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After the best start in franchise history, the losing skid continues for the Vegas Knight Hawks as they dropped their third straight game, this time to the Sioux Falls Storm by a final score of 46-40 in overtime.
It was a last minute interception that resulted in the third straight loss for Mike Davis’ Vegas squad. Coming into this game the Knight Hawks were 10.5 point favorites and were expected by many to claim this one in definitive fashion.
The Knight Hawks are currently tied for second place in the Western Conference along with the Northern Arizona Wranglers at 7-3 while the pair sits behind the 9-1 Bay Area Panthers.
Vegas will face the 1-9 Duke City Gladiators next Saturday on the road as they try to put an end to its current three-game losing streak. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Early season MVP candidate Ja’Rome Johnson would ultimately go on to throw the game-sealing interception to Sioux Falls’ Elijah Reed on a first and 10 in overtime. Johnson’s game-deciding error came after he didn’t start once again.
For the second straight week, quarterback Jorge Reyna got the start over Johnson.
On Vegas’ first possession of the game Reyna went down with what seemed to be an apparent ankle injury. Receiver Caleb Holley would go on to score his third rushing touchdown of the season to finish off that drive without a healthy QB1.
Reyna would returned to the field on the very next drive with his right ankle taped up and went on to lead the team down the field to put points up on the board, as Quentin Randolph ran in for a two-yard touchdown on his birthday giving the Knight Hawks a 14-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Reyna would finish the game 11-for-16, throwing for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Keeping possession of the football would be an issue for this Vegas offense, as Reyna accounted for two turnovers in the form of an interception and a fumble lost. Running back Taurean Taylor also lost a fumble on the night.
However, that did not stop Vegas from keeping things close down the stretch, but this would lead to a change at quarterback for the Knight Hawks late in the third quarter.
Johnson would take over for the rest of the game after Reyna’s fumbled, which led to a Storm touchdown giving them a three-point lead nearing the end of the third quarter.
Trailing by three, Vegas drove the ball down the field and made it all the way to the redzone but ran into trouble with the stout Sioux Falls’ defense.
A costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Storm’s Amin Black on a fourth and goal came back to bite the home team. That pricey mistake gave the Knight Hawks life which led to Johnson throwing a touchdown pass to Holley with just five seconds remaining in the game giving Vegas a three point lead.
On the ensuing possession the Storm would kick a 46 yard field goal that would send the game into overtime at 40 a piece. Sioux Falls would follow that up with a 21-yard touchdown pass on the first possession of overtime to put the pressure on Vegas.
Vegas ran and threw for more yards than its opponent but ultimately turnovers and penalties is what plagued the team in the end. Ten total penalties compared to the just 6 for the Storm while committing four turnovers compared to the Storm’s one.
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