Knight Hawks QB earns MVP honors after breakthrough season
Knight Hawks quarterback Ja’Rome Johnson has been named the Indoor Football League’s MVP, the league announced Friday.
Johnson became the first Knight Hawks player to receive the award after the team’s historic season. The Knight Hawks went 11-5 and made the playoffs for the first time in their three-year history.
Johnson was at the forefront of that. He led the league with 37 rushing touchdowns and was second in the league with 843 rushing yards in a season in which he was the IFL Offensive Player of the Week a franchise-record four times. He added 43 touchdowns through the air.
Johnson was named to the All-IFL second team as well.
“Ja’Rome came into our organization and constantly competed,” Knight Hawks coach Mike Davis said in a statement. “He improved every day and was committed to his teammates and winning football games. We are proud of his accomplishments this season and what his efforts meant to the success of our team.”
Johnson’s first season with the Knight Hawks was a memorable one.
After scoring just 36 touchdowns in 10 games with the Green Bay Blizzard last season, Johnson doubled that under center in Las Vegas.
Johnson led the Knight Hawks to a 7-0 start and helped them clinch the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
His season was cut short late in the fourth quarter of the Knight Hawks’ first-round playoff game against the Arizona Rattlers.
Johnson suffered an apparent knee injury that forced him to miss the final drive. The Knight Hawks lost 39-38 to the Rattlers, who will play in the IFL National Championship against the Massachusetts Pirates at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lee’s Family Forum.
“Going into my second year, it’s easier than last year,” Johnson said May 31. “It was more complicated trying to figure things out last year than this year. My game translates better indoors.”
Johnson’s award puts a cap on a number of individual accolades for the Knight Hawks.
Offensive lineman Moses Mallory joined Johnson on the league’s second team. Defensive back Bryce Hampton was named the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year and was one of three Knight Hawks to be named to the All-Rookie team, joining linebacker Makel Calhoun and center Kevin Toote.
Hampton was named to the All-IFL first team, while Calhoun was an All-IFL second-team selection.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
Title game Saturday
The Arizona Rattlers will face the Massachusetts Pirates in the IFL National Championship at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lee's Family Forum.
The Pirates (10-8), who upset the top-seeded Green Bay Blizzard 51-28 in the Eastern Conference final, seek their second title and first since 2021 — when they beat Arizona in the final.
The Rattlers (13-5) won their lone title in 2017 and also lost in the 2019 final to the Sioux Falls Storm. Arizona defeated the San Diego Strike Force 58-23 in the Western Conference final.
Las Vegas Review-Journal
