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Another chance to stake a claim near the top of the crowded Western Conference went by the wasteside for the Vegas Knight Hawks after a second straight loss.
With second place on the line Vegas lost to San Diego, 60-59, on the road Saturday, July 6. Last week, the team missed out on a chance to take over first place in a loss to Bay Area.
It’s the team’s fifth loss in the last seven games after its 7-0 start.
“I’m not going to make excuses,” head coach Mike Davis said. “We got crushed with the injury bug and we’re trying to fight our way out of it. That’s what it comes down to. Every game we see how close it can be, you just got to finish.”
Now sitting at 9-5 on the year, the Knight Hawks still have work to do in order to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
In the team’s last road game of the season, Vegas will travel to Northern Arizona to square off against the Wranglers. That game is scheduled for Saturday, July 13 with kickoff set for around 6 p.m.
“We’re still young and trying to learn,” Davis said. “For us, we go through the ebbs and flows and eventually you’ve got to have a guy that wants to step up and put the team on his back.
“Right now, we’re missing that killer leadership. But I’m going to make a few changes and we’re going to get it. We’re going to get in the playoffs and we’re going to make a deep run at this thing.”
An extreme lack of discipline in the second half led to the collapse of the Knight Hawks in its latest outing. Things began to slide early in the third quarter and errors would show up in the form of penalties.
“We just knew we had to get some stops right,” Davis said. “We could’ve put them away early. Then the ball bounces their way a couple of times. It is what it is. It’s the beautiful thing about football, it’s a humbling sport. So you either figure it out or this sport isn’t made for you.”
The defense appeared to force an incomplete on a 3rd and 6 early in the third quarter but two flags on the unit kept the drive alive. That stint would end in a field goal to trim the home team’s deficit to just a point.
On the ensuing kickoff, defensive lineman Rick D’Abreu was ejected after picking up a second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. With the offense’s start set back, a turnover would soon follow giving the Strike Force a chance to take the lead for the first time.
Entering play, the team was without defensive leaders Bryce Hampton and Gabe McCoy.
“[The penalties] have been addressed,” Davis said. “The guys that are having those penalties consecutively and over and over are no longer going to be here. Plain and simple, there’s no place for that in football, especially winning football.”
San Diego would do just that on a field goal and to make matters worse for Vegas, they lost the kickoff and coughed up possession back to the home squad.
The blunder on special teams appeared to not hurt the team too much after a pass fell incomplete to the carpet on 4th and 5. It was a defensive pass interference call that gave the opponent a new set of downs just before heading into the fourth quarter.
After taking their first lead of the game in the third quarter, the Strike Force extended the lead to nine after capping that drive with a touchdown. That lead would eventually grow to as many as 16 before the Knight Hawks would lose its fifth game by one possession.
Even with the mistakes, quarterback Ja’Rome Johnson had a chance to give Vegas the win on a two-point conversion with under 30 seconds left in regulation. That came on the heels of his third rushing touchdown of the night.
On the possession prior, San Diego scored on the first play following a defensive pass interference flag on defensive back James Ceasar. That penalty set the home team’s offense up near the goal line at the two-yard line.
“We talk about it,” Davis said. “It’s been a point of emphasis. Those guys, like I said, won’t be – we’ll address that here tonight, it’s been addressed already but we’ll address that tonight and we’ll make a few replacements and we’ll go from there.”
Johnson scored two of his three rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter as part of the team’s comeback effort. He extends his lead on the league’s most rushing touchdowns with now 30 on the year.
He did throw two interceptions in the game for a total of nine for the year. Both came in the second half on the team’s first possession of each quarter.
The offense did play without receiver Caleb Holley, who will miss the remainder of the season with a left knee injury.
“He’s out for the season,” Davis said. “I don’t want to put his medical stuff out there but he’ll be done for this season.”
Receiver Quentin Randolph reeled in two touchdowns on three receptions for 65 yards. Fellow receiver CJ Windham added three more catches for 49 yards and a touchdown.
Only one other player caught a pass in the game.
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