Desert Hawks Defeat the Wolfpack 34-14
May 12, 2024 - Arena Football One (AF1)
West Texas Desert Hawks News Release
The West Texas Desert Hawks defeated the Washington Wolfpack 34-14 on Sunday in Everett, Washington, at the Angel of the Winds Arena.
The Washington Wolfpack struck first with an explosive play by Xavier Crawford with a kick return converted for a touchdown to start the game. However, the Wolfpack's recent woes continued this week as quarterback Jacob Ta'ase threw an interception on the next drive to bring the ball midfield.
While West Texas started the game slowly, the Desert Hawks began to find a rhythm after quarterback Jonathan Bane completed a 17-yard pass to the Wolfpack's 6-yard line. Fullback Kewan Alfred scored on a 3-yard rush after a penalty by the Wolfpack, bringing the score to 7-6 in favor of the Wolfpack.
Xavier Crawford followed up his touchdown with another strong return at kickoff, and the Wolfpack began their next drive just past midfield. The Wolfpack looked to score on the drive with a strong run, setting up Washington at the 3-yard line to start the second quarter. A penalty led to a long, errant throw, giving Ta'ase his second interception of the game.
For the rest of the half, West Texas marched up the field with short gains, and the Desert Hawks ran the ball in a touchdown, extending their lead to 13-7.
On the next drive, Xavier Crawford returned the ball to midfield once again, but an illegal block cut his long gain in half. Ta'ase led the Wolfpack back to midfield, but the push resulted in a turnover on downs, giving the ball back to the Desert Hawks. Not wasting the extra possession, Bane tossed the ball to Lonnie Outlaw for a 16-yard touchdown pass.
The Wolfpack continued to fight, and Crawford's 21-yard kick return was followed up by a Ta'ase's dart for a 20-yard gain. While Calvin Fance sacked Tuasse for a 7-yard loss, a 10-yard penalty and a scramble by Tuasse brought the Wolfpack to the 2-yard line to give Washington the opportunity to cut the lead. But the Wolfpack could not convert on the final play of the second quarter, and the first half ended with a score of 20-7 in favor of the Desert Hawks.
To start the second half, the Desert Hawks looked to put the game out of reach as Bane aired out a 45-yard attempt for West Texas to try to extend the lead by another touchdown. After the incompletion, the Desert Hawks marched down the field with two consecutive first downs and a 7-yard scramble by Bane.
With a pass interference by the Wolfpack, the Desert Hawks had the ball at the 2-yard line. On fourth down, Bane completed the drive for a touchdown to TE Dominick Jackson, bringing the total to 27-7.
While the Wolfpack struggled to move the ball for the next four minutes, on fourth down with six yards to go at the 18-yard line, Ta'ase converted a 32-yard touchdown to keep the Wolfpack in the game with the score of 27-14 in the third quarter.
However, the Desert Hawks ran down the clock for the remainder of the quarter and began the fourth quarter by marching up the field for 2 minutes and 30 seconds. They ended the drive with a 9-yard completion to Outlaw, putting the game out of reach 34-14.
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