Knoxville Nighthawks Unable to Win Road Opener for 2013
March 11, 2013 - Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL)
Knoxville NightHawks News Release
KNOXVILLE, TN (MARCH 10, 2013) The Nighthawks opened their regular season Sunday afternoon in Columbus, Georgia against the Lions. The revamped Nighthawks and Head Coach Cos DeMatteo were hoping to get their 1st win Sunday against the Lions. Unfortunately Columbus prevailed 58-28.
The Nighthawks defense started off strong after keeping the Lions from scoring on the first series. Rookie quarterback from Josh McGregor went under center for the Nighthawks first series. The drive ended when Nighthawk's kicker, Alex Walls, had to kick it away. Columbus' Leroy Vann ran it back for a touchdown making it 7-0.
Knoxville answered back when wide receiver, Deandre Brown, scored the Nighthawks 1st touchdown of the season at the 6:30 mark. He also scored another touchdown with 45 seconds to go in the half, cutting the Columbus lead down to 14 points. Columbus went into the halftime leading 36-14.
The Nighthawks started the second half with a big drive on offense. McGregor made a couple of big plays with his legs. He finished the drive with a 2 yard touchdown run making the score 36-21. The Nighthawk defensive held Columbus on their next offensive series. Despite only being outscored in the second half 21-14, the Nighthawks could not catch up with the Lions on offense.
The Nighthawks defensive showed some very positive signs as they had 3 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery, and one sack. That one sack was contributed by linebacker, Stanley Clark, who had a 5 solo tackles and one tackle for an 8 yard loss.
The Nighthawks started the game ten very talented rookies who had not played the indoor game before. They went up against a veteran Columbus team. Deandre Brown finished the game with 41 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns. Joseph Rico also contributed 10 receptions for 86 yards receiving. Johnny Thomas had two catches for 43 yards and one touchdown. Quarterback Josh McGregor went 25-48 for 247 yards. He had two interceptions but ran for one touchdown and threw for 3 more.
"Despite the score there were some bright spots in the game. We will get back on the practice field and work on the areas we need to work on. It's time to put this game behind us and get ready for Lehigh Valley," said Coach DeMatteo.
Knoxville will be on the road again next week against the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks at 4:00 p.m. Sunday, March 17th.
For more information on season tickets, call the Nighthawks office at (865) 686-6106 or visit www.knoxvillenighthawks.com.
Professional Indoor Football League Stories from March 11, 2013
- Panthers Dominate Swashbucklers in the Season Opener 50-41 - Albany Panthers
- Knoxville Nighthawks Unable to Win Road Opener for 2013 - Knoxville NightHawks
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
