Yes, this is accurate to the box and ready for press. I made two small cleanups for precision: I removed “goal line” (the box only says the two-point try failed) and kept the “two-point kickoff bonus” wording instead of “deuce.”
Fresh off a month that included the league’s midseason IFL Cup event at American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the Vegas Knight Hawks took their road show to Northern Arizona and turned Saturday into a full-blown track meet.
Vegas outlasted the NAZ Wranglers 71-70 in overtime on June 7 at Findlay Toyota Center, then sealed it by stopping a two-point try after the Wranglers’ OT touchdown. The Knight Hawks improved to 9-1, extending their winning streak to nine, in their closest finish since the opening-week loss at Green Bay.
Jayden DeLaura was brilliant, finishing 20 of 23 for 296 yards and six touchdown passes. Josh Tomas ripped off 95 rushing yards and three scores, while Senika McKie (six catches, 117 yards, two TDs) and Deshon Stoudemire (eight catches, 102 yards, two TDs) did the heavy lifting in the air as Vegas piled up 410 yards of offense.
Wranglers strike first, Vegas answers, and then it’s chaos
The first big swing went against Vegas. After Gabe Rui lost a fumble on a sack, NAZ cashed in quickly when quarterback Anthony Garrett hit Ka’Ron Ashley for a 5-yard touchdown, then the Wranglers added a two-point kickoff bonus to make it 9-0.
Vegas steadied itself with a 45-yard touchdown drive capped by Tomas from three yards out, but the Wranglers landed one more shot late in the opening quarter on a Garrett-to-Kobe Smith touchdown to push the margin to 16-7.
Vegas finds its rhythm, but NAZ keeps the edge at halftime
Northern Arizona opened the second quarter with another two-point kickoff bonus, and Garrett kept firing. DeLaura responded with touchdowns to Stoudemire (18 yards) and John Erby (8 yards), and Vegas added another late scoring strike to Stoudemire (23 yards) to pull within four.
Still, the Wranglers carried a 32-28 advantage into the break.
Third quarter swings, and Vegas stays within one score
Vegas threatened early but came up empty after an interception in the end zone, and NAZ immediately turned the momentum into points with a 32-yard touchdown to Marlon Cook Jr. for a 41-28 lead.
Vegas didn’t blink. Tomas powered in his third rushing touchdown of the night, and the Knight Hawks also picked up a single point on a kickoff under indoor rules to stay within striking distance. After NAZ answered with another touchdown, DeLaura hit McKie for a 35-yard score, then found Quentin Randolph for a 16-yard touchdown late in the quarter to make it 47-43.
Fourth quarter turns into a scoreboard sprint
Vegas finally grabbed its first lead when DeLaura connected with Randolph for a 16-yard touchdown to go up 50-47.
The Wranglers answered with a quick touchdown and another two-point kickoff bonus to move back in front, 56-50. DeLaura tied it with a 1-yard rushing touchdown, but NAZ reclaimed the edge late on a 12-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard Garrett run and a successful two-point conversion to lead 64-57.
DeLaura got one more shot, and he made it count. With 11 seconds left, he hit McKie for a 25-yard touchdown to tie it 64-64 and force overtime.
Overtime: Vegas answers, then wins it on the final stop
Vegas struck first in overtime, with DeLaura finishing the drive himself on a 1-yard touchdown run and the extra point to make it 71-64.
NAZ answered with a touchdown of its own, then went for two and the win. Vegas stopped the conversion attempt, and the Knight Hawks escaped with a 71-70 overtime victory.
Up next
Vegas gets a quick conference rematch with Tucson, the same Sugar Skulls team the Knight Hawks beat 64-43 on March 29 in Tucson.
The second meeting between Vegas and Tucson is slated for 7 p.m. PDT on Saturday, June 13 at Lee’s Family Forum in Week 14.
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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.
