Second half separation allows Vegas to oust San Diego in season opener

Wild is the only way to describe the second half surge by the Vegas Knight Hawks that led the team to a 1-0 start to the new season.

Vegas came back from being down 20 points in a, 48-41, win over San Diego Monday, March 31 from the Frontwave Arena. It’s the third straight season-opening win for the Knight Hawks franchise.

“We haven’t caught anybody by surprise in the last three seasons,” head coach Mike Davis said. “We get everybody’s best shot anyway so for us, we’ve got to take care of our business. If we take care of business and play Knight Hawk football, we should be just fine.”

Vegas is coming off its best season in franchise history after winning 11 games last season and finishing second in the Western Conference by the end of the regular season. Last year’s club, split two meetings with the Strike Force including a one-point loss to snag a playoff spot.

Monday marked the second straight season with a season opener on the road for the Knight Hawks. A second straight road game looms for the team in the form of a trip to Jacksonville for a date with the Sharks.

That game is scheduled for Sunday, April 6 with kickoff slated for 3 p.m.

“[Mistakes] are easier to correct off a win,” Davis said. “Just get back in the lab and figure some things out. We corrected them last time so I think we’ll be okay.”

In order to secure its first win of the season, Vegas needed to outscore San Diego, 30-3, in the final 27-plus minutes of the game. Running back Antonio Wimbush started the comeback trail with one of his two touchdowns on the night. Both of his rushing scores came in the third quarter.

Teammate DaQuan Dudley scored his first touchdown as a Knight Hawk which counted as the  team’s fifth rushing touchdown.

“Realistically, we just got back to our fundamentals,” Davis said. “In the first half, we were seeing ghosts to be honest with you and we didn’t do much right. We just had to settle down in the second half and we settled in and played good football.”

Starting quarterback Ja’Rome Johnson entered as the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player tallied four total touchdowns including two rushing and two through the air. His two scores on the ground came in the second quarter before his first aerial touchdown.

Just before halftime, Johnson found receiver Quentin Randolph on a 45-yard touchdown to cut the 16-point deficit to 10. Randolph’s second touchdown grab gave Vegas its first lead of the game with a minute left in regulation.

Entering the season opener, Davis and company entered with several pass catchers including last year’s standouts Caleb Holley and CJ Windham.

“Next man up mentality,” Davis said. “It’s the standard from the start and anybody’s number can get called. That’s just how we roll with it – I don’t care if it’s receivers, [defensive backs], offensive line, defensive line. We recruited a lot of good individuals and good football players. We just have to keep it going.”

Vegas suffered its first zero-point quarter of the season in the opening 15 minutes of the year. It took more than five weeks last season to record a 0-point quarter on its way to two total for the season.

The Knight Hawks defense didn’t get their first stop of the game until early in the fourth quarter. That would be the first of three straight stops to secure the victory.

“[Earlier in the game] we weren’t keeping our leverages,” Davis said. “We were busting coverages, we saw a guy doing one thing and it wasn’t – we just had to get back to the fundamental part of it.”

A second straight stop gave the offense the ball in positive territory en route to the game-winning touchdown score from Johnson to Randolph. Defenseman lineman Lorenzo Hernandez counted as the third consecutive stop, effectively ending the ball game.

On the other hand, San Diego’s defense only forced two stops and they were the first two Vegas possessions of the game. Prior to the three straight stops, the Knight Hawks had allowed points on seven straight home team drives.