Hakeem Butler (88) and Ja’Marcus Bradley (18) celebrate after Butler scored a touchdown in the first quarter of Sunday’s UFL game against the San Antonio Brahmas. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| United Football League | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis (2-1) | 6 | 11 | 3 | 11 | 31 |
| San Antonio (2-1) | 3 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 24 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
SAN ANTONIO, TX — After struggling to find consistent rhythm in its first two games, the St. Louis Battlehawks offense looked smooth and efficient in its game on Sunday against the San Antonio Brahmas.
St. Louis scored points on six of its nine drives — three touchdowns and three field goals — with the only non-scoring drives being a fumble on the first play of the third quarter, a three-out that resulted in a punt, and a kneel-down on the final play of the game.
Other than that, the Battlehawks moved the ball as well as they have all season in route to a 31-24 win over the Brahmas.
“We left a lot on the field the first two weeks,” Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht said. “I could start seeing it turn. The engine starts picking up a little, and the timing is there.”
And it was right there, right from the beginning, as St. Louis drove 49 yards on nine plays for its first score on its first drive. Then came right back with a 12-play, 70-yard drive to produced touchdown No. 2. The Battlehawks also added a two-point conversion after that drive and led 14-3 late in the first quarter.
San Antonio kept battling and matched St. Louis score-for-score the rest of the game. But the Battlehawks offense was too good throughout the game and the defense came up strong when it needed to late to help the visitors hold on for their second win of the 2024 United Football League season.
“We’re playing better and better on offense,” Battlehawks quarterback A.J. McCarron said. “We’re finding our identity. Bruce is awesome and calling a hell of a game. We have a feel as a group for what he’s going to call in certain situations. It’s great communication all around.”
McCarron finished the day with 19 completions on 27 attempts for 152 yards, a touchdown, two two-point conversion passes, and no interceptions. San Antonio did its best to not let the Battlehawks throw the ball deep. So McCarron kept hitting his open receivers for short passes, which kept turning into first downs and kept St. Louis’ drives going.
St. Louis also got a fine day from its ballcarriers, who combined for 19 carries, 113 yards, and two touchdowns. One of those was a 10-yard scramble by McCarron that produced the first score of the game.
San Antonio responded with a nice drive that produced a field goal. But the Battlehawks came right back with what proved to be its best drive of the day, which culminated with a 20-yard touchdown throw from McCarron to receiver Hakeem Butler, who finished with a season-high six catches and a game-high 87 yards.
“I wouldn’t say this is a coming-out game for me,” Butler said. “I think our team is super-dynamic. We have a lot of talent. We have talent you haven’t even seen yet.”
That showed itself in the second half, when Jacob Saylors, who was inactive for last week’s game against Arlington, broke free for several big runs, including a 25-yard scamper that helped St. Louis flip its field position and later a 19-yard rumble through the Brahmas defense for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“(Jacob) didn’t deserve not to be dressed last week,” Becht said. “But we want to give our guys a chance to bounce back. I was impressed by some key runs. He’s hard to find in the hole. We were running the ball well inside, and he bounced a couple outside. We had a heart to heart talk about what was going on when he didn’t dress. I told him to keep focused and keep working.”
After St. Louis went ahead 31-18, San Antonio responded with a touchdown that made the score 31-24. The Brahmas got the stop they needed to give themselves a chance to possibly tie the game with a touchdown and a one-point score, or even potentially take the lead with a touchdown and a two-point or three-point score.
Fortunately, the Battlehawk defense came up strong and shut the Brahmas down on their last drive. San Antonio got to the St. Louis 44-yard line, but the Battlehawks stopped them there on four straight plays to end the game.
“It was definitely a good win,” Becht said. “Lots of guys played well. We made some mistakes, but we overcame those and mostly played well for most of the game. You can see our guys improving and coming together. We’re trying to get better and it’s working.”
The Battlehawks will be back at home this weekend, when they’ll host the Memphis Showboats in a game on Saturday at the Dome at America’s Center. Kickoff that day is set for 11:30 a.m. and the game will be televised on ABC.
Scoring Summary
| Team | Qtr | Clock | Score | Type | Play | Drive | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SA | 1 | 10:22 | FG | Ryan Santoso 35 yd Field Goal | 10/40/4:38 | 3-0 | |
| STL | 1 | 4:33 | TD | AJ McCarron (2PT ATT PASS to Mataeo Durant FAILED) | 9/49/5:49 | 3-6 | |
| STL | 1 | 10:56 | TD | PASS | Hakeem Butler 20 yd reception thrown by AJ McCarron (2PT ATT PASS caught by Jake Sutherland GOOD) | 12/70/6:39 | 3-14 |
| SA | 2 | 1:57 | TD | RUSH | John Lovett 2 yd rush (2PT ATT PASS to FAILED) | 17/65/8:59 | 9-14 |
| STL | 2 | 00:00 | FG | Andre Szmyt 44 yd Field Goal | 6/19/1:57 | 9-17 | |
| SA | 3 | 11:34 | FG | Ryan Santoso 32 yd Field Goal | 7/6/3:16 | 12-17 | |
| STL | 3 | 6:59 | FG | Andre Szmyt 54 yd Field Goal | 8/28/4:35 | 12-20 | |
| SA | 3 | 1:55 | TD | RUSH | Anthony McFarland 8 yd rush (2PT ATT PASS to Justin Smith FAILED) | 9/51/5:04 | 18-20 |
| STL | 3 | 12:06 | FG | Andre Szmyt 46 yd Field Goal | 8/47/4:49 | 18-23 | |
| STL | 4 | 8:33 | TD | RUSH | Jacob Saylors 19 yd rush (2PT ATT PASS caught by Jacob Saylors GOOD) | 3/39/1:34 | 18-31 |
| SA | 4 | 2:10 | TD | PASS | Alize Mack 2 yd reception thrown by Chase Garbers (1PT ATT PASS to Jontre Kirklin FAILED) | 12/60/6:23 | 24-31 |