Now that the preseason portion of the schedule is complete, the Inglewood Blackhawks have quite a bit of time off until their Aug. 18 LCFL opener.
The defending minor league football national champion Blackhawks, who went 8-0 during the previous stretch of games, host the Temecula-based Valley Predators to kick off the season. The 7 p.m. game will be played at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
They’ve been so dominant in the preseason, they didn’t even trail at any time until the most recent game. And they came back in that one to defeat the Gold Coast Warriors, 30-8.
Inglewood found itself behind 8-0 at the half thanks to a safety and Gold Coast scoring a TD with 10 seconds left before the break.
But the second half was all Blackhawks, who turned up the defensive pressure on quarterback Ricky Reyes, who was intercepted five times. Joe Hunter returned one 41 yards for a score.
Linebacker Leon Friend had a big game with 10 tackles, including two for loss, a sack, an interception and blocked punt.
Other defensive standouts included linebacker Roy Otis (seven tackles, a sack), defensive end Marlon Brisco (six tackles), defensive back Michael Gilliam (three tackles, interception), defensive back Eddie Hunter (two tackles, interception) and defensive back Curtis Perkins (three tackles, interception).
Offensively, running back Brian Flowers had 89 all-purpose yards, running back Reggie Taylor scored a TD, as did wide receiver Nate Harrison.
