The Vegas Knight Hawks spent Saturday night turning Lee’s Family Forum into a pressure cooker. They forced four turnovers, hit quarterback Ja’rome Johnson into mistakes and rolled past the New Mexico Chupacabras 48-12 to move to 4-1.
Coach Mike Davis called it “just another win,” but the second-half shutout made it feel like more than that. Vegas scored 48 of the final 54 points, finished with 248 total yards and went 6-of-8 on third down.
Early wobble, then the champs woke up
New Mexico struck first when Johnson hit CJ Jefferson for a 28-yard touchdown at 10:50 of the first quarter, though the extra point failed. Vegas answered with Jayden DeLaura’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Deshon Stoudemire, then started stacking short fields and clean finishes.
Davis did not sugarcoat the early sloppiness afterward. “Obviously, we didn’t play great in the first half,” he said. “But we rebounded in the second half and that’s all that matters.”
Quentin Randolph stayed on brand
Randolph kept his touchdown streak rolling with a 34-yard score from DeLaura in the second quarter and a 2-yard touchdown in the third. He finished with four catches for 53 yards and two receiving touchdowns, then added a 1-yard rushing touchdown early in the fourth.
Randolph credited the pieces around him and the trust in the plan. He called offensive coordinator Hurtis Chinn “the best OC in the game” and said multiple touchdowns are “kind of an average for me.”
Josh Tomas ended every New Mexico thought of momentum
Tomas put Vegas ahead for good with a 13-yard touchdown run at 1:39 of the second quarter. After New Mexico recovered an onside kick and punched in a late touchdown to make it 21-12, Tomas answered with a 1-yard score with 10 seconds left in the half to restore breathing room.
That response mattered because New Mexico never scored again. Vegas took a 28-12 lead into halftime and turned the rest of the night into a slow grind.
Terry Roberts stole the spotlight and the football
Defensive back Terry Roberts picked off Johnson twice and returned them for 35 yards, including a 31-yard return in the fourth quarter. Asked about his night, Roberts kept it simple: “It’s just about doing my job,” and he said plays show up when “everybody does their job.”
One of those moments looked like it surprised even him. Roberts laughed about his left-handed interception, saying he just put his hand out and “we just going to roll with it.”
“Weak link” hunted, pressure delivered
Davis said the plan was built around attacking New Mexico up front. “We knew the O line was the weak link to that team,” he said, and Vegas backed it up with four sacks for 27 yards and two fumble recoveries.
Johnson finished with two interceptions and two lost fumbles as the Knight Hawks kept creating extra possessions. Davis said the goal was to keep Johnson moving because “he don’t like to take hits,” and Vegas made sure he took enough of them.
DeLaura dealt touchdowns, then Rucker got the reps
DeLaura went 8-of-14 for 87 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, then added 49 rushing yards that kept drives alive. Rookie quarterback Avaun Rucker also got meaningful snaps, finishing 3-of-6 for 33 yards and scoring on an 8-yard touchdown run in the fourth.
Randolph made sure to shout him out afterward. “Shout out to my guy Rook,” he said, adding he is “super proud” and expects “more to come.”
Up next
Vegas stays home for a West heavy-hitter. The Knight Hawks host the Arizona Rattlers on Sunday, May 3 at Lee’s Family Forum, with kickoff set for 4:30 p.m. PDT.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
