Second strong 2nd half showing leads Vegas to inaugural IFL Cup championship win

There can only be one first.

That will forever be true, including when describing the Vegas Knight Hawks as the first-ever IFL Cup Champions as a result of taking down the Arizona Rattlers, 48-44, Sunday, May 24 from American Dream Mall in New Jersey.

In addition to playing for midseason hardware, Vegas maintained control of the top spot in the Western Conference while improving to 2-0 over Arizona this season.

“There’s only one first IFL Cup champion,” head coach Mike Davis said. “So that’s cool. I’m more proud about our guy’s maturity and what they overcame and how they fought back from the start.”

Now sitting with a 7-1 overall record, the Knight Hawks’ win streak is up to seven straight games. That streak will be put to the test Sunday, May 31 when the team returns home for a date with the Quad City Steamwheelers.

Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. inside Lee’s Family Forum.

“You don’t [celebrate a midseason championship] for us,” Davis said. “It’s just another game – okay cool, add another trophy to the trophy case. We’ve got to fly home tomorrow and get ready for a tough Quad City game. Their backs are against the wall and we worked hard to get this one game lead on San Diego and a two and a half game lead on Arizona so we’ve got to keep it.

“We can’t squander it away now.”

With quarterback Jayden De Laura dealing with a stomach bug, his play was less than stellar than that of his previous performances in big-time situations.

It was evident early with back-to-back bad possessions late in the first half. The first of those two possessions ended with De Laura’s third interception of the season and his second in the last two weeks. That latter possession ended in a safety that put his team down 12 points.

“A couple of days ago he said he woke up [dealing with a stomach bug],” Davis said. “We started the game and at halftime it hit him again. That’s why [backup quarterback Avaun] Rucker had to start the third quarter. The team rallied and got through it.”

Understanding his team needed an offensive spark, running back Josh Tomas shined where he could, including 83 yards and a touchdown on 13 total touches. Those numbers don’t include his 80 yards accumulated on kick returns.

Following the game, he was named the IFL Cup Most Valuable Player.

“It’s just business as usual,’ Davis said. “And that’s how these guys come to work and that’s the nice thing about all of them.”

Receivers Quentin Randolph and Deshon Stoudemire both scored twice in the win with the latter scoring on the ground and through the air. De Laura tallied 98 yards on 7-of-16 passing with four total touchdowns and an interception.

With a sick quarterback and a Rattler rouge that put the team down 14 points before the second half could begin, the Knight Hawks’ defense had its work cut out for it.

“We actually didn’t even tell them,” Davis said. “We just said, ‘Hey, this is us and we’re playing. [The offense] isn’t on its A game today and we’ve got to pick them up.’ And at halftime, they saw he was sick and turned the corner.”

Those two points scored on that rouge would be the lone Arizona points for quite some time in that second half. Its next drive would stall after a missed field goal. Additionally, the next two drives would be killed by interceptions by defensive backs Fred Flavors and Joe Foucha for three straight drives without points for a then 6-2 Rattler team.

Moreover, defensive back Clifton Duck added a fumble recovery as Vegas earned three turnovers in the win. In the two IFL Cup games, the Knight Hawks won both second halves by a combined point total of 76-22.

“Just the dudes’ perseverance right,” Davis said he’d remember most about these IFL Cup second halves. “Our guys don’t take well to disrespect so when you come out chirping and it gets under their skin, they just respond and they just dig that. And that’s the beautiful thing about them.”