Vegas now 4-4 after second straight loss on the heels of win streak

From riding high with a three-game win streak to trying to salvage a .500 record, the Vegas Knight Hawks have now dropped back-to-back games.

Mistakes piled up in the team’s, 42-39, loss to the San Diego Strike Force Sunday, May 25 from Frontwave Arena. The loss drops the team to .500 as we head into Week 10 after its second straight three-point loss.

With all meetings between the two teams played for the year, San Diego claims the season series with two of victories in the three contests.

“You’ve just got to keep working,” head coach Mike Davis said. “There’s not a guy in that locker room that doesn’t think we shouldn’t have won that game. We just didn’t make the plays when we needed to make them and that’s what it comes down to.”

Vegas is now fourth in the Western Conference, sitting behind Arizona, Bay Area and now San Diego who owns the season series.

The Knight Hawks look to end the two-game road skid when it returns home to Lee’s Family Forum to take on the conference’s top-seeded Rattlers. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. from Henderson, Nevada on Saturday, May 31.

Last week, the team lost by three points to Arizona.

“We’re halfway through the season,” Davis said. “What, we’re tied for third? In the playoffs and we still have eight games left. The record is not our concern, playing better football is our concern. The record will take care of itself.”

Clinging to a four-point lead, Vegas endured a long San Diego drive that saw the home team convert on three fourth downs under unique circumstances.

Facing a 4th and 4, the Knight Hawks forced a fumble on a long run but failed to recover the loose ball. Soon after, a 10-yard reception on a 4th and 10 was challenged by Davis and was unsuccessful.

The final fourth down conversion came on an illegal defense call against Vegas for a new set of downs. In the loss, the team racked up 11 penalties for 73 yards.

“When you think about it, 4th and 9, we’re going to get a stop right?” Davis said. “And I’m not putting this on the defense, this is a team game but 4th and 9 and we let them get nine and a quarter yards. Fourth and 4 and we jump offsides. Everything that we need to happen, we shoot ourselves in the foot before it happens.

San Diego capped the drive with a touchdown run for the sixth lead change of the game as it went up, 42-39. Starting quarterback Nate Davis was knocked from the game late in the second half, allowing for backup Rudy Johnson to provide a different dynamic to the position.

“We kind of had a package in there for Rudy if he came in the game,” Davis said. “Again, we just missed some tackles. We knew what he was doing, we knew he was going to run, he really wasn’t going to throw the ball. We just didn’t make the plays and that’s what it comes down to.”

Vegas quarterback Ja’Rome Johnson did a lot of work with his legs as well, finishing with a team-high 56 rushing yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. He now has six rushing touchdowns on the year.

Johnson also threw a touchdown to receiver CJ Windham on the way to 7-of-13 on the night for 84 yards.

Late in the third quarter, Johnson was rocked on the way to a touchdown with his legs, fumbling the ball away in the process. He’d need help off the field before not returning to the quarterback position.

“He’s fine,” Davis said. “He could’ve come back in and played but we just needed a change and we got that from [backup quarterback Jayden De Laura].”

De Laura connected with receiver CJ Jefferson on a deep touchdown facing fourth down. That tripped the deficit to three points after the extra point was blocked. Earlier in the contest, the team missed two more extra points.

After taking possession with three seconds left in regulation, kicker Ben Derby missed the potential game-tying field goal from 51 yards out. On the night, he went 0-for-4 on field goals.

“You’ve got to find a good [kicker] that’s there right,” Davis said. “That’s the problem, finding good kickers are tough. Ben’s got a great leg, he’s never kicked indoors before [so] we knew we’d have some growing pains.”

Running back Antonio Wimbush had a big night in the loss including a kick return touchdown on the team’s first touch of the second half to trim the deficit to three points. In the fourth quarter he scored again, this time on the ground to give Vegas its first lead of the second half.