IFL Cup title game set after Knight Hawks pull away from Pirates

The Vegas Knight Hawks went into their semifinal matchup against the Orlando Pirates knowing it could set up a midseason championship unlike any other.

Vegas took care of business by taking down Orlando, 73-33, from American Dream Mall in New Jersey Monday, May 18. That came as part of the league’s first-ever IFL Cup.

“The league wants [a playoff atmosphere],” head coach Mike Davis said. “We don’t take it like that, we’re taking it one game at a time. It’s just another opponent we have to play on the schedule and if we beat this next opponent there’s a little hardware to it.

“And if it doesn’t go our way, okay. It’s one of 16.”

Coming off a bye week, the Knight Hawks tallied a sixth straight win to improve to 6-1 this year. They will advance to the IFL Cup Championship Game against the Arizona Rattlers. Earlier in the day, the latter beat the New Mexico Chupacabras to reach the title game.

Just over two weeks ago, the same two squads met inside Lee’s Family Forum in a two-possession win for Vegas. The outcome was overshadowed by a shoving match between Davis and Arizona head coach Kevin Guy.

With some midseason hardware on the line, the two clubs will meet again Sunday, May 24 from American Dream Mall with kickoff slated for 4:30 p.m.

“We’ve got to play well,” Davis said. “That little nonsense with me and KG – it’s over with. We stopped talking about that three days after it happened just because everybody else was talking about it. Nobody cares about it but the media.”

Vegas didn’t hold a lead until just over midway through the second quarter on the way to taking a two-point lead into the halftime break. What would soon come would be the team’s best quarter of the night.

The second half opened with a touchdown connection from quarterback Jayden De Laura to receiver Senicka McKie. Soon after, a rouge by kicker Gabe Rui would extend the lead to double-digits.

A defensive stop in the form of a turnover on downs set up a rushing touchdown by De Laura for 22 straight points by the Knight Hawks. In total, that run was 52-7 for the eventual winners with 29 straight points scored at one point.

“Yeah, I think the ball was bouncing our way,” Davis said. “That’s the benefit. We’ve just got to continue to work so we don’t start slow.”

De Laura scored three times on the ground and two times through the air with 163 total yards tallied. Running back Josh Tomas added a season-high four rushing touchdowns and now has 14 ground scores on the season.

With the lead in tow, backup quarterback Avaun Rucker got in on the action and would throw a touchdown pass to receiver Jaylon Tillman. That touchdown catch was Tillman’s first reception with Vegas.

“I think guys wanted it,” Davis said. “Then you go on a run and it's 52-7, it’s unheard of and then you kind of keep it moving. These dudes, they’ve dug their heels in and they’ve played and they push each other.”

As good as the second half was, the first half was nearly the opposite for the Knight Hawks, especially the game’s opening quarter.

De Laura threw just his second interception of the season on the first play of the team’s first drive. At that point, the unit was already down 7-0 following a Pirate touchdown on the second play of the game. After that interception, Orlando added a second score for an early 14-0 lead.

“We can’t start slow,” Davis said. “You’re in a professional environment, you start slow in all three phases and you look up and it’s 14-0.”

Later in the first half, De Laura would fumble away a snap as well as part of his two-turnover night. His defense would even the turnover battle in what would soon be a lopsided win.

Defensive back Clifton Duck snagged his third interception of the year early in the second quarter to kill a Pirate drive. Later in the quarter, fellow defensive back Terry Roberts hauled in his fourth pick of the season.

Those big plays helped set the tone for a second half that saw the Vegas defense allow just seven points. In fact, the team allowed just seven points on the final seven offensive possessions of the game for Orlando.

“I’m proud of the guys because they dug in their heels,” Davis said. “They persevered and overcame the hole. Against a better football team you can’t do that. You do that against the Green Bays, the Jacksonvilles, the San Diegos, the Arizonas, and that shit’ll get you beat.”