The Vegas Knight Hawks just played their closest game since the 37-35 opening-weekend loss at Green Bay and this time they walked out with the Cup.
Vegas edged the Arizona Rattlers 48-44 on May 24 at American Dream to win the league’s midseason IFL Cup championship, erasing a 29-17 halftime deficit with a third-quarter avalanche and hanging on through a frantic final minute. The regular season keeps going, but the Cup is its own event, and Vegas finished it off.
A fast start, then Arizona flipped the script
Vegas opened the scoring with a Gabe Rui field goal and later found the end zone on a Jayden DeLaura touchdown throw to Quentin Randolph. Arizona answered with a Drew Powell touchdown pass to Arland Bruce IV and the first quarter ended with Vegas up 10-7.
The second quarter belonged to Arizona, and not just because of offense. Carson Taylor picked off DeLaura and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown, and the Rattlers added a late safety to turn the middle of the game into a 29-17 Arizona lead at the break.
Arizona tacked on a kickoff point, Vegas did not blink
Arizona opened the second half with a kickoff point to push the margin to 31-17. Vegas responded with its season in a nutshell: quick answers, then pressure.
DeLaura hit Randolph for a short touchdown, then scored on a 5-yard run to pull Vegas even. He followed by finding Deshon Stoudemire for a 21-yard touchdown pass late in the quarter, capping a 21-point third that swung the game and sent Vegas into the fourth up 38-31.
Foucha and Flavors turned takeaways into a lead
Vegas’ comeback did not hold without defensive stops, and it got them in bunches. Joe Foucha and Fred Flavors intercepted Powell on consecutive third-quarter possessions, killing Arizona drives and setting up the field position Vegas needed to keep scoring.
Those plays mattered because Arizona did not need many yards to change the game. The Rattlers were living off the pick-six, the safety and special teams points, and Vegas finally took that away.
Rui’s leg built the cushion, Stoudemire’s run finished it
Rui drilled a 30-yard field goal early in the fourth to stretch the lead, then later knocked through a 22-yarder to push it to 48-38. Stoudemire’s short rushing touchdown in between those kicks gave Vegas the breathing room it needed to survive the final push.
Arizona still made it a one-score finish when Max Meylor scored late, cutting it to 48-44, but the two-point try failed. Vegas then ran out the remaining seconds to seal it.
What the numbers say about a messy classic
DeLaura threw for 98 yards and three touchdowns, but Arizona’s defense made him pay with the pick-six. Josh Tomas led Vegas with 59 rushing yards and a touchdown, and Randolph finished with two touchdown catches.
Arizona totaled 152 yards of offense and still scored 44 thanks to the defensive touchdown, the safety and the kickoff point. Vegas did not win pretty, but it won the Cup.
Vegas noticed
The win at American Dream drew quick love from around the Vegas sports scene. The Henderson Silver Knights posted on social media, “THAT’S WHAT WE LOVE TO SEE ROOMIE!!!🔥🔥🔥” and Las Vegas Lights FC followed, “LETS GOOOO🔥.”
Up next
The Knight Hawks return to Lee’s Family Forum to host the Quad City Steamwheelers on Sunday, May 31. Kickoff is 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.
