Panthers' 2025 Campaign Ends against Knight Hawks After Furious Comeback Falls Just Short
IFL Bay Area Panthers

Panthers' 2025 Campaign Ends against Knight Hawks After Furious Comeback Falls Just Short

August 5, 2025 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Bay Area Panthers News Release


The Bay Area Panthers kicked off the 2025 IFL Playoffs by welcoming the Vegas Knight Hawks to the SAP Center in San José for their Western Conference Semifinal matchup. The Panthers, having clinched the top seed in the Western Conference with their narrow win over Vegas on July 11, boasted the best record in the IFL at 13-3, while Vegas entered the matchup as the fourth seed in the west with a 10-6 record. The Panthers won both of the teams' regular season meetings, beating the Knight Hawks in Nevada 44-31, and at home in San José 55-54.

After falling behind 20-0 from the outset, the Panthers mounted a furious comeback from the midway point of the second quarter onwards, but were ultimately unable to take the final step. The final score was 36-31 for the visitors from Las Vegas. While the Knight Hawks move on to the Western Conference Final, Bay Area's season ends in the Conference Semifinal, far sooner than Panther Nation was hoping.

After the Knight Hawks won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, the Panthers were forced to settle for a long Axel Perez field goal attempt, which fell short. Led by quarterback Jayden De Laura, the Knight Hawks quickly marched down the field, punching the ball into the end zone on a quarterback sneak by backup Ja'Rome Johnson.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, no quick response to the opening score came. Quarterback Josh Jones lofted a deep ball towards the end zone, only for it to be intercepted at the four yard line by Vegas defensive back Elijah Blades. Riding high on the momentum from the interception, the Knight Hawks once again quickly marched down the field, this time scoring on a 19-yard quarterback keeper from De Laura to take a 14-0 lead which remained until the end of the quarter.

The first play of the second quarter saw Vegas extend their lead even further, as De Laura connected with wide receiver CJ Windham Jr. for a nine yard touchdown. After kicker Ben Derby missed the extra point, the Panthers' deficit stood at 20-0.

The Panthers finally gained their first first down of the contest when Jones connected with wide receiver Tyrese Chambers to move into Knight Hawks territory. On the very next play, Jones threw a deep pass out of bounds, but Vegas was flagged for roughing the passer, moving the ball to the Knight Hawks' nine yard line. One play later, the Panthers cut the deficit to 20-7, as Jones carried the ball into the end zone himself, with the help of a push from Chris Coulter.

The Panthers' newfound momentum seemed to be building, as an onside kick from Perez caught the Knight Hawks off guard, and was recovered by Landry Mavungu. Unfortunately for the Bay Area squad, Vegas stole that momentum right back as James Caesar of the Knight Hawks stripped the ball from Jones on a quarterback keeper and ran it back to the end zone to make the score 26-7 (Derby once again missed the extra point).

Despite the turnover, the Panthers continued to try to get back to their feet and rally. The ensuing kickoff saw a lengthy delay, as Derby struggled to place the ball on his kicking stand. Once the Knight Hawks kicker finally was able to boot the ball away, the Panthers quickly drove down the field once again. The drive was capped off by a seven yard touchdown run from Tosin Oyekanmi. Perez's extra point cut the deficit to 26-14.

Perez continued to contribute to the Panthers' comeback bid on the ensuing kickoff, booting the ball through the uprights for a deuce to further reduce the deficit to 26-16 with 9:11 to go in the first half.

The next Knight Hawks possession saw both the Panthers' defense and the home crowd really leave their imprint on the game. After a big play moved the ball into Panthers' territory on the first play of the drive, and a short gain on the ensuing first down, the Panthers' crowd caused a false start penalty to set Vegas back. De Laura's second down pass into double coverage was broken up. A short gain on a screen pass to CJ Jefferson set up fourth and six, when the Panthers' crowd once again stepped up. The noise of Panther Nation forced De Laura to burn a timeout before the snap to avoid a delay of game penalty, and then caused a false start right out of the timeout. From there, the Panthers' defense held firm on fourth down, giving the offense a chance to further cut into the Knight Hawks' lead.

The Panthers wasted no time on offense moving the ball into Panthers territory, carried by the combination of Jones' legs and the legs of running back Josh Tomas. Tomas capped the drive off with a three yard touchdown run up the middle. Perez tacked on two points with a drop kick through the uprights to make the score 26-24, in favor of Vegas with just under a minute remaining in the first half.

Perez almost tied the game with another deuce on the ensuing kickoff, but it sailed just under the crossbar of the uprights for a touchback. From there De Laura moved the Knight Hawks' offense inside the ten yard line of the Panthers, but the drive stalled there and Vegas was forced to settle for a 23 yard field goal from Derby, which he made.

Having deferred to the second half, the Knight Hawks took the ensuing kickoff with the aim of lapping the Panthers. De Laura led a lengthy drive down the field, but it was ultimately finished off by his backup Johnson after he exited the game briefly. On third and goal, Johnson was flushed from the pocket by the Panthers' pressure, but rolled out to his right and found wide receiver Quentin Randolph in the back corner of the end zone to make the score 36-24 for Vegas with 9:46 left in the third.

The Panthers' ensuing possession saw a long drive come down to a massive fourth and goal play from the five yard line. With Vegas already up two scores, it was a must have play for the Panthers, and they got it. After scrambling to avoid pressure, Jones found Chambers in a soft spot in the coverage to cut the score to 36-31.

The Panthers' defense stiffened on the next Knight Hawks possession. After another delay of game caused by the raucous home crowd put Vegas behind the sticks, stud defensive back Joe Foucha broke up a deep pass from De Laura on third down. Derby came on to attempt a long field goal, which missed harmlessly out of bounds.

After taking over at their own five yard line, the Panthers once again marched down the field in a drive that spanned the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the second quarter. However, after a defensive pass interference penalty on the Knight Hawks moved the ball to the Vegas eight yard line, the Panthers failed to capitalize from there. After a loss on first down and a short run on second down, Jones appeared to have Chambers open on the goal line, but Caesar made an incredible diving play to break up the pass for the Knight Hawks. On fourth down, Jones lofted the ball towards the back corner of the end zone for Chambers, but the receiver wasn't able to hang onto the ball amidst considerable contact from the Vegas defensive backs.

With 11:03 remaining in the game and trailing by five points, it was once again up to the Panthers' defense to keep them in the game. It seemed that the Knight Hawks were about to give themselves a two possession lead after De Laura marched them down the field into a goal-to-go situation, but it was then that the Panthers' defense stood tall. A shoestring tackle on De Laura saved a likely touchdown on first down. Randolph then took a handoff for a short gain on second down. Johnson then came into the game at quarterback for two consecutive quarterback keepers on third and fourth down, both of which were stuffed by the Panthers, giving the Bay Area team a much needed turnover on downs.

With 4:05 remaining and the ball at their own one yard line at the start of the drive, it seemed that the Panthers had all the momentum after the stop. On second down of the first series after the stop, Jones found Chambers for a fourteen yard gain and a first down. From there, it was all downhill on offense. A block in the back penalty and several incomplete passes set up a fourth and 11 play. Jones fired a deep ball for Chambers towards the goal line, but it was once again incomplete, once again through heavy contact from the Vegas defensive backs.

After the turnover on downs, there was less than a minute remaining in the contest. The Panthers defense did what it could to give the offense one last chance. With all three timeouts remaining, the defense kept the Knight Hawks from getting a first down that would have ended the game. Derby came on for a field goal attempt that would have extended the lead to eight points, but he missed it wide to the left with 39 seconds to go.

This gave the Panthers one last chance to win the game with a touchdown. With no timeouts and 39 seconds, several short gains set up the offense for one last shot at the end zone from forty yards out with six seconds remaining. Jones heaved a hail mary towards the goal line, but it was broken up, sending the Knight Hawks to the Western Conference Final, and ending the Panthers' season.

Everyone at the Panthers thanks Panther Nation for their support and an unforgettable 2025 season. Fans can put down deposits for tickets next season now on Ticketmaster, starting at $26.



Indoor Football League Stories from August 5, 2025


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