Running back Wayne Gallman II (30) breaks free for a key long run during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s Battlehawks’ win over the DC Defenders. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| United Football League | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DC Defenders (3-5) | 3 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 21 |
| St. Louis Battlehawks (6-2) | 0 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 26 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
ST. LOUIS, MO — The St. Louis Battlehawks had to play Sunday’s game against the DC Defenders without star quarterback A.J. McCarron, whose nursing an injured ankle.
It was still an important game for St. Louis, which was looking to clinch itself a spot in the United Football League playoffs with a victory.
And though everything didn’t go just as planned, the Battlehawks still managed to accomplish what they wanted, as they held off DC for a 26-21 win, that ensures St. Louis will be in the playoffs this year.
“I’m happy for the fans to get some redemption here after getting squeezed out (of the postseason) last season,” Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht said. “There’s still a lot to play for. We want home (playoff) games. That’s the goal.”
St. Louis is now 6-2 on the season, with two games left in the regular season. The victory gave the Battlehawks sole possession of first place in the UFL’s XFL Conference, pending the outcome of today’s later game between San Antonio and Arlington. If San Antonio wins that game, it would be tied with St. Louis for first place.
The Battlehawks and Brahmas will play in the regular season finale, two weeks from yesterday, on June 1 at The Dome at America’s Center. If St. Louis does finish first, that playoff game would also be at The Dome on June 8 or 9.
“We’d like that game to be here,” Becht said. “Our fans are great and they give us a great home-field advantage. We want to be able to use that if we get the chance… We’ve still got more winning to do.”
On Saturday, in front of a crowd of 32,403, St. Louis started Manny Wilkins at quarterback. Wilkins was a standout player at Arizona State in college and spent some time with the Green Bay Packers, but hadn’t started a game since college.
Wilkins started slow, but made a number of key plays to lead the Battlehawks to the win. He finished with 126 passing yards and a game-high 79 rushing yards, as St. Louis overcame a late fourth quarter deficit to pull out the win.
Running backs Wayne Gallman II and Jacob Saylors were also key factors. Gallman scored two touchdowns, made a key 38-yard catch and run that set up the game winning score, and made the tackle that thwarted a DC fake punt attempt in the second quarter. Saylors had a few nice runs and scored the touchdown that gave St. Louis its first lead of the day.
“We knew we’d have to run more with Manny coming in,” Gallman said. “We knew running the ball was something we could exploit with this defense. So it was pretty much the plan all week.”
Wilkins threw for more than 8,600 yards and 52 touchdowns in college, but on Sunday, it was his running that proved to be the difference. On the drive that saw the Battlehawks move ahead 17-14, he had consecutive runs of 17 and 6 yards to set up Gallman’s first score.
“This meant the world to me,” Wilkins said. “I feel like through these past years, (people) questioned: ‘Do I love football?’ That really bugged the hell out of me. So to have the opportunity to get between the lines meant the world to go out with guys who believe in me.”
After an Andre Szmyt field goal gave St. Louis a 20-14 lead early in the fourth quarter, DC put together its best drive of the day to go 73 yards on 12 plays in six minutes and 30 seconds to score a touchdown and one-point conversion that gave the visitors a 21-20 lead.
The Battlehawks quickly responded though. First, with a 32 yard return on the kickoff by Darrius Shepherd. Then, after a short gain, Gallman caught a short screen pass and rumbled through the DC secondary for 38 yards to the DC 13 yard line. The Defenders were also charged with a personal foul penalty that moved the ball to the 2.
Two plays later, Gallman burst into the end zone for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.
“We just knew we could move the ball on the ground against these guys,” Gallman said. “We didn’t have to be spectacular. Just solid. And that’s what we were. And that’s why we won.”
DC did move the ball into St. Louis territory on its final drive, but a huge sack on third down by Willie Harvey forced the Defenders into a 4th-and-24, which they couldn’t convert on their final play.
The Battlehawks got the ball back and ran out the clock to collect their sixth win of the season.
St. Louis will be back on the road next week, when it will face the Arlington Renegades in a game at Choctaw Stadium in Texas. The Battlehawks defeated Arlington in their home opener, 27-24, earlier this season.
Kickoff for Saturday’s game between the Battlehawks and Renegades is set for 11 a.m., and the game will be televised on ABC.
SCORING SUMMARY
| Team | Qtr | Clock | Score | Type | Play | Drive | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DC | 1 | 8:33 | FG | McCrane, Matthew 48 yd Field Goal | 8/24/4:00 | 0-3 | |
| STL | 2 | 7:59 | FG | Szmyt, Andre 26 yd Field Goal | 12/52/7:11 | 3-3 | |
| STL | 2 | 1:07 | TD | RUSH | Saylors, Jacob 2 yd rush (1PT ATT PASS to Darrius Shepherd FAILED) | 7/26/4:30 | 9-3 |
| DC | 2 | 00:06 | FG | McCrane, Matthew 49 yd Field Goal | 9/45/1:01 | 9-6 | |
| DC | 3 | 10:38 | TD | PASS | Ellis, Alex 30 yd reception thrown by Ta’amu, Jordan (2PT ATT PASS caught by Alex Ellis GOOD) | 9/63/4:22 | 9-14 |
| STL | 3 | 7:35 | TD | RUSH | Gallman II, Wayne 7 yd rush (2PT ATT PASS caught by Kemari Averett GOOD) | 6/55/3:03 | 17-14 |
| STL | 4 | 11:25 | FG | Szmyt, Andre 37 yd Field Goal | 7/9/3:30 | 20-14 | |
| DC | 4 | 4:55 | TD | PASS | Scott, Ty 17 yd reception thrown by Ta’amu, Jordan (1PT ATT PASS caught by Kaden Smith GOOD) | 12/73/6:30 | 20-21 |
| STL | 4 | 2:00 | TD | RUSH | Gallman II, Wayne 1 yd rush (2PT ATT RUSH by Manny Wilkins FAILED) | 5/44/2:55 | 26-21 |