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First Year Knights Stumble against Defending Champs

Winter Park, Fla.—Your Jacksonville Knights stumbled out of the gate against the back to back league Champion Orlando Rage. The first year Knights played like rookies, while the veteran Rage showed why they have not lost a game in more than two years. Jacksonville seemed to abandon what got them to the NFC Championship, running the ball. The Knights made their mark in the FFA with a devastating defense and a smash mouth rushing attack. On a hot April night in Winter Park the Knights got away from what got them to a one time number two national ranking. They instead did their best Texas Tech impersonation, which needless to say was not good.

Lawrence McCloud, who comes from Bethune Cookman’s triple option, proved he has the arm to be a passing quarterback. Unfortunately for the Knights, their wide receivers let multiple touchdowns slip through their hands. Literally, Jacksonville dropped four McCloud passes in the end zone. This was four different drives that ended in no points. Had the Knights just caught those passes they would have put up 34 points. But it was not to be. Backs Derrick Nettles, Greg Brant, James Turner and Ed Valentine-Casiano barely touched the ball. The Knights ran the ball less than 10 times in the entire game. Orlando was expecting to see the Knights try to pound on them and wear their veteran defense out, but not on this night. Instead they saw a team that wanted to finesse their way to victory.

Jacksonville defense did the impossible by shutting the Rage’s top rushing attaches down. FFA leading rusher Levi Raines was neutralized by the Knights trio of hard hitting linebackers. Joey Lopes, Fred Highsmith and Steve Lockett were relentless in their punishment of Rains. The Rage showed that even when you stop their potent rushing attack that they are not one dimensional. Former Conference USA Player of the Year and UCF Quarterback Kyle Israel let loose on the Knights cornerbacks. Israel was deadly accurate and made the Knights pay for their lack of respect toward the Rage’s passing offense.

The Knights will look to regroup this offseason. Knights’ founder and Executive Director Jeremy McDonald said, “We have a solid foundation with great players; we just have to give them the opportunity to be successful. We will look at every option we have to make the team better and bring Jacksonville its first Alliance Bowl Championship. Jacksonville is full of talent, and this summer we want to bring in as many players as possible to compete and make this team the best.”

Knights advance to NFC Championship

Jacksonville, FL.—Your Jacksonville Knights will advance to the NFC Championship game against the perennial powerhouse Orlando Rage. Jacksonville used an efficient passing attack to keep the Brevard Rams game close and Star Linebacker Joey Lopes sealed the victory with an interception returned for six, giving the Knights a 21 to 19 come from behind victory. Jacksonville used an aggressive passing attack with Lawrence McCloud hitting Larry Lawrence for a 55 yard TD to take the lead in the second half. That would be the score that would keep the Knights out front. McCloud passed for 134 yards with touchdown strikes to Lawrence and Israel Stallings.

Joey Lopes would once again dominate all aspects of defense as he led the Knights in tackles again and put the game out of reach for the Rams with a fourth quarter interception returned for a touchdown. Lopes has proven all season long that he is the top player in the FFA. Lopes will get the opportunity to battle the FFA’s top running back Saturday Raines. Raines leads the FFA in nearly every rushing statistic much like Lopes leads in defensive statistics. Will Lopes and the Knights be able to stop the Un-drafted Orlando Rage?

The Knights have a monumental game against the back to back SSFL Champions and the Nation’s number one team. The Rage is heavily favored and for a first year franchise to be able to compete with a veteran power house would be good enough for most teams. Not for your Jacksonville Knights, in their first year the Knights Executive Director was able to sway the FFA to holding their Championship game at beautiful Hodges Stadium and anything less than the Knights playing for the Alliance Bowl trophy will be considered a letdown. Can the Knights do the impossible and bring Goliath down? Find out this Saturday when David meets Goliath at Showalter Field in Winter Park FL, kick off is 7:00PM and we encourage all Knights fans to make the short trip to Orlando to support your Knights. Visit www.jacksonvilleknights.org for more information.

Knights pummel matchless Panthers

Jacksonville, FL.—The Jacksonville Knights remembered what it feels like to be a top 10 team in the Nation. The Knights pummeled the Panthers 48-6 in their most lopsided game of the season. This is exactly how Jacksonville wanted to finish the regular season. The Knights offensive line enforced its will on the out matched Panthers from the opening possession. 2010 FFA All-Stars Lance McFarland and Andre Sanders led the line in opening massive holes for the Knights stable of apt running backs. Full Back Ed Valentine-Casiano brought memories of Earl Campbell and Larry Zonka with his violent and brutal running. Valentine-Casiano showed that he is more than a lead blocker by carrying the ball for 48 yards on only 3 carries. Valentine-Casiano capped his day with a remarkable touchdown run in which he seemed to run through the Panthers defenders like they were bowling pins. Running backs James “Bullet” Tuner III and Greg Brant joined in on the punishment as they both saw extended work as the Knights rested star back Derrick Nettles. “Bullet” averaged 9 yards per rush with one score and Brant also found pay dirt on the day. The Scoring did not stop with the backs as Quarterback Lawrence McCloud accounted for 4 touchdowns on his most efficient game of the season. McCloud Completed 5 passes with 3 going for touchdowns. He also sneaked the ball in for six. Former Green Bay Packer and Middleburg alum Erik Gibson caught two of McClouds touchdown passes and showed the Panthers what an NFL Caliber tight end is capable. Rookie WR Antonio Baily once again had a solid day with 3 receptions for 67 yards and one touchdown. Baily has been a nightmare for opposing corners and does not show any signs of slowing.

Jacksonville’s defense did their part in not letting the Panthers get close to the end zone. The Panthers only score came from blown kick coverage on the kick off team. So this now means that the Knights defense has had 5 shut outs this season. Here we go again fans it comes as no surprise that Joey Lopes led the team in tackles once again with 9 stops on the day. Lopes was not the lone wolf in the Knights stellar defensive performance. Steve Lockett had a very productive game with 5 stops and 1 and a half sacks. FFA All-Star DB Paul “Action” Jackson also recorded 5 stops and completely shut down the Panthers passing game. Marlon Jordan, Fred Highsmith, Andrew Byers, and Jay Buffalo all had impressive games and showed the League that the Knights defense is not to be taken lightly.