Kings Conquer Ravens in LCFL Pre-Season Opener

The Las Vegas Kings brought the physical style of play expected under Coach John "Ice" Isola in their pre-season opener, handing the Orange County Ravens a 35-21 loss. The Kings relied heavily on their ground game and pressure defense to take their first victory in 2010.

With first possession, the Kings came out pounding the ball on the ground, relying on running backs Justin Shepard and Brandon Lomax to get most of the work done on offense. Shepard was the first to hit pay-dirt with a 1 yard TD rush to cap the opening drive, and his encore was a 43 yard mis-direction play for the King’s second TD to start the second half, putting the Kings up 14-0.

With constant harassment of the Ravens QB coming from the King’s swarming D-line, Orange County was unable to get anything started on offense. The frustration showed early in the second half when a forced pass ended up in the hands of 1^{st year DB Paitaka "Cole" Miyahira, who took it back to the house and gave the Kings a 21-0 first half lead.}

The success of the King’s defense led them to take a number of chances on fourth down, one of which led to a short field for the Ravens after the Kings failed to convert. Orange County capitalized with a quick slant for the score and 2 point conversion, making it 21-8 before the close of the half.

In the third, neither team could seem to get much going until the Ravens snatched Kings backup QB Chris Robello’s pass out of the air and took it in for 6, making it 21-14 after a failed conversion.

After a slow third quarter start, the Kings again had to rely on their D to keep the advantage. With 12:33 left in the 4th, Cole grabbed another interception and returned it to the Raven’s 8, which lead to a Brandon Lomax TD run and gave the Kings back their momentum.

Unable to answer the King’s score, and plagued by a number of bad shotgun snaps from their center, the Raven’s were shut down in the fourth, getting their only points with 1:44 left after a fumble recovery for a TD.

Despite some questions in the passing game, the Kings showed that they still have what it takes to put together another strong season in the LCFL. With a swarming and unrelenting defense and a hard-nosed ground game, the Kings will be looking to smash their way to a 2010 championship.