Knight Hawks defense shines, providing offense chance to set new franchise record in points

Only the second meeting ever in the two franchises history, Vegas got the better of Iowa in a big way, setting all kinds of records in the process.

The Knight Hawks walloped the Barnstormers, 82-46, Saturday, June 21 from Lee’s Family Forum in a Week 14 contest. After a loss last week to Bay Area, Vegas is now back in the win column, setting a franchise record in points along the way.

Both all-time meetings in the series have been claimed by owner Bill Foley’s group.

“It was much-needed,” defensive lineman Claude Davis said. “Confidence builder to get us back on the right track and also put the league on notice that it’s about to be hell to pay for sure.”

Vegas continues to sit in the fourth spot in the Western Conference, now with a 7-5 overall record. Saturday’s contest against Iowa ends a two-game homestand for the team.

Up next, the Knight Hawks will travel to Arizona to take on the Tucson Sugar Skulls Sunday, June 29 from the Tucson Arena. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.

Vegas’ defense was hit hard on the game’s opening play on a 40-yard touchdown through the air. It was deja vu when Iowa went on its second drive of the game and scored another one-play touchdown drive to take a, 14-7, lead.

“Funny thing is coach said don’t take them lightly and I think that’s what we did at first,” Davis said. “They punched us in the mouth twice and we woke up.”

From there, the Knight Hawks forced five straight stops and seven of the next nine possessions. Plenty of turnovers came in the win after the defense finally settled down.

Defensive back Bryce Hampton came up with the fumble recovery after the first two scoring drives by the visitors. In the second quarter, defensive end Adam Plant Jr. secured the strip sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery.

Plant’s big night came on College Knight in the same city where he played college football with UNLV.

“I always feel like the city’s got my back,” he said. “And I’ve got the city’s back. I’m just so grateful and humble to be able to have this opportunity with the Vegas Knight Hawks. It was a beautiful night and I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Defensive back James Ceasar reeled in the team’s only interception in the win about midway through the fourth quarter.

“We found our stride,” Mike said. “What did we have? Three interceptions, a strip sack for a touchdown, we scored two touchdowns on special teams so it was a complete team effort when it comes to the scoreboard.”

The stellar defensive performance set the stage for the historic outing by the offense. Even with the big finish, Vegas didn’t snag its first lead until late in the first quarter behind the second rushing touchdown from running back Antonio Wimbush to go up 21-7.

Wimbush also recorded his third kick return touchdown of the year in the first quarter to tie the game at 14 apiece. He’d add kick return touchdown No. 4 on the season and No. 2 in the game in the third quarter with a duplicate performance.

“I’ve been doing it since I’ve been in the league,” he said. “I feel like it’s been noticed. I’ve been doing it since I was a jit, since I was five years old just playing both sides – I used to play defense too.”

In total, Wimbush scored five touchdowns on the night including three on the ground with two coming in the third quarter. The second rushing touchdown of the third quarter tied the previous franchise-high with 68 points.

Wimbush was responsible for 238 all-purpose yards in the win.

The dominant win allowed for both quarterbacks Jayden De Laura and Ja’Rome Johnson to log playing time with the former getting the start once again.

De Laura shined in a big way going 11-for-16 through the air with 163 yards and five touchdowns coupled with a rushing touchdown. The added aggressiveness from the newfound starter saw him truck a defender during a scamper out of the pocket.

“He shows up for work every day,” Wimbush said. “No complaints. Even in the backfield, we communicate before the play even starts. He’ll call it out, that’s the crazy part, I wish y’all could hear it. He’ll call it out like, ‘Oh yeah, I got him right here.’”

Johnson entered the game about midway through the fourth quarter before closing the game with 40 total yards and a touchdown pass.