Yoda.”

The Slaughter’s next home game is Sunday, March 17 against the Texas Revolution. Game time is 2:05 p.m.