Post by alecs on Mar 24, 2024 17:56:30 GMT -8
Knight Hawks 45, Rattlers 43
3/24/24 --
GLENDALE, AZ - For the second consecutive night, a new arena fielded IFL play for the very first time, with the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale hosting a tightly contested Western Conference showdown on Sunday night between the visiting Vegas Knight Hawks and the Arizona Rattlers. Unlike in last night's Tsongas Center debut, in which the home team prevailed, it would be the road team spoiling the party in the Rattlers' new home. The outcome came down to a do-or-die game-winning field goal attempt, successfully converted by Kevin Macias of the Knight Hawks, to give Vegas the shocking 45-43 upset over the Rattlers (who entered the game as two-touchdown favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook).
Arizona received the first possession of the ballgame, and roughly four minutes in, Isaiah Huston would haul in a 20-yard pass from starting QB Garrett Kettle for the game's first touchdown. Kettle got the nod to start in place of Dalton Sneed, who was inactive due to injury. The Knight Hawks and Rattlers would then trade missed field goal attempts before the Knight Hawks generated points on their second possession, with Macias knocking through a 17-yard attempt late in the first. That would bring the score to a seven to three Rattlers advantage at the end of the first quarter.
The next possession for the Rattlers saw them settle for a short field goal attempt, which Dawson Evitts made to extend the lead back to seven. Vegas would tie the game just over a minute later, thanks to a 19-yard ramble by newly acquired QB Ja'Rome Johnson, who made waves in his rookie season with the Blizzard a season ago. Arizona fought back for another touchdown on its next drive, this one coming from a four-yard rush by Jamal Miles. The Knight Hawks were able to find a quick response once more, this one coming from a 31-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to former Steamwheeler C.J. Windham. The point-after failed, however, keeping the Knight Hawks down 17-16. Vegas' defense kept Arizona out of the endzone and forced Arizona to settle for another short 20-yard field goal by Evitts. The first takeaway of the game would occur inside the one-minute warning, with Connor Taylor of the Rattlers recovering a fumble by Johnson and giving the Rattlers one final chance to score. That opportunity would come once more off the foot of Evitts, connecting on a 22-yard field goal as time expired to up the Rattlers lead to 23-16 at halftime.
Vegas got the ball to lead off the second half, and Johnson hurled another deep gem to tie the game at 23 apiece, finding Caleb Holley for a 25-yard touchdown. A few minutes later, Jamal Miles would restore Arizona's lead to seven with a ten-yard rushing score, his second of the game. Not to be outdone, Johnson would find the endzone for his second house call on an 11-yard run. But another miss on the point-after would keep them behind by a point. Shannon Brooks would convert a touchdown on Arizona's next drive, while another one-play drive by the Knight Hawks in response would keep them within striking distance. Johnson's deep ball was hauled in by Quentin Randolph for a 36-yard touchdown, and a missed two-point conversion attempt would bring the score to 37-35 Rattlers. The Knight Hawks' big play on defense would come just seconds before the end of the quarter, as Jerry Garner picked up a Lorenzo Brown fumble to award possession back to the Knight Hawks, giving them a chance to take the lead after a third quarter which saw a combined 33 points scored between the two clubs.
A minute into the final frame, Johnson's third rushing score from 14 yards out would give Vegas its first lead of the contest at 42-37. After the Rattlers drove inside the five-yard line of Vegas, a pass by Brown was intercepted by James Ceasar in the endzone. While the Knight Hawks were able to burn over five minutes of game clock with their ensuing possession, Macias missed a 33-yard field goal wide right, which gave the Rattlers a chance at a potential late game-winning drive. Arizona did get back on top with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Glen Gibbons, Jr. - but left 52 seconds on the clock in the process. On the two-point conversion attempt, a failed "Philly Special" kept the Rattler lead to just one point, 43-42, with the Knight Hawks possessing a chance for a potential winning score. In what would be the final drive of the contest, a series of big plays by Vegas and some questionable endgame clock management on both sides culminated in setting up a potential 32-yard field goal to decide the game with three seconds on the clock. Arizona head coach Kevin Guy decided to use a timeout to ice the kicker Macias, a decision that would backfire considerably. Not only did the timeout nullify a potential delay-of-game penalty, it allowed Macias to reset and boot the 33-yard game-winning field goal through the uprights as time expired. His walk-off winner capped the surprising victory for the Knight Hawks, with 45-43 holding as the final score.
Ja'Rome Johnson led the charge in the Knight Hawks triumph, completing nine of 16 passes for 179 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. He added 118 yards on 12 carries for another three touchdowns on the evening, with one lost fumble as his only hiccup. Three different Knight Hawk receivers found paydirt, as Quentin Randolph (4/90/1), C.J. Windham (2/44/1), and Caleb Holley (2/31/1) were the recipients of Johnson's touchdown passes. Maurice Jackson logged 2.5 sacks defensively, while James Ceasar recorded an interception, and Jerry Garner logged a fumble recovery in the win.
For the second straight week, the Rattlers played two quarterbacks, with Garrett Kettle drawing the start and completing six of nine passes for 71 yards and a touchdown while rushing eight times for a team-leading 47 yards on the ground. He was also sacked three times. Lorenzo Brown entered the game in the second half after coming out of retirement earlier in the week. His stat line featured 14 pass attempts with ten completions for 120 yards, one touchdown, and an interception. Isaiah Huston caught six passes for 81 yards and a score, while Glen Gibbons, Jr. hauled in five receptions for 64 yards and a score. Jamal Miles had two rushing touchdowns on six attempts for 25 yards, and Shannon Brooks recorded one rushing touchdown on eight attempts for 22 yards. On defense, Collin Taylor led Arizona with six tackles and also had a fumble recovery, while Davontae Merriweather had the lone sack for the Rattlers tonight.
The Knight Hawks outgained the Rattlers by total yardage by a count of 309 to 263. Vegas was flagged seven times for 45 yards, and Arizona was guilty of just three infractions for 30 yards.
Vegas trails the all-time series three games to two after this win, the first in the series to come at Arizona. The reverse fixture will occur on Saturday June 22 at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada.
Both teams are back in action on Easter Sunday next week. The Rattlers (1-1) will visit the defending champion Bay Area Panthers (0-0) for that team's season opener on March 31, for a 3:05 kickoff. The Knight Hawks (1-0) will host the Jacksonville Sharks (0-1), also on March 31, with kickoff set for 3:05 p.m. Times listed are pacific daylight time.
Both games, as well as all IFL games this season, will be streamed live on the IFL YouTube Channel and Caffeine TV IFL. 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. Click for our complete IFL 2024 Schedule.
3/24/24 --
GLENDALE, AZ - For the second consecutive night, a new arena fielded IFL play for the very first time, with the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale hosting a tightly contested Western Conference showdown on Sunday night between the visiting Vegas Knight Hawks and the Arizona Rattlers. Unlike in last night's Tsongas Center debut, in which the home team prevailed, it would be the road team spoiling the party in the Rattlers' new home. The outcome came down to a do-or-die game-winning field goal attempt, successfully converted by Kevin Macias of the Knight Hawks, to give Vegas the shocking 45-43 upset over the Rattlers (who entered the game as two-touchdown favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook).
Arizona received the first possession of the ballgame, and roughly four minutes in, Isaiah Huston would haul in a 20-yard pass from starting QB Garrett Kettle for the game's first touchdown. Kettle got the nod to start in place of Dalton Sneed, who was inactive due to injury. The Knight Hawks and Rattlers would then trade missed field goal attempts before the Knight Hawks generated points on their second possession, with Macias knocking through a 17-yard attempt late in the first. That would bring the score to a seven to three Rattlers advantage at the end of the first quarter.
The next possession for the Rattlers saw them settle for a short field goal attempt, which Dawson Evitts made to extend the lead back to seven. Vegas would tie the game just over a minute later, thanks to a 19-yard ramble by newly acquired QB Ja'Rome Johnson, who made waves in his rookie season with the Blizzard a season ago. Arizona fought back for another touchdown on its next drive, this one coming from a four-yard rush by Jamal Miles. The Knight Hawks were able to find a quick response once more, this one coming from a 31-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to former Steamwheeler C.J. Windham. The point-after failed, however, keeping the Knight Hawks down 17-16. Vegas' defense kept Arizona out of the endzone and forced Arizona to settle for another short 20-yard field goal by Evitts. The first takeaway of the game would occur inside the one-minute warning, with Connor Taylor of the Rattlers recovering a fumble by Johnson and giving the Rattlers one final chance to score. That opportunity would come once more off the foot of Evitts, connecting on a 22-yard field goal as time expired to up the Rattlers lead to 23-16 at halftime.
Vegas got the ball to lead off the second half, and Johnson hurled another deep gem to tie the game at 23 apiece, finding Caleb Holley for a 25-yard touchdown. A few minutes later, Jamal Miles would restore Arizona's lead to seven with a ten-yard rushing score, his second of the game. Not to be outdone, Johnson would find the endzone for his second house call on an 11-yard run. But another miss on the point-after would keep them behind by a point. Shannon Brooks would convert a touchdown on Arizona's next drive, while another one-play drive by the Knight Hawks in response would keep them within striking distance. Johnson's deep ball was hauled in by Quentin Randolph for a 36-yard touchdown, and a missed two-point conversion attempt would bring the score to 37-35 Rattlers. The Knight Hawks' big play on defense would come just seconds before the end of the quarter, as Jerry Garner picked up a Lorenzo Brown fumble to award possession back to the Knight Hawks, giving them a chance to take the lead after a third quarter which saw a combined 33 points scored between the two clubs.
A minute into the final frame, Johnson's third rushing score from 14 yards out would give Vegas its first lead of the contest at 42-37. After the Rattlers drove inside the five-yard line of Vegas, a pass by Brown was intercepted by James Ceasar in the endzone. While the Knight Hawks were able to burn over five minutes of game clock with their ensuing possession, Macias missed a 33-yard field goal wide right, which gave the Rattlers a chance at a potential late game-winning drive. Arizona did get back on top with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Glen Gibbons, Jr. - but left 52 seconds on the clock in the process. On the two-point conversion attempt, a failed "Philly Special" kept the Rattler lead to just one point, 43-42, with the Knight Hawks possessing a chance for a potential winning score. In what would be the final drive of the contest, a series of big plays by Vegas and some questionable endgame clock management on both sides culminated in setting up a potential 32-yard field goal to decide the game with three seconds on the clock. Arizona head coach Kevin Guy decided to use a timeout to ice the kicker Macias, a decision that would backfire considerably. Not only did the timeout nullify a potential delay-of-game penalty, it allowed Macias to reset and boot the 33-yard game-winning field goal through the uprights as time expired. His walk-off winner capped the surprising victory for the Knight Hawks, with 45-43 holding as the final score.
Ja'Rome Johnson led the charge in the Knight Hawks triumph, completing nine of 16 passes for 179 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. He added 118 yards on 12 carries for another three touchdowns on the evening, with one lost fumble as his only hiccup. Three different Knight Hawk receivers found paydirt, as Quentin Randolph (4/90/1), C.J. Windham (2/44/1), and Caleb Holley (2/31/1) were the recipients of Johnson's touchdown passes. Maurice Jackson logged 2.5 sacks defensively, while James Ceasar recorded an interception, and Jerry Garner logged a fumble recovery in the win.
For the second straight week, the Rattlers played two quarterbacks, with Garrett Kettle drawing the start and completing six of nine passes for 71 yards and a touchdown while rushing eight times for a team-leading 47 yards on the ground. He was also sacked three times. Lorenzo Brown entered the game in the second half after coming out of retirement earlier in the week. His stat line featured 14 pass attempts with ten completions for 120 yards, one touchdown, and an interception. Isaiah Huston caught six passes for 81 yards and a score, while Glen Gibbons, Jr. hauled in five receptions for 64 yards and a score. Jamal Miles had two rushing touchdowns on six attempts for 25 yards, and Shannon Brooks recorded one rushing touchdown on eight attempts for 22 yards. On defense, Collin Taylor led Arizona with six tackles and also had a fumble recovery, while Davontae Merriweather had the lone sack for the Rattlers tonight.
The Knight Hawks outgained the Rattlers by total yardage by a count of 309 to 263. Vegas was flagged seven times for 45 yards, and Arizona was guilty of just three infractions for 30 yards.
Vegas trails the all-time series three games to two after this win, the first in the series to come at Arizona. The reverse fixture will occur on Saturday June 22 at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada.
Both teams are back in action on Easter Sunday next week. The Rattlers (1-1) will visit the defending champion Bay Area Panthers (0-0) for that team's season opener on March 31, for a 3:05 kickoff. The Knight Hawks (1-0) will host the Jacksonville Sharks (0-1), also on March 31, with kickoff set for 3:05 p.m. Times listed are pacific daylight time.
Both games, as well as all IFL games this season, will be streamed live on the IFL YouTube Channel and Caffeine TV IFL. 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. Click for our complete IFL 2024 Schedule.
-AS
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