Vegas’ sizzle fizzles out late as 9-game win streak comes to abrupt halt

Not much would typically be made when a team on a nine-game win streak loses a singular outing. However, not every team is led by head coach Mike Davis.

“We played terribly,” he said. “You can’t play terribly and then fight against the refs too. It is what it is. We’re better than that, we’ve got to regroup and get some different pieces in here.”

Davis made those fiery statements after the Vegas Knight Hawks lost, 58-52, to the Tucson Sugar Skulls Saturday, June 13 from Lee’s Family Forum. That Week 14 loss brought an end to a nine-game win streak for the franchise.

While that was the first loss for Vegas in quite some time, it was the team’s first loss at home all season while also doubling as the team’s first loss in the West in its seventh try.

Coming into the weekend, the Knight Hawks sat at 9-1 which was good for the top spot in the West. That positioned the club directly in front of the San Diego Strike Force (7-2) and the Arizona Rattlers (7-3).

Over in the Eastern Conference, Jacksonville (9-1) and Green Bay (9-2) are still battling it out at the top.

“That was terrible,” Davis said. “We’re 20 points better than [Tucson]. Hopefully, we’ll fight through and get the one-seed and we’ll get them in the four [spot] and they’ll have to come back here.”

A win on Saturday would’ve meant securing a playoff spot for the reigning National Champions. Another opportunity will present itself with a Friday, June 19 matchup against San Diego. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Down the stretch, quarterback Jayden De Laura and his offense looked out of sorts on the team’s final offensive possession of the game. That came even when gifted additional chances by the Tucson defense.

De Laura was sacked on the final drive but the Sugar Skulls would be flagged for a penalty. Initially, Vegas was in that position following an illegal contact call on the defense.

Tucson’s penalty on that sack play resulted in one untimed down for the home team with a chance to steal the win. De Laura would have his pass attempt fall incomplete to the carpet as his team tasted defeat for the first time since Week 0.

After a stretch of more than successful second halves, the Knight Hawks came up short after halftime in this one, losing it 29-22.

For most of the game, the De Laura-led offense just didn’t appear to find a sustained rhythm. More than one time did the former Arizona signal caller have issues with the snap resulting in several fumbles.

“If we don’t wake up on the right side of the bed every morning, that’s what’s going to happen,” he said. “We’re given what we need during scout teams, we’re given the blueprint. We just have to go out and execute.”

During a season where proficiency has been at the forefront, De Laura started the game with four consecutive incompletions. He’d convert on his next two, including a touchdown pass to receiver John Erby. At that point, he was 2-for-6 for 24 yards and a touchdown.

“The footballs in this league suck,” De Laura said. “They’re not made to throw the ball, it’s fake plastic.”

Erby had a conversion on 3rd and 12 later in the first half on the way to finishing the night with 41 yards and that touchdown on four receptions. He wasn’t featured very much in the second half.

“It’s not about featuring a guy,” Davis said. “It’s not about, ‘We need to get Erby the ball.’ We’re calling the play because this is the defense that we think they’re running and when it’s open, it’s open and when it’s not, it’s not.”

While enduring a struggle, De Laura did put his team up 12 points early in the third quarter. That would serve to be the team’s largest lead of the eventual loss.

In the losing effort, De Laura threw for 231 yards and four touchdowns on 19-of-32 passing.

Running back Josh Tomas did it all with 196 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns on 23 total touches including kick returns. He also hauled in two touchdowns through the air featuring a diving catch while landing on his back.

“With him in the backfield with me, my brain and his brain are always working,” De Laura said. “What I see, what he sees, if I miss something or if I see something that he didn’t see. His football IQ is so high that we have easy conversations.”

With just three points separating the teams at halftime, Vegas opened the second half by forcing a safety on the visitor’s first possession of the third quarter. Defensive lineman Lorenzo Hernandez followed that up with a drive-stopping tackle for loss on fourth down of Tucson’s next drive.

However, a turnover on downs by the Knight Hawks’ offense led to the Sugar Skulls scoring on their last four possessions of the game.

“Fundamentally, we were terrible at the linebacker spot,” Davis said. “We overran three different plays and we gave up three touchdowns. We can’t do that, we talked about it all week.”

Quarterback Ja’Rome Johnson got a second crack at his former team, albeit with a new team having played for New Mexico earlier this year. He excelled in this one with 93 yards on 9-of-12 through the air coupled with 93 yards on 9-of-12 through the air coupled with a touchdown.

Johnson helped lead an offense that produced 118 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. Of that, 69 yards and two touchdowns belonged to the former MVP signal caller as it led the team.