The Vegas Knight Hawks spent most of Saturday night with the ball, the lead and a chance to keep their longest run of the season alive.
Tucson took the only thing that mattered.
The Sugar Skulls stunned Vegas 52-48 on Saturday night at Lee’s Family Forum, scoring 22 points in the fourth quarter to snap the Knight Hawks’ nine-game winning streak. Vegas dropped to 9-2 with its first loss since the season opener.
The Knight Hawks outgained Tucson 297-172, ran 57 plays to Tucson’s 27 and held the ball for 42:50. However, Tucson hit the bigger fourth-quarter plays and made the final defensive stand after Vegas drove inside the 10 in the closing seconds.
Vegas builds the early edge
The first half never settled down.
John Erby put Vegas on the board first with a 15-yard touchdown catch from Jayden DeLaura, but the extra point failed. Quentin Randolph later scored on an 11-yard run as Vegas found enough early offense to stay in front through the first half.
The back-and-forth pace carried into the second quarter. DeLaura scored twice on the ground, while Tucson kept answering and stayed within striking distance.
DeLaura then hit Deshon Stoudemire for a 28-yard touchdown with 33 seconds left in the half. Ben Woodard answered with a 13-yard field goal as time expired, cutting the Vegas lead to 26-23 at halftime.
Knight Hawks push it to 12
Vegas opened the third quarter with a team safety, then added another touchdown to stretch the lead to 35-23.
Tucson answered later in the quarter, but DeLaura found Josh Tomas for a touchdown as the Knight Hawks took a 42-30 lead into the fourth.
That should have been enough room. It was not.
Tucson flips the fourth quarter
Tucson cut the deficit to 42-37 early in the fourth on Jaivian Lofton’s 22-yard touchdown catch from Ja’Rome Johnson. Woodard then added a two-point kickoff bonus to make it 42-39.
The Sugar Skulls took the lead with 6:56 left after a short scoring drive, moving ahead 46-42.
Vegas answered with its longest drive of the night, going 30 yards on 11 plays and burning nearly six minutes. The Knight Hawks retook the lead 48-46 with 44 seconds left, but Rui’s extra point was no good.
That miss left Tucson within a touchdown, and the Sugar Skulls needed only 20 seconds to respond.
Tucson drove 28 yards in three plays and scored with 27 seconds left. The two-point try failed, but the Sugar Skulls had the lead for good at 52-48.
Final drive comes up short
Vegas still had one last chance.
The Knight Hawks started at the Tucson 22 with 18 seconds left and moved inside the 10. On the final sequence, DeLaura looked for Randolph near the end zone, but Tucson broke up the pass and ended the threat.
It was the kind of finish Vegas had survived one week earlier in a 71-70 overtime win at NAZ. This time, the final play went the other way.
DeLaura throws four touchdowns in loss
DeLaura finished 18 of 31 for 231 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed eight times for 3 yards and two scores.
Stoudemire led Vegas with seven catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. Tomas added four catches for 67 yards and a score, plus 39 rushing yards on 13 carries.
Erby caught five passes for 57 yards and two touchdowns. Randolph had two catches for 24 yards and added the rushing touchdown.
Johnson carried Tucson through the upset. He completed 7 of 10 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown, then rushed six times for 76 yards and two more scores.
Tucson had only seven first downs, but it averaged 6.4 yards per play and went 3 for 4 on third down.
What it means
The Knight Hawks are still in control of their season, but Saturday showed how thin the line can get in the Indoor Football League.
Vegas controlled possession, moved the ball and led by 12 after three quarters. Tucson still stole it with a fourth-quarter surge, a special teams swing and one last stop.
For the first time since March, the Knight Hawks left the floor with a loss.
Up next
The Knight Hawks head back on the road to face the San Diego Strike Force at 7 p.m. PT on Friday, June 19.
Related stories
Knight Hawks survive 71-70 OT thriller at NAZ, stop 2-point try
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.
