Post by alecs on Jul 1, 2023 20:44:18 GMT -8
Knight Hawks 40, Sugar Skulls 34
7/1/23 --
TUCSON, AZ - Saturday night presented an opportunity for the hosting Sugar Skulls to officially clinch their spot in the 2023 Playoff field - if they emerged from the game with a win against the Knight Hawks, a team that was eliminated from playoff contention last week. Despite an encouraging start to the game for Tucson, Vegas spoiled the party with a stunning second-half effort, allowing the Sugar Skulls to score just seven points in that stretch. That proved to be the difference maker, as the Knight Hawks pulled off the upset win by a score of 40-34.
The Sugar Skulls opened the game's scoring, with a first drive touchdown provided by Mike Jones on a ten-yard run. Vegas was quick to respond, striking gold on a 3rd-and-7 play when Da'Quan Neal uncorked a 35-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Holley to tie the game. A rouge on the ensuing kickoff put Vegas on top for the first time in the game, but Tucson would take that lead back thanks to an eight-play scoring drive, capped off by a four-yard rushing touchdown by Ramone Atkins, but Michael Hall's extra point ventured wide left. Vegas answered with an eight-play drive of their own to wrap up the first quarter, with Davonte Sapp-Lynch punching home a one-yard rush. Stevie Artigue's extra point leaked just wide right, but the Knight Hawks still led 14-13 after 15 minutes of play.
Tucson began the second quarter with the ball and orchestrated a five-play touchdown drive, with the score provided by Atkins, his second rushing score of the game from two yards out. The Sugar Skulls forced a 4th-and-1 play for the Knight Hawks inside the redzone, and the defense made its stand. Neal threw a pass intended for Caleb Holley, who flew over the corner boards but could not secure the ball. The Skulls offense would translate that momentum into another touchdown, with Benjamin Jones providing the eight-yard scamper to extend Tucson's lead to 27-14. For a second straight drive, Vegas faced a redzone 4th down decision, and sent Artigue and the kicking unit to try a 24-yard field goal. The attempt was blocked by Tucson's Melik Owens (his fourth kick block of the season), giving the Sugar Skulls a prime opportunity to come away with even more points before the end of the half. They drove to the Vegas 15-yard line and tried a 29-yard field goal, but Hall's attempt missed the mark wide right as time expired, keeping the Sugar Skulls lead at 27-14 at the break.
Beginning the second half down by two scores, Vegas took the starting possession of the half and scored a much-needed touchdown, on a one-yard QB keep by Neal on a 4th-and-goal. Tucson attempted to answer back, but their efforts were halted by a Vegas defensive stand, denying Mike Jones on 4th-and-goal from the one-yard line to take possession back. Their ensuing possession would shed the remaining time off the third quarter, and Neal's second rushing score of the quarter (one yard) knotted the game up at 27 apiece heading into the final frame.
An onside kick attempt by Vegas took the Sugar Skulls completely by surprise, as the Knight Hawks successfully stole possession back with the recovery. With a nine-play drive spanning the entire first half of the quarter, the Knight Hawks took possession of the lead on Neal's third rushing touchdown of the game (eight yards). A pivotal drive for the Sugar Skulls would come down to a 4th down from the Knight Hawk five-yard line, and a composed Atkins found Dequan Dudley in the back of the endzone for the game-tying touchdown with just about two minutes left on the clock. Vegas would only need to run a single play before hitting the one-minute warning, at which point they forced Tucson to exhaust their entire supply of timeouts. After bleeding out all but nine seconds from the game clock, Vegas regained the lead on a WR run by Jonathan Johnson. Artigue would miss his second extra point to keep the score 40-34. Just enough time remained for Tucson to set up a desperation hail mary, and Atkins managed to hurl one deep to give his team a chance. But the play was well covered by multiple Vegas defensive backs, who swatted the ball down to end the threat. With that play, Vegas secured the win by a score of 40-34.
In the Knight Hawk win, Da'Quan Neal completed ten of his 20 pass attempts for 139 yards and a touchdown, and netted 45 yards on 15 carries for three more scores. Davonte Sapp-Lynch turned 12 carries into 34 yards and a touchdown and added a two-yard catch. Caleb Holley led Vegas receivers with four catches for 88 yards and a touchdown.
For Tucson, Ramone Atkins completed ten of 17 passes for 104 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. He added 61 yards on 11 carries, two of which went for touchdowns. He did leave the game in the third quarter with an apparent shoulder injury but did return later in the game. Mike Jones carried eight times for 33 yards and two touchdowns and hauled in two passes for 31 additional yards. Carrington Thompson had 55 scoreless yards on five catches, while Dequan Dudley had the lone receiving touchdown on two catches for ten yards.
The win gives the Knight Hawks a 5-9 record on the season with just one game remaining; they have been eliminated from playoff contention. As for the Sugar Skulls, they remain in third place in the Western Conference with a 7-6 record, one full game behind the second-place Bay Area Panthers, who hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Sugar Skulls on superior conference record regardless of how the final two weeks play out. For the time being, they sit one game above Northern Arizona (6-7) and two games above San Diego and Duke City (both 5-8).
The 2023 season series ends up as a split between these two teams, with the road team winning on both occasions (Tucson won 42-41 at Dollar Loan Center in Week 12). This was also the first time Vegas has defeated Tucson in its franchise history, with this being the fourth meeting in the all-time series.
Tucson will try to clinch their playoff spot next week, when they visit the Duke City Gladiators on Saturday July 8 with kickoff set for 5:05 p.m. The Knight Hawks are on a bye next week, but will close out the regular season at the San Diego Strike Force on Saturday July 15 for a 6:05 p.m. kickoff. Times listed are pacific daylight time. Click for our complete 2023 IFL Schedule.
7/1/23 --
TUCSON, AZ - Saturday night presented an opportunity for the hosting Sugar Skulls to officially clinch their spot in the 2023 Playoff field - if they emerged from the game with a win against the Knight Hawks, a team that was eliminated from playoff contention last week. Despite an encouraging start to the game for Tucson, Vegas spoiled the party with a stunning second-half effort, allowing the Sugar Skulls to score just seven points in that stretch. That proved to be the difference maker, as the Knight Hawks pulled off the upset win by a score of 40-34.
The Sugar Skulls opened the game's scoring, with a first drive touchdown provided by Mike Jones on a ten-yard run. Vegas was quick to respond, striking gold on a 3rd-and-7 play when Da'Quan Neal uncorked a 35-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Holley to tie the game. A rouge on the ensuing kickoff put Vegas on top for the first time in the game, but Tucson would take that lead back thanks to an eight-play scoring drive, capped off by a four-yard rushing touchdown by Ramone Atkins, but Michael Hall's extra point ventured wide left. Vegas answered with an eight-play drive of their own to wrap up the first quarter, with Davonte Sapp-Lynch punching home a one-yard rush. Stevie Artigue's extra point leaked just wide right, but the Knight Hawks still led 14-13 after 15 minutes of play.
Tucson began the second quarter with the ball and orchestrated a five-play touchdown drive, with the score provided by Atkins, his second rushing score of the game from two yards out. The Sugar Skulls forced a 4th-and-1 play for the Knight Hawks inside the redzone, and the defense made its stand. Neal threw a pass intended for Caleb Holley, who flew over the corner boards but could not secure the ball. The Skulls offense would translate that momentum into another touchdown, with Benjamin Jones providing the eight-yard scamper to extend Tucson's lead to 27-14. For a second straight drive, Vegas faced a redzone 4th down decision, and sent Artigue and the kicking unit to try a 24-yard field goal. The attempt was blocked by Tucson's Melik Owens (his fourth kick block of the season), giving the Sugar Skulls a prime opportunity to come away with even more points before the end of the half. They drove to the Vegas 15-yard line and tried a 29-yard field goal, but Hall's attempt missed the mark wide right as time expired, keeping the Sugar Skulls lead at 27-14 at the break.
Beginning the second half down by two scores, Vegas took the starting possession of the half and scored a much-needed touchdown, on a one-yard QB keep by Neal on a 4th-and-goal. Tucson attempted to answer back, but their efforts were halted by a Vegas defensive stand, denying Mike Jones on 4th-and-goal from the one-yard line to take possession back. Their ensuing possession would shed the remaining time off the third quarter, and Neal's second rushing score of the quarter (one yard) knotted the game up at 27 apiece heading into the final frame.
An onside kick attempt by Vegas took the Sugar Skulls completely by surprise, as the Knight Hawks successfully stole possession back with the recovery. With a nine-play drive spanning the entire first half of the quarter, the Knight Hawks took possession of the lead on Neal's third rushing touchdown of the game (eight yards). A pivotal drive for the Sugar Skulls would come down to a 4th down from the Knight Hawk five-yard line, and a composed Atkins found Dequan Dudley in the back of the endzone for the game-tying touchdown with just about two minutes left on the clock. Vegas would only need to run a single play before hitting the one-minute warning, at which point they forced Tucson to exhaust their entire supply of timeouts. After bleeding out all but nine seconds from the game clock, Vegas regained the lead on a WR run by Jonathan Johnson. Artigue would miss his second extra point to keep the score 40-34. Just enough time remained for Tucson to set up a desperation hail mary, and Atkins managed to hurl one deep to give his team a chance. But the play was well covered by multiple Vegas defensive backs, who swatted the ball down to end the threat. With that play, Vegas secured the win by a score of 40-34.
In the Knight Hawk win, Da'Quan Neal completed ten of his 20 pass attempts for 139 yards and a touchdown, and netted 45 yards on 15 carries for three more scores. Davonte Sapp-Lynch turned 12 carries into 34 yards and a touchdown and added a two-yard catch. Caleb Holley led Vegas receivers with four catches for 88 yards and a touchdown.
For Tucson, Ramone Atkins completed ten of 17 passes for 104 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. He added 61 yards on 11 carries, two of which went for touchdowns. He did leave the game in the third quarter with an apparent shoulder injury but did return later in the game. Mike Jones carried eight times for 33 yards and two touchdowns and hauled in two passes for 31 additional yards. Carrington Thompson had 55 scoreless yards on five catches, while Dequan Dudley had the lone receiving touchdown on two catches for ten yards.
The win gives the Knight Hawks a 5-9 record on the season with just one game remaining; they have been eliminated from playoff contention. As for the Sugar Skulls, they remain in third place in the Western Conference with a 7-6 record, one full game behind the second-place Bay Area Panthers, who hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Sugar Skulls on superior conference record regardless of how the final two weeks play out. For the time being, they sit one game above Northern Arizona (6-7) and two games above San Diego and Duke City (both 5-8).
The 2023 season series ends up as a split between these two teams, with the road team winning on both occasions (Tucson won 42-41 at Dollar Loan Center in Week 12). This was also the first time Vegas has defeated Tucson in its franchise history, with this being the fourth meeting in the all-time series.
Tucson will try to clinch their playoff spot next week, when they visit the Duke City Gladiators on Saturday July 8 with kickoff set for 5:05 p.m. The Knight Hawks are on a bye next week, but will close out the regular season at the San Diego Strike Force on Saturday July 15 for a 6:05 p.m. kickoff. Times listed are pacific daylight time. Click for our complete 2023 IFL Schedule.
Both games, as well as all IFL games this season, will be streamed live on the IFL's Official YouTube Channel. SCtoC will present previews of those, and all, games this season. Those previews will be posted on the board of the home team in each game.
- AS
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