Battlehawks WR Steven McBride breaks free from a Houston Gamblers defender during Saturday’s UFL game at The Dome at America’s Center. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
| United Football League | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Gamblers (3-5) | 14 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
| St. Louis Battlehawks (5-3) | 3 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 16 |
ST. LOUIS, MO — The St. Louis Battlehawks nearly rallied from a two-touchdown deficit, but simply ran out of time on Saturday, in a 23-16 loss to the Houston Gamblers in a United Football League game played at The Dome at America’s Center.
St. Louis could have clinched itself a spot in the UFL playoffs with a win, but Houston, which needed the win to keep its playoff hopes alive, came into The Dome and held the hosts off better than any expected.
In fact, the game ended with the Battlehawks driving to tie the score and quarterback Luis Perez completing a pass to receiver Steven McBride, who was tackled at the Houston 15-yard line. St. Louis, which didn’t have any timeouts left, tried to scramble to ball and snap for another play, but the clock ran out before it could, allowing the Gamblers to hold on the for the win.
“It was a tough day,” Battlehawks head coach Ricky Proehl said. “We were trying to go fast. We knew we didn’t have much time and no timeouts. We were right there. We just ran out of time. We could’ve worked faster, I think. But in the end, they held us off and we have to take this loss and learn from it.”
Battlehawks TE Tyler Neville is brought down by Houston defenders during Saturday’s UFL game at The Dome at America’s Center. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
St. Louis actually scored first and looked good doing so, as it took over with great field position, following a 50-yard punt return by Sean Fresch, that gave the Battlehawks the ball on Houston’s 19-yard line.
The Battlehawks didn’t move the ball much and had to settle for a field goal. That was the only lead the home team would have the entire day.
Houston went the length of the field on its next drive, an eight-play, 66-yard drive, capped by a 4-yard touchdown pass from Hunter Dekkers to Jontre Kirklin.
The play of the day came on St. Louis’ next possession, when Perez threw a lazy sideline pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Houston’s Kary Vincent, Jr. That put the Gamblers up 14-3 and those six points proved to be the difference in the game.
“Not a great throw,” Proehl said. “We wanted to attack their corners and try to put up yardage with our receivers running aggressive, outside routes. But that throw was not in a good spot and the defender made a great play. Once he picked it off, there was nobody there to stop him from taking it all the way back.”
Battlehawks WR Blake Jackson tries to get around Houston’s Quinton Newsome during Saturday’s UFL game at The Dome at America’s Center. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
Houston went ahead 20-6 late in the first half, when Dekkers hit Lawrence Keys for a 35-yard touchdown, on a play where he was nearly sacked, but managed to scramble away before he found the speedy receiver behind the entire St. Louis defense.
“I was just trying to keep the play alive,” Dekkers said. “I was going to run and maybe try to slip out of bounds, but I saw Lawrence break free. So I threw it to him. It was a great effort by him to stay with the play and find a way to get open.”
St. Louis kicked a field goal to make the score 20-9 just before halftime. Houston added a field goal of its own to restore its 14-point lead, midway through the fourth quarter.
The Battlehawks put together their best drive of the day early in the fourth quarter, when they drove seven plays for went 71 yards, capped by a Perez to Tyler Neville 7-yard touchdown pass that made the score 23-16.
St. Louis got the ball back again twice more before the game ended. One drove ended on a fourth down stop, where initially officials ruled a first-down catch was made. But then replay officials determined the ball hit the ground and the play was ruled an incompletion.
The final drive ended with the pass to McBride that led to the clock running out.
“We just didn’t do enough on offense today,” Proehl said. “We ran the ball pretty good. We completed a couple of big passes. But we missed more than we connected on and we didn’t really hit any big ones all day. We’ve got to execute better.”
Battlehawks WR Steven McBride is tackled by three Houston Gamblers defenders during Saturday’s UFL game at The Dome at America’s Center. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
The Battlehawks are now 5-3 on the season and will look to redeem themselves when they take on Houston again next week. This time, the game will be down in Texas at Houston’s Shell Energy Stadium, next Sunday, May 24. Kickoff will be at 6 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
St. Louis will conclude the regular season in two weeks, with a home game against the Dallas Renegades on May 29. Kickoff that evening is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally on FOX.
SCORING SUMMARY
| Team | Qtr | Clock | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL | 1 | 10:52 | FIELD GOAL – Ramiz Ahmed 32-yd field goal | 0-3 |
| HOU | 1 | 6:31 | TOUCHDOWN – Hunter Dekkers 4-yd pass to Jontre Kirklin (PAT good) | 7-3 |
| HOU | 1 | 4:48 | TOUCHDOWN – Kary Vincent 36-yd interception return | 14-3 |
| STL | 2 | 13:11 | FIELD GOAL – Ramiz Ahmed 44-yd field goal | 14-6 |
| HOU | 2 | 3:35 | TOUCHDOWN – Hunter Dekkers 35-yd pass to Lawrence Keys (PAT no good) | 20-6 |
| STL | 2 | 00:21 | FIELD GOAL – Ramiz Ahmed 25-yd field goal | 20-9 |
| HOU | 3 | 5:06 | FIELD GOAL – John Hoyland 37-yard field goal | 23-9 |
| STL | 4 | 10:41 | TOUCHDOWN – Luis Perez 7-yard pass to Tyler Neville (PAT good) | 23-16 |
2026 ST. LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 28, 2026 (Saturday) | 11 am | Home | DC Defenders | The Dome at America’s Center |  | W, 16-10 (1-0) |
| April 7, 2026 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Away | Dallas Renegades | Toyota Stadium / Frisco, TX |  | L, 31-15 (1-1) |
| April 12, 2026 (Sunday) | 2 pm | Home | Birmingham Stallions | The Dome at America’s Center |  | W, 34-30 (2-1) |
| April 18, 2026 (Saturday) | 11:30 am | Away | DC Defenders | Audi Field / Washington, DC | | L, 28-22 (2-2) |
| April 25, 2026 (Saturday) | 6 pm | Away | Orlando Storm | Inter&Co Stadium / Orlando, FL | | W, 25-17 (3-2) |
| April 30, 2026 (Thursday) | 7 pm | Away | Louisville Kings | Lynn Family Stadium / Louisville, KY | | W, 16-3 (4-2) |
| May 8, 2026 (Friday) | 7 pm | Home | Columbus Aviators | The Dome at America’s Center |  | W, 31-20 (5-2) |
| May 16, 2026 (Saturday) | 2 pm | Home | Houston Gamblers | The Dome at America’s Center | | L, 23-16 (5-3) |
| May 24, 2026 (Sunday) | 6 pm | Away | Houston Gamblers | Shell Energy Stadium / Houston, TX |  | |
| May 29, 2026 (Friday) | 7 pm | Home | Dallas Renegades | The Dome at America’s Center | |