The St. Louis Battlehawks celebrate Max Duggan scoring his first touchdown in the team’s win over Birmingham on Saturday. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
| United Football League | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham Stallions (5-3) | 9 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 28 |
| St. Louis Battlehawks (6-2) | 6 | 7 | 0 | 16 | 29 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
ST. LOUIS, MO — In a thrilling matchup of United Football League playoff teams, that saw the lead change hands six times, the St. Louis Battlehawks made a series of big plays in the final minutes to pull out a 29-28 win over the Birmingham Stallions.
A crowd of 30,114 watched at The Dome at America’s Center as St. Louis score 16 fourth quarter points, including two touchdowns and a game-winning one-point conversion to take the lead, then forced a fumble and recovered it with 28 seconds left in the game to preserve the club’s fourth straight victory.
“Just another day where we had to rely on everybody,” Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht said. “We had guys all over the field stepping up and making plays. Birmingham is a good team. They’re the defending (league) champs and they always play you tough. We just had to reach down and find a way to make enough plays to get this win.”
Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht shakes hands with Freedom Akinmoladun following the club’s win over Birmingham on Saturday. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
The Battlehawks are now 6-2 on the season and at the moment, hold sole possession of first place in the XFL Conference standings. St. Louis is a half-game ahead of the DC Defenders, who are 5-2 but play their game this week on Sunday against the Arlington Renegades.
If DC wins, it will move into first place and still hold the tiebreaker over the Battlehawks due to its win in St. Louis back on April 13. If that happens, things wouldn’t be all bad for the Battlehawks because that loss by the Renegades would clinch a playoff spot for St. Louis.
If things are reversed and Arlington wins, the Renegades would keep their playoff hopes alive heading into the final two weeks of the season and that loss by DC would allow the Battlehawks to maintain its lone hold on first place.
Battlehawks QB Max Duggan dives for the end zone to score a touchdown during Saturday’s UFL game against the Birmingham Stallions. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
In Saturday’s game, St. Louis was led by its run game and its play-making defense. The Battlehawks rushed for 173 yards — the team’s most since its Week 1 win over Houston when it gained 273 yards — and got two rushing touchdowns by quarterback Max Duggan and one by running back Jacob Saylors, who also caught a one-point pass and scored the one-point run that proved to be the game-winner at the end.
Saylors finished the day with 118 rushing yards on 16 carries. Duggan had 54 rushing yards, but also threw for 110 yards.
The St. Louis defense was led by linebacker Willie Harvey, who had a game-high 11 tackles. Teammate Travis Feeney had five tackles, including 1.5 quarterback sacks and two forced fumbles.
It was Feeney’s strong hands that knocked the ball out of Birmingham running back C.J. Marable’s hands on the Stallions’ final offensive play. St. Louis defensive back Myles Jones recovered it to give the Battlehawks the ball back and end the game.
Battlehawks’ defenders close in on Birmingham QB J’Marr Smith during Saturday’s UFL game at The Dome at America’s Center. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
Another huge defensive play by the Battlehawks came early in the fourth quarter, when linebacker Callahan O’Reilly intercepted a pass and returned it 18 yards for a touchdown to give St. Louis its first fourth quarter lead.
The Stallions scored on a 47-yard touchdown pass from J’Marr Smith to Cade Johnson and added a one-point conversion to go ahead 28-22.
The Battlehawks responded with a 5-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off by Saylors’ touchdown and one-point run with 3:16 left that gave St. Louis the lead for good.
Jacob Saylors scores what proved to be the game-winning points in the St. Louis Battlehawks’ win over the Birmingham Stallions on Saturday. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
St. Louis will play its final home game of the regular season on Friday, May 23, when it will take on the San Antonio Brahmas for the second time this season. The Brahmas will be the home team for this game because it was moved from San Antonio due to stadium renovations being done at The Alamadome.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised on FOX.
SCORING SUMMARY
| Team | Qtr | Clock | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BHM | 1 | 11:10 | TOUCHDOWN – J’Marr Smith 65 yard pass to Deon Cain. (2-pt conversion failed) | 6-0 |
| BHM | 1 | 8:54 | FIELD GOAL – Harrison Mevis 44 yard field goal | 9-0 |
| STL | 1 | 3:48 | TOUCHDOWN – Max Duggan 13 yard run. (1-pt conversion failed) | 9-6 |
| STL | 2 | 13:34 | TOUCHDOWN – Max Duggan 12 yard run. (Max Duggan 1-pt pass to Jacob Saylors) | 9-13 |
| BHM | 2 | 4:42 | FIELD GOAL – Harrison Mevis 34 yard field goal | 12-13 |
| BHM | 3 | 13:13 | TOUCHDOWN – J’Marr Smith 50 yard pass to Deon Cain. (2-pt conversion failed) | 18-13 |
| BHM | 3 | 2:40 | FIELD GOAL – Harrison Mevis 36 yard field goal | 21-13 |
| STL | 4 | 13:58 | FIELD GOAL – Rodrigo Blankenship 49 yard field goal | 21-16 |
| STL | 4 | 13:19 | TOUCHDOWN – Callahan O’Reilly 18 yard interception return. (2-pt conversion failed) | 21-22 |
| STL | 4 | 13:13 | TWO-POINT CONVERSION ATTEMPT. M.Duggan steps back to pass. Sacked at BHM 11 for yards (M.Sanders). TWO-POINT ATTEMPT FAILS. | 21-22 |
| BHM | 4 | 5:28 | TOUCHDOWN – J’Marr Smith 47 yard pass to Cade Johnson. (J’Marr Smith 1-pt pass to Deon Cain) | 28-22 |
| STL | 4 | 3:05 | TOUCHDOWN – Jacob Saylors 1 yard run. (Jacob Saylors 1-pt run) | 28-28 |
2025 ST. LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 28, 2025 (Friday) | 7 p.m. | Away | Houston Roughnecks | TDECU Stadium |  | W 31-6 (1-0) |
| April 6, 2025 (Sunday) | 5:30 p.m. | Home | San Antonio Brahmas | The Dome at America’s Center |  | W 26-9 (2-0) |
| April 13, 2025 (Sunday) | 2 p.m. | Home | DC Defenders | The Dome at America’s Center |  | L 27-15 (2-1) |
| April 19, 2025 (Saturday) | 11 a.m. | Away | Arlington Renegades | Choctaw Stadium | | L 30-15 (2-2) |
| April 26, 2025 (Saturday) | 6 p.m. | Home | Michigan Panthers | The Dome at America’s Center |  | W 32-27 (3-2) |
| May 2, 2025 (Friday) | 7 p.m. | Home | Arlington Renegades | The Dome at America’s Center | | W 12-6 (4-2) |
| May 11, 2025 (Sunday) | 2 p.m. | Away | Memphis Showboats | Liberty Stadium | | W 19-9 (5-2) |
| May 17, 2025 (Saturday) | 12 p.m. | Home | Birmingham Stallions | The Dome at America’s Center | | W 29-28 (6-2) |
| May 23, 2025 (Friday) | 7 p.m. | Home | San Antonio Brahmas | The Dome at America’s Center | | |
| May 30, 2025 (Friday) | 7 p.m. | Away | DC Defenders | Audi Field | |