Members of the St. Louis Battlehawks defense bring down Dallas QB Austin Reed for a sack during Friday’s UFL game at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
| United Football League | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Renegades (4-6) | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
| St. Louis Battlehawks (6-4) | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 16 |
ST. LOUIS, MO — The St. Louis Battlehawks wrapped up the 2026 United Football League regular season Friday night, with a 20-16 loss to the Dallas Renegades at The Dome at America’s Center.
It was a close ballgame throughout, with the Battlehawks taking a 19-16 lead early in the fourth quarter, but not being able to hold the lead, as the Renegades scored to a late touchdown to pull off the win.
“We didn’t handle business tonight,” St. Louis head coach Ricky Proehl said. “We didn’t protect our quarterback well. We gave up seven sacks. And we allowed a late touchdown we shouldn’t have.”
Battlehawks QB Luis Perez tries to elude Dallas defensive end T.J. Franklin (96) during Friday night’s UFL game at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
On offense, the Battlehawks had just 58 total rushing yards. Quarterback Luis Perez did complete 18-of-29 passes for 272 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw two critical interceptions and was sacked by the Dallas defense seven times.
On the other side, Dallas’ Austin Reed, who won the Renegades’ starting QB job away from Perez in the preseason (which led to Perez being traded to St. Louis in Week 4), completed 15-of-26 passes for 162 yards. But he also threw three touchdown passes to lead his team to a win, which snapped a six-game losing streak.
“We just tried to be aggressive and not let their pass rush dictate the game,” Reed said. “They’ve got a great defense and they really put a lot of teams against the eight-ball with how good they are upfront. So we just came out and tried to not let that be the main part of the game… We wanted to get into our routes quick and try to get the ball out quick, and we were able to do that.”
Battlehawks TE James Bostic battles three Dallas defenders for yardage in Friday’s UFL game at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
The Battlehawks struck first on a 45-yard field goal from Ramiz Ahmed.
One of the biggest storylines entering the game was whether Dallas could create takeaways and generate short fields. They did exactly that in the opening quarter when Ajene Harris ripped the ball away from Blake Jackson, and Kevin Strong recovered in plus territory.
This time, the Renegades capitalized.
Facing third-and-ten, Reed escaped pressure and delivered a strike to Emanuel Butler for a 17-yard touchdown. The score was Butler’s 12th reception and sixth touchdown of the season, giving Dallas a 7-3 lead.
Perez answered quickly by getting Hakeem Butler involved. He connected with his top target for a 56-yard gain, but the drive stalled inside the red zone and Ahmed knocked through a short field goal to cut the deficit to 7-6.
Perez then sparked another promising drive with a deep connection to Steven McBride for 52 yards. Once again, the Battlehawks moved into scoring territory but came away empty when Ahmed missed from 40 yards.
The teams then traded takeaways.
Battlehawks DE Demone Harris sacks Dallas QB Austin Reed during Friday night’s UFL game at The Dome at America Center in St. Louis. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
First, Steve Linton strip-sacked Reed and recovered the loose ball himself. One play later, Perez was intercepted by Kalen DeLoach, giving Dallas possession right back.
Reed responded with one of his best drives of the night. Despite taking pressure throughout the half, he delivered a 22-yard conversion to Seth Green on third-and-long. Three plays later, he dropped a perfect pass to Greg Ward Jr. for 27 yards to set Dallas up inside the five.
Reed finished the drive with a strike to Tyler Vaughns, who made a leaping grab in one-on-one coverage for the score. After catching three touchdowns against St. Louis back in Week Three, Vaughns found the end zone again. It was his seventh touchdown reception of the season, tying the UFL single-season record.
Dallas carried a 13-6 lead into halftime after missing the extra point.
The Battlehawks had an opportunity to answer late in the second quarter, but Perez’s second interception of the half ended the threat.
Both offenses opened the second half with punts before St. Louis finally broke through.
Perez engineered a nine-play, 71-yard drive that resulted in his first touchdown against his former team. James Bostic was the catalyst, picking up 21 yards on a tight end screen before hauling in a quick pass on third-and-goal and rumbling into the end zone for the tying score.
The Battlehawks defense looked ready to seize control when it stuffed Dallas on fourth-and-one, but the Renegades defense answered right back.
Siaki Ika sacked Perez on third down, and Dallas followed with a fourth-down stop to regain possession. The game entered the fourth quarter tied at 13.
Battlehawks RB Kylin James (26) is tacked by a Dallas defender during Friday’s UFL game at The Dome at America Center in St. Louis. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
Dallas had the ball, but St. Louis stopped them on a fourth-down play and took over in good field position, with the ball near midfield. Unfortunately though, the Battlehawks were only able to gain a few yards and had to settle for a field goal.
That gave the home team a 16-13 lead. The Renegades responded by going 74 yards on 10 plays to score a touchdown to take the lead with 3:35 left in the game.
St. Louis had one final shot at moving the ball and possibly scoring a touchdown to win the game, but Dallas forced a punt at the two-minute mark, then gained two first downs to keep the ball and run out the clock.
“Like I said, we were just off all night,” Proehl said. “We never really got into any rhythm or anything. We moved the ball some and made a couple of plays and even had the lead in the fourth. But we never really had what I would call control of the game. And they made the plays at the end to win it. We didn’t.”
Battlehawks stars Hakeem Butler and James Bostic celebrate after Bostic scored a touchdown in Friday’s UFL game at The Dome at America’s Center. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
The loss means St. Louis will finish the regular season with a 6-4 record. But the Battlehawks will stay play in the UFL playoffs and will host a home game, next Sunday, June 7, against the Louisville Kings. Kickoff at The Dome at America’s Center is slated for 5 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally on FOX.
The winner will advance to the league’s championship game, The United Bowl, on June 13 at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.
SCORING SUMMARY
| Team | Qtr | Clock | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL | 1 | 7:51 | FIELD GOAL – Ramiz Ahmed 45-yard field goal | 0-3 |
| DAL | 1 | 1:25 | TOUCHDOWN – Austin Reed 17-yard pass to Emmanuel Butler (PAT good) | 7-3 |
| STL | 2 | 12:54 | FIELD GOAL – Ramiz Ahmed 45-yard field goal | 7-6 |
| DAL | 2 | 2:00 | TOUCHDOWN – Austin Reed 4-yard pass to Tyler Vaughns (PAT no good) | 13-6 |
| STL | 3 | 4:30 | TOUCHDOWN – Luis Perez 10-yard pass to James Bostic (PAT good) | 13-13 |
| STL | 4 | 10:05 | FIELD GOAL – Ramiz Ahmed 46-yard field goal | 13-16 |
| DAL | 4 | 3:35 | TOUCHDOWN – Austin Reed 3-yard pass to Emmanuel Butler (PAT good) | 20-16 |
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 |  | W, 21-15 (6-3) |
| May 29, 2026 (Friday) | 7 pm | Home | Dallas Renegades | The Dome at America’s Center | | L, 20-16 (6-4) |
| June 7, 2026 (Sunday) | 5 pm | Home | Louisville Kings | The Dome at America’s Center | |