IFL Bay Area Panthers

Bay Area Panthers Drop Tough Contest to Vegas

April 5, 2022 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Bay Area Panthers News Release


San Jose, CA - The pregame story centered around the litany of Panthers injuries. Missing a plethora of starters, the Panthers needed a strong effort from the entire roster to beat a tough Vegas team. The scoring started right away as the Vegas Knight Hawks were rewarded one point for a "rouge" on the opening kickoff after the Panthers returner took the ball out of the back of the end zone. On the Panthers first possession, Knight Hawks CB Mister Harriel stepped in front of Joe Newman's pass to set up Vegas at the Panthers 2. RB Elad Covaliu cashed it in for the Knight Hawks on the ensuing play.

Newman immediately atoned for his error by taking the first play of the next Panthers drive 33 yards to the house. Kicker Stevie Artigue hit the extra point to tie the game at 7. However, Jaylon Henderson Touch Down pass to Frank Brown gave the Knight Hawks the lead 14-7.

A big return from Raysean Pringle set the Panthers up with good field position. Back to back big runs by RB Dwayne Gary brought the Panthers back within one point. A botched snap almost led to disaster but the Holder, Douglas was able to avoid the rush and cash it in for 2.

A second touchdown by Covaliu to start the Second Quarter put the Knight Hawks up by 5, but a second missed PAT kept them from expanding their lead. On the subsequent Panthers drive, Kam Pleasant made a phenomenal contested catch to put the Panthers back on top.

A 42-yard return by Flowers set the Knight Hawks in prime position. But a strip sack by Khalil Young recovered by Jeff Allison gave the Panthers the ball right back.

A second touchdown connection from Henderson to Brown put Vegas back up a score. A slew of unsportsmanlike penalties on both teams stymied the scoring but lent an air of chippyness to this new rivalry.

QB Espinoza led the Panthers to the goal line but a fumbled snap gave the ball to the Knight Hawks. A touchdown run at the half time gun by Henderson gave the Knight Hawks a 33-21 half time lead.

A huge defensive stop by the Panthers to start the second half kept it a two-score game. However, penalties once again hamstrung the Panthers offense and they were unable to capitalize on the stop.

Mister Harriel forced his second turnover of the game, this time stripping Pleasant and Vegas again threatened to extend their lead. A touchdown pass from Henderson to Woods pushed the Knight Hawks advantage to 19 points.

A 4th down sack of Newman by Izzah Burks Sr. gave the Knight Hawks yet another prime scoring opportunity to start the final quarter. A touchdown pass from QB Kare Lyles to Kasey Allison put the Knight Hawks up 46-21 with 11:48 to play. A second touchdown run by Gary out of the wildcat formation cut the deficit to 46-27. A great special-teams tackle by Dabney pinned Vegas on their own 3. Penalties once again proved to be the Panthers Achilles heel as they extended the Vegas drive and allowed the Knight Hawks to bleed precious time off the clock. Vegas tacked on another rushing touchdown by Covaliu to push their lead to 53-27 and put the game out of reach.

Coach Kurt Bryan post game: - "One of the key turning points of the game was when we had the ball at the 5 yard line right before half and turned it over." Coach Bryan continued, "to me that was a huge momentum killer. That was a winnable football game. We need to correct some little things and make sure we nail the fundamentals."

The Panthers will travel to Albuquerque to face the Duke City Gladiators on April 9.



Indoor Football League Stories from April 5, 2022


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