Box Score The Knight Hawks secured their first playoff win in team history, 36-31, over the Bay Area Panthers on Sunday night at the SAP Center in San Jose, CA.
KEY STATS OF THE GAME
#2
Ja'Rome Johnson – 1 Rushing Touchdown, 1 Passing Touchdown
#4
Quentin Randolph – 1 Receiving Touchdown
#7
CJ Windham Jr. – 1 Receiving Touchdown
#10
Jayden De Laura – 1 Rushing Touchdown, 1 Passing Touchdown
#11
Lorenzo Hernandez – 1 Sack
#12
James Ceasar – 1 Forced Fumble, 1 Fumble Recovery, 1 Defensive Touchdown
#24
Elijah Blades – 1 Interception
NOTES
The Vegas defense set the tone early, forcing Bay Area into a three-and-out and a missed field goal on their first possession.
The Knight Hawks found themselves on the doorstep quickly on their following possession and
Ja'Rome Johnson scored the game's first points on a tush-push touchdown from the one-yard line.
On the Panther's next drive,
Elijah Blades picked off a Josh Jones pass.
Moments later,
Jayden De Laura made a 25-yard scramble for a touchdown. This gave Vegas an early 14-0 lead.
Vegas added six points to their lead on a
CJ Windham Jr. touchdown catch at the beginning of the second frame.
On Bay Area's next possession, the Panther offense was able to put up their first points of the night, digging into the Vegas lead 20-7.
Following an onside recovery by the Panthers,
James Ceasar ripped the ball out of Jones' hands and ran it back to bring the Vegas lead up to 26-7.
Bay Area chopped down the Vegas lead rapidly with back-to-back scores and a deuce, reducing the deficit to 26-24.
Vegas stopped the bleeding on a
Ben Derby field goal as time expired, ending the first half at 29-24 for the Knight Hawks.
The scoring started fast in the second half as both teams found the endzone on their first possessions, raising the score to 36-31 for Vegas halfway through the third. These would be the only points scored in the quarter.
The fourth quarter saw both teams continually trade scoreless drives. Bay Area had the ball at mid field with six seconds remaining when their Hail Mary fell to the turf and Vegas secured the win.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Knight Hawks await the winner of the San Diego-Arizona game on Monday night to determine their opponent for the Western Conference Championship. Regardless of the winner, Vegas will be on the road.
