Defense lifts Knight Hawks to win in first game
In its first game in franchise history, the Knight Hawks defeated the Northern Arizona Wranglers 22-9 behind a dominant defensive performance Friday night at Dollar Loan Center.
Most Indoor Football League games are high-scoring affairs, but the Knight Hawks held the Wranglers to a combined 1-of-14 on third- and fourth-down attempts and an average of 1.71 yards per play. They also forced three turnovers and held the Wranglers to 60 yards of offense.
The Hawks used their defense to help kick-start its offense. With Northern Arizona driving, quarterback Kaleb Barker was intercepted by defender CJ Jones in the end zone.
Former UNLV quarterback Dalton Sneed made the start for the Knight Hawks. He rushed for 11 yards on a third-and-2 to get the Hawks into Northern Arizona territory.
The Knight Hawks could not gain any more ground and settled for a 36-yard field goal from Nate Criswell to take a 3-0 lead.
Northern Arizona responded with a 38-yard field goal of its own on the ensuing possession to tie the game.
The Hawks made a change at quarterback midway through the second quarter, replacing Sneed with Jaylon Henderson. The move sparked the Hawks as Henderson found KD Cannon for a 26-yard completion on a second-and-15.
Later in the drive, facing a fourth-and-2, Henderson connected with Cannon again, this time for a touchdown and put the Hawks ahead 9-3 after the missed point-after attempt.
Northern Arizona returned the following kickoff 40 yards, setting up a first-and-goal at the 5-yard line, but the Knight Hawks did not allow a score.
Henderson methodically led the Hawks into field-goal range. He completed three straight passes to set Criswell, made a 36-yard and gave the Hawks a 12-3 halftime lead.
The second half began with the Hawks defense forcing a Wranglers fumble deep in its own territory and recovering at the 2-yard line.
On fourth-and-goal, Henderson dove into the end zone a yard out, extending the Hawks’ lead to 19-3. Criswell added field goal early in the fourth quarter, an 18-yarder, to complete the Hawks’ scoring.
Barker completed the scoring with a late touchdown on a 1-yard run.
The Knight Hawks will have more than a week off before hosting the Tucson Sugar Skulls at 1 p.m. on March 27.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on Twitter.
