TUCSON - The Tucson Sugar Skulls are set to host the Las Vegas Knight Hawks in the Boneyard on Saturday night. This contest will conclude their three-game home stand and fourth straight week at home with the bye week in between.
The Sugar Skulls are fresh off a
franchise-best 25-point victory over the Bay Area Panthers on Saturday and will look to improve to 7-5 on the season and secure a much-needed game in the playoff race.
This will be the second meeting between the Tucson Sugar Skulls and Vegas Knight Hawks this season, with the first contest resulting in a 48-39 win in Henderson, Nevada. That game was the first-ever game for the expansion franchise.
Defensive Improvement
The Skulls' defense has improved drastically in the past two games, allowing their two lowest-scoring totals to opponents in consecutive games. Against the Wranglers, they allowed 34 points and then followed that up by allowing just 33 against the Panthers in that victory.
League Leader
Running back
Mike Jones leads the IFL in scoring touchdowns with 27, just ahead of Frisco's Justin Rankin who has 25. No one else in the league has broken the 20-touchdown mark, and Jones (and Tucson) has played one less game than Frisco to this point of the season. Jones is building a bulletproof case to gain the honors of 1st Team All-IFL, as he's been one of the most consistent and dominant backs in the league.
The elite duo of
Mike Jones and quarterback
Daquan Neal will look to get their offense going this week against the league's sixth-ranked defense in points allowed per game at 36.6. Tucson is still ranked 2nd in the league in offense, averaging 52.2 points per contest.
Playoff Push
This game has a tremendous amount of playoff implications, as the Sugar Skulls, Gladiators, and Knight Hawks are battling for the final two playoff spots in the west. A win against Las Vegas would not only give them the head-to-head tiebreaker, but increase their lead over Vegas to 2.5 games with 4 games remaining, putting them in excellent position to make the playoffs.
Where to watch
