Knight Hawks edged out by Panthers in meeting for first place

Resembling a heavyweight fight, Vegas Knight Hawks missed out on a chance to snatch first place in the Western Conference in a last-second loss to the Bay Area Panthers.

Vegas came up short Saturday night against Bay Area, 37-35, from Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada. The winner of the contest would claim first place as the Panthers moved to 11-2 while knocking the Knight Hawks to 9-4.

“I mean, that’s a good football team,” head coach Mike Davis said. “We probably played the worst half we’ve played all year in the first half. Then to fight back and get back in it – told them, ‘I’d give our offense that opportunity 100 out of 100 times and they’d score on [opponents] 98 out of a 100.’

“Tonight was just one of the ones that we didn’t.”

Having played both regular season meetings this year, the two Western Conference powerhouses split those contests. The top four teams in the conference all have nine wins while the top five teams are all at least three games out of the top spot with Vegas two games back.

Two of the final three games of the season for the Knight Hawks will take place on the road where half of the team’s losses have taken place. The two-game road trip begins with a Saturday meeting with the San Diego Strike Force with kickoff set for 6 p.m.

San Diego is currently tied for third place with a 9-5 overall record.

“We talk about it all the time; BYOE: Bring Your Own Energy,” Davis said. “And that’s just what we do on the road. We’re going to get ready to play a tough San Diego team next week and move on.”

Bay Area’s fumble on its final possession of the game gave new life to Vegas with just 48 seconds left in regulation. With a chance to win the game, kicker Kevin Macias had his try hit a lightning rack in the Lee’s Family Forum and aimlessly fall to the carpet.

“That's the worst position in the world,” Davis said. “You get all the praise when you kick the game-winner in Arizona or when you get us through the other games and stuff like that. But you get all the blame when you miss the game-winner, it shouldn’t have come down to that. That’s the bottom-line.”

The Knight Hawks’ defense nearly pitched a shutout in the second half en route to giving up six points in three drives. That’s coming off five scoring drives in six tries in the first half for the Panthers.

Several times in key moments, penalties not only killed the home team’s momentum but it bred a new set of downs for the visitors.

“Just really a lot of mental mistakes,” defensive lineman Maurice Jackson said. “We regrouped in the second half, tightened up a bit and I think it showed a little.”

Defensive back Darius Williams had a big pass breakup on a 3rd and 5 late in the first quarter. On the ensuing fourth down, he’d be flagged for holding. Later in the drive, Bay Area would cash in on a touchdown to go up eight followed by a rouge to push it to nine.

Already up 21-6, the Panthers had an opportunity to add more points via a field goal fall to the wasteside after it missed the uprights. However, an offsides flag put the team in a more manageable fourth down which it would convert shortly after.

That drive would also end in points for a third straight time out to make it 28-6 in favor of Bay Area.

“We all understand at the end of the day, we can’t beat ourselves,” Jackson said. “If we beat ourselves, we’re going to be in tough situations a lot.”

It was a spirited effort by the Vegas offense after receiver Caleb Holley went down early in the second quarter holding his left knee. He’d be helped to his feet, off the field and would not return.

Listed defensive back Justin Collins made the move to receiver and would spark the offense. He’d lead the team with five receptions for a team-high 59 yards and two touchdowns.

“My boy Holley went down,” he said. “So I got big shoes to fill. He’s a big playmaker for this offense and we have the saying, ‘Next man up’ which is true because at the end of the day it’s about the team.”

Down 22 points, quarterback Ja’Rome Johnson found Collins deep down the middle of the field for the first of his two touchdowns receptions. The other came just before halftime as he went up high over the defender and collided with the out of bounds wall in the back of the end zone.

“They call me Blaze for a reason and they were too slow,” Collins said. “I’m not going to disrespect them, they’re good players. They did what they were supposed to do , they came out and fought.”

Receiver CJ Windham also hauled in two touchdown catches in the loss on three catches for 35 yards.

Johnson went 13-for-20 with 145 yards through the air and four touchdowns. He also rushed for a team-high 62 yards on 16 tries and a touchdown.

On the team’s second to last offensive possession, Johnson was stopped just short of the goal line on a two-point conversion attempt.