Post by DiamondThief on Jul 6, 2024 23:26:45 GMT -8
Strike Force 60, Knight Hawks 59
7/6/24 --
SAN DIEGO, CA - The San Diego Strike Force moved into second place in the Western Conference standings with a gritty 60-59 win over the Vegas Knight Hawks tonight at Pechanga Arena.
With the packed Western Conference, San Diego has moved into second place in the IFL and they have just a game to play. The Strike Force move to 10-5 on the season and, most importantly, improved their conference record to 9-5. The conference win percentage is the first tiebreaker. The Strike Force could actually earn first place in the conference by playoff time if they win our and the Bay Area Panthers lose out. For a team which has never recorded more than six wins in a season, the Strike Force have been one of the surprises of the season.
San Diego also secured a chance at a home playoff game. They knocked the Knight Hawks into third depending o the results from tomorrow action. Vegas falls to 9-5 with the loss and and is vulnerable to missing the playoffs altogether will need at least another win to get closer to clinching a playoff spot. Vegas has lost five of its last seven games.
The Strike Force also evened the season series. Vegas took care of San Diego in the first meeting between the teams, 68-64, at Henderson, Nevada. The overall series between the teams is not tied at 3-3 with each team being 2-1 at home.
Travon Van put the Knight Hawks on the board two minutes into the game on a shifty 10-yard run up the middle. The Strike Force responded nearly immediately when Nate Davis hit Elijah Lilly for a 29-yard touchdown. Vegas' Jericho Flowers took the ensuing kickoff around the left side for a 40-yard return for touchdown. The Strike Force took the ball at their own five-yard line. Davis' pass to the right side was intercepted by Maurice Jackson of the Knight Hawks, who returned it 12 yards to the one-yard line. The Knight Hawks capitalized on the penalty when Ja'Rome Johnson found Quentin Randolph wide open in the right side of the end zone for a touchdown. San Diego got back on the scoreboard with Davis' two-yard scoring to Rudy Johnson. Johnson, the backup quarterback, has become much of a Swiss-Army knife type of player and has been effective as a running back and a wide receiver. The Strike Force defense forced a turnover on downs with 22 seconds left in the first quarter. Vegas took a 21-14 lead at the end of the quarter.
San Diego tied the game at 21 apiece when Lilly ran it around the right side for a two-yard touchdown. Ja'Rome Johnsoon of the Knight Hawks scrambled up the middle for a five-yard score to put Vegas back up by a touchdown. The Strike Force came right back with an eight-yard touchdown from Davis to Isaah Crocker with three minutes left in the first half. The Knight Hawks came right back with a 31-yard bomb to CJ Windham to assume a touchdown lead. Davis found Rudy Johnson at the goal line, but Conor Mangan's extra point sailed wide right. Kevin Macia's 38-yard field goal as time expired gave the Knight Hawks a 38-34 halftime lead.
The Strike Force pulled to within a point on a 26-yard field goal from Mangan early in the third quarter. Ja'Rome Johnson threw into the end zone, but was intercepted by Elijah Belle, who returned it all the way to the Vegas 11-yard line. San Diego took it's first lead when Mangan booted a 19-yard field goal with 3:24 left in the quarter. The Strike Force came up with the onside kick recovery by KiShawn Walker, giving the Strike Force a chance to extend their lead. They led 40-38 heading into the fourth.
They took advantage of the turnover with an eight-yard touchdown from Davis to Jackson a minute into the fourth. Belle recorded his second interception of Vegas' Ja'Rome Johnson to give the ball back to the Strike Force. Davis found Jordan Kress for a 23-yard field touchdown at the 10:49 mark of the quarter. The Knight Hawks were not giving up as Ja'Rome Johnson found Randolph for a 40-yard touchdown. Nearly two minutes later, the Knight Hawks pulled to within a field goal with a 10-yard run from Ja'Rome Johnson with 9:48 left. Rudy Johnson's 10-yard touchdown run with 5:07 seconds left put the Strike Force up by a touchdown, but Mangan's point-after try went wide right. The Knight Hawks got the ball back with 28 seconds left and marched down the field, scoring on a 13-yard run from Ja'Rome Johnson with 17 second remaining Vegas tried for the two-point conversion, but his pass for the two-point conversion was intercepted by the Strike force,, who ran out the clock and preserved the win.
Davis completed 23 of 36 throws for 203 yards with five touchdowns and a pick. Rudy Johnson rushed for 21 yards and two touchdowns, and caught a game-high 10 passes for 85 yards and another score. Kress accumulated 85 yards off seven catches and a touchdown. San Diego's defense was a team effort with Sherrod Williams' four tackles leading the way. Bell had both of San Diego's interceptions on the night.
Ja'Rome Johnson went eight of 18 for 131 yards with three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. He rushed for 59 yards and three scores. Van, who played for the Strike Force last season, had 21 yards rushing and another touchdown. Randolph led the way for the receiving corps with three catches for 65 yards and two touchdowns. CJ Windham had three receptions for 49 yards and a score. Darius Williams had 7.5 tackles to lead the defense and Lee Autry had a sack.
A total of 20 flags were accepted in the game. The Knight Hawks were penalized 11 times for 130 yards while the Strike Force were Flagged eight times for 95 yards.
The Knight Hawks will visit the Northern Arizona Wranglers on July 13 for a 6:05 p.m. kickoff. After a bye, the Strike Force will close out their season with a home date against the Bay Area Panthers on June 20 with kickoff set for 6:05 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. 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.
7/6/24 --
SAN DIEGO, CA - The San Diego Strike Force moved into second place in the Western Conference standings with a gritty 60-59 win over the Vegas Knight Hawks tonight at Pechanga Arena.
With the packed Western Conference, San Diego has moved into second place in the IFL and they have just a game to play. The Strike Force move to 10-5 on the season and, most importantly, improved their conference record to 9-5. The conference win percentage is the first tiebreaker. The Strike Force could actually earn first place in the conference by playoff time if they win our and the Bay Area Panthers lose out. For a team which has never recorded more than six wins in a season, the Strike Force have been one of the surprises of the season.
San Diego also secured a chance at a home playoff game. They knocked the Knight Hawks into third depending o the results from tomorrow action. Vegas falls to 9-5 with the loss and and is vulnerable to missing the playoffs altogether will need at least another win to get closer to clinching a playoff spot. Vegas has lost five of its last seven games.
The Strike Force also evened the season series. Vegas took care of San Diego in the first meeting between the teams, 68-64, at Henderson, Nevada. The overall series between the teams is not tied at 3-3 with each team being 2-1 at home.
Travon Van put the Knight Hawks on the board two minutes into the game on a shifty 10-yard run up the middle. The Strike Force responded nearly immediately when Nate Davis hit Elijah Lilly for a 29-yard touchdown. Vegas' Jericho Flowers took the ensuing kickoff around the left side for a 40-yard return for touchdown. The Strike Force took the ball at their own five-yard line. Davis' pass to the right side was intercepted by Maurice Jackson of the Knight Hawks, who returned it 12 yards to the one-yard line. The Knight Hawks capitalized on the penalty when Ja'Rome Johnson found Quentin Randolph wide open in the right side of the end zone for a touchdown. San Diego got back on the scoreboard with Davis' two-yard scoring to Rudy Johnson. Johnson, the backup quarterback, has become much of a Swiss-Army knife type of player and has been effective as a running back and a wide receiver. The Strike Force defense forced a turnover on downs with 22 seconds left in the first quarter. Vegas took a 21-14 lead at the end of the quarter.
San Diego tied the game at 21 apiece when Lilly ran it around the right side for a two-yard touchdown. Ja'Rome Johnsoon of the Knight Hawks scrambled up the middle for a five-yard score to put Vegas back up by a touchdown. The Strike Force came right back with an eight-yard touchdown from Davis to Isaah Crocker with three minutes left in the first half. The Knight Hawks came right back with a 31-yard bomb to CJ Windham to assume a touchdown lead. Davis found Rudy Johnson at the goal line, but Conor Mangan's extra point sailed wide right. Kevin Macia's 38-yard field goal as time expired gave the Knight Hawks a 38-34 halftime lead.
The Strike Force pulled to within a point on a 26-yard field goal from Mangan early in the third quarter. Ja'Rome Johnson threw into the end zone, but was intercepted by Elijah Belle, who returned it all the way to the Vegas 11-yard line. San Diego took it's first lead when Mangan booted a 19-yard field goal with 3:24 left in the quarter. The Strike Force came up with the onside kick recovery by KiShawn Walker, giving the Strike Force a chance to extend their lead. They led 40-38 heading into the fourth.
They took advantage of the turnover with an eight-yard touchdown from Davis to Jackson a minute into the fourth. Belle recorded his second interception of Vegas' Ja'Rome Johnson to give the ball back to the Strike Force. Davis found Jordan Kress for a 23-yard field touchdown at the 10:49 mark of the quarter. The Knight Hawks were not giving up as Ja'Rome Johnson found Randolph for a 40-yard touchdown. Nearly two minutes later, the Knight Hawks pulled to within a field goal with a 10-yard run from Ja'Rome Johnson with 9:48 left. Rudy Johnson's 10-yard touchdown run with 5:07 seconds left put the Strike Force up by a touchdown, but Mangan's point-after try went wide right. The Knight Hawks got the ball back with 28 seconds left and marched down the field, scoring on a 13-yard run from Ja'Rome Johnson with 17 second remaining Vegas tried for the two-point conversion, but his pass for the two-point conversion was intercepted by the Strike force,, who ran out the clock and preserved the win.
Davis completed 23 of 36 throws for 203 yards with five touchdowns and a pick. Rudy Johnson rushed for 21 yards and two touchdowns, and caught a game-high 10 passes for 85 yards and another score. Kress accumulated 85 yards off seven catches and a touchdown. San Diego's defense was a team effort with Sherrod Williams' four tackles leading the way. Bell had both of San Diego's interceptions on the night.
Ja'Rome Johnson went eight of 18 for 131 yards with three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. He rushed for 59 yards and three scores. Van, who played for the Strike Force last season, had 21 yards rushing and another touchdown. Randolph led the way for the receiving corps with three catches for 65 yards and two touchdowns. CJ Windham had three receptions for 49 yards and a score. Darius Williams had 7.5 tackles to lead the defense and Lee Autry had a sack.
A total of 20 flags were accepted in the game. The Knight Hawks were penalized 11 times for 130 yards while the Strike Force were Flagged eight times for 95 yards.
The Knight Hawks will visit the Northern Arizona Wranglers on July 13 for a 6:05 p.m. kickoff. After a bye, the Strike Force will close out their season with a home date against the Bay Area Panthers on June 20 with kickoff set for 6:05 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. 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.
-ANM