Schuylkill Haven grad Dawson Evitts had a big impact on the Arizona Rattlers blowout win over the San Diego Strike Force Monday night in the Indoor Football League Western Conference Championship.
Evitts was 7-for-8 on PATs and kicked a 20-yard field goal, scoring 10 of his team’s 58 points in a 58-23 thumping.
Outside of the scoring plays, Evitts was crucial in helping Arizona pin San Diego deep in their own end all night.
His pop fly mortar-style kickoffs allowed the coverage team to practically greet the return man just as he was catching the ball.
The Rattlers will now face the Massachusetts Pirates for the IFL Championship in two weeks in Henderson, Nevada.
“I’m definitely excited and eager for the opportunity to play in the championship game,” Evitts tells The Canary.
The IFL National Championship Game is set for Saturday, Aug. 17, at 4:05 p.m. (Eastern). It will air on CBS Sports Network.
Canary Cover Jinx?
We were a little worried that our feature story on Evitts prior to the playoff opener last week jinxed the 2018 Haven grad.
During the regular season, Evitts was third in the league in PATs. But in that thriller last week against the Vegas Knight Hawks, he actually missed 2 of the 3 extra points he attempted.
That was the only time he missed more than 1 PAT in a game all season.
Luckily, the Rattlers pulled out a heart-stopping, last-second win to advance to Monday’s game against San Diego.
Monday’s performance was an impressive rebound game for Evitts and definitely did enough to lift the jinx. It was the sixth time Evitts kicked at least 7 PATs in a game.
Evitts spoke to The Canary about overcoming his struggles the previous week as he came into Monday’s game against the Strike Force.
“After last week, I knew that wasn’t me and that this game could potentially come to me,” Evitts says. “I just told myself you’re here for a reason and that there’s no moment too big for me and that I’ve done this thousands of times. This isn’t any different.”
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