Box Score The Knight Hawks got back in the win column and snapped the Rattlers' three-game winning streak, earning a 52-37 victory over the defending champions at Lee's Family Forum on Saturday.
KEY STATS OF THE GAME
#10
Jayden De Laura: 10-for-17, 116 passing yards and 4 passing touchdowns; 1 rushing TD
#6
Antonio Wimbush: 75 rushing yards and 3 total touchdowns - 1 rushing, 1 receiving, and 1 kick return
#4
Quentin Randolph: 30 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns
#25
Makel Calhoun: 4 solo tackles and 13 assisted tackles
#23
Ben Derby: 7 extra points and a 38-yard field goal
NOTES
Making his third start of the season, and first since May 3,
Jayden De Laura threw for 116 yards and four touchdowns, finding three different receivers in the end zone, and ran for another score. Running back
Antonio Wimbush, the reigning IFL Special Teams Player of the Week, had a rushing touchdown, a receiving touchdown, and a return touchdown. It was the eighth game in nine this season in which Wimbush has recorded a rushing touchdown, and his second straight game with a kick return touchdown.
The Knight Hawks and Rattlers traded touchdowns on their opening possessions, with Wimbush running in his 13
th touchdown of the season and giving the Knight Hawks a 7-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Vegas kicker
Ben Derby drilled a field goal from mid-field on the Knight Hawks' first possession of the second quarter to extend the lead to 10-6. Rattlers quarterback Dalton Sneed punched in a red-zone rushing touchdown on the ensuing Rattlers possession, but a blocked PAT by
Darius Williams limited the Rattler lead to 12-10. It was William's third blocked kick of the season.
CJ Windham put Vegas back in front with just under six minutes left in the first half with a 29-yard touchdown grab, his third of the season. De Laura closed the half with his second touchdown pass of the night, connecting with
Quentin Randolph. The Rattlers hit a field goal as time expired, sending the teams to the locker rooms with Vegas leading 24-15.
Wimbush hauled in a touchdown catch on the opening possession of the second half to make it 31-15.
The Rattlers pulled back within eight points after Ron Brown recovered his own fumble in the end zone for a touchdown and Sneed added a two-point conversion. But the Knight Hawks extended their lead again when Wimbush returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to make it 38-23.
Quentin Randolph notched his second touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter. De Laura punched it into the end zone with 4:30 left in regulation to make it 52-37.
The Rattler offense was held under 40 points for only the second time this season.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Knight Hawks head back out on the road next Saturday to visit the Northern Arizona Wranglers at Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley. It's the second of three meetings between the teams this season, with the Knight Hawks earning a 43-37 home win against NAZ on May 3. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. PT on IFL Network.
TICKETS
Tickets are available for Vegas' next home game on Saturday, June 14 against the Bay Area Panthers. The Knight Hawks will be honoring Father's Day and the first 1,500 fans will receive a Knight Hawks "Dad Hat".
Click here for tickets.
