Knoxville, TN (May 5, 2012) - The Knoxville Civic Coliseum was definitely full of passion and intensity on Saturday night when the Nighthawks (1-6) were victorious over the Alabama Hammers (2-5).

Wide Receiver Ryan Schuck had a standout game against the Hammers with 5 touchdowns to help bring the Nighthawks to a win.

“It was an awesome feeling to win tonight. Coach kept believing in us and it was definitely a team win. The offense really stepped up this week and we hope to continue this winning trend. We hope that the fans continue to come out to support us as they were an amazing support system tonight,” said Schuck.

The Nighthawks started off strong with two unanswered touchdowns by Schuck and LB Cassen Jackson-Garrison to begin the game. The Hammers retaliated by scoring a 20 yard touchdown pass to WR Thomas Harris to bring cut down the Nighthawks lead to 14-7.

With only 12.3 seconds left, DB Tony Norman runs 47 yards off of the kick
return which led to a touchdown that made it a tied game at 24 going into the half.
There was no break in the energy of the game when the teams took the field at the half. After a disagreement on the field, Hammers WR Rico McSwain and Nighthawks WR Ryan McDaniel got ejected from the game. Defensive back Ginikachi Ibe had an interception touchdown return with 1:30 left in the third quarter to bring the Nighthawks lead back at 44-39.

Hammers end up coming back and taking the lead at 48-44 with 1:07 left in the game. Nighthawks Jackson-Garrison went in the end zone after a 3 yard run to tie the game at 51-48 with 22.4 seconds left. The Hammers tied the game with a field goal with 0 seconds left on the clock to take the game into overtime.

The Nighthawks Schuck scored a 25 yard touchdown on the first down going into overtime. After several plays, the Hammers answered with a touchdown of their own.

During the second overtime, Schuck made a spectacular dive to bring Knoxville their first win of the season.

“This game was a great first win and we are excited to share it with our fans. We need to continue to win so we can make sure that we make the playoffs and head to the championship game,” said Coach Chris MacKeown.

The Nighthawks are back at home on Saturday, May 12th at 7pm against the Columbus Lions for Military Appreciation Night. For ticket information, call (865) 656-4444 or visit www.knoxvillenighthawks.com.