Fresh off the league’s midseason IFL Cup event at American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the Vegas Knight Hawks came home and kept the scoreboard habits. Vegas hammered the Quad City Steamwheelers 61-28 on May 31 at Lee’s Family Forum, riding a six-touchdown night from quarterback Jayden DeLaura and four scoring grabs from wide receiver Deshon Stoudemire.
Vegas general manager and head coach Mike Davis said the finish was strong, but the start still bothered him. “We would like to start faster and play better in the first half, especially tonight,” Davis said after his team’s eighth win in a row.
Quad City struck first, then Vegas seized control
Quad City opened with a 39-yard touchdown pass, but the Knight Hawks answered after defensive back Bryce Hampton’s interception return set up DeLaura’s first touchdown toss to Stoudemire. From there, Vegas kept punching and kept getting the ball back.
The Knight Hawks took a 31-22 lead into halftime, then widened the gap every time Quad City tried to hang around. Davis credited the staff’s halftime work, but he also pointed to early mistakes that cannot live against better opponents.
DeLaura kept it clean, Stoudemire kept winning
DeLaura finished 18 of 25 for 227 yards with six touchdown passes and no interceptions. He said the first quarter was about settling his mechanics after a couple misses. “Started off slow,” DeLaura said. “I missed a couple passes, sailed on me in the first quarter.”
Once Vegas found its rhythm, Stoudemire became the nightly problem Quad City could not solve. He finished with 11 catches for 135 yards and four touchdowns, and he called it what it was. “If somebody gets double-teamed, somebody else is open,” Stoudemire said.
Tomas carried the glue work, Randolph and McKie finished drives
Running back Josh Tomas scored on a 1-yard run and added six catches for 72 yards with a receiving touchdown. Vegas also got a touchdown catch from wide receiver Quentin Randolph, and wide receiver Senika McKie scored on a short touchdown grab from quarterback Avaun Rucker as the fourth quarter turned into a rout.
Davis said the offense’s late efficiency gives the defense room to attack. “I think that we’re so efficient in the second half that it allows our defense to take more chances,” he said.
Maurice Jackson is back, and the defense squeezed the air out
Defensive lineman Maurice Jackson returned to the rotation and said the transition back was smooth. “Super easy, honestly,” Jackson said. “Everybody welcomed me back with open arms.”
Quad City’s run game collapsed into negative yards, finishing with minus-10 rushing yards, and quarterback Daquan Neal went 12 carries for minus-16. Vegas also picked off two passes, Hampton’s first-half interception and linebacker Ian McBorrough’s late pick to end it.
Up next
The Knight Hawks head to Arizona to face the NAZ Wranglers on June 7 at 4:30 p.m. PDT at Findlay Toyota Center.
Related stories
Knight Hawks beat Rattlers 56-42 to stay unbeaten in conference
Welcome to Dice City Sports — where we provide premium, exclusive, up-to-date news and analysis surrounding the Las Vegas sports scene. Follow along on social media, and check back for new articles daily!
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.
