Battlehawks tight end Jake Sutherland (84) celebrates with teammates following his fourth quarter touchdown in Saturday’s game at The Dome at The America’s Center. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| United Football League | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memphis (1-3) | 6 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| St. Louis (3-1) | 17 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 32 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
ST. LOUIS, MO — The St. Louis Battlehawks earned their third consecutive win on Saturday, when they defeated the visiting Memphis Showboats, 32-17, in a United Football League game at The Dome at America’s Center.
A loud and raucous crowd of 31,575 watched the Battlehawks take an early lead, then lose that lead, but then quickly take it back by halftime. Then in the second half, St. Louis dominated on both sides of the ball, as it widened its lead on offense and watched its defense hold Memphis scoreless for the final 30 minutes to finish off what proved to be a fun and exciting win for the home team.
“It’s always a lot of fun to play in front of these fans,” Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht said. “They definitely keep us hyped up and keep us going. And we just wanted to play our best game. We didn’t do everything right, and we made some mistakes. But mostly, I thought we played well against a good team. Memphis has got a good team over there.”
The Showboats showed that twice in the first half, when they twice rallied from deficits to first, take a 6-3 lead in the first quarter, and then tie the score at 17 late in the second quarter. St. Louis drove the ball in the final 1:14 of the half for a field goal that gave it a 20-17 lead at halftime.
In the second half, the Battlehawks controlled the action from start to finish. They moved the ball almost at will and added two more touchdowns on offense, while the defense held Memphis to zero points and just 55 yards allowed.
“We tried to make an emphasis in the second half not to let them run the ball,” Becht said. “Those guys came up big. We talked about minimizing mental errors. We had a few on that first drive. I loved the way they bounced back.”
And while denying Memphis’ usually strong rushing attack, St. Louis put together one of its best ball carrying days in franchise history.
The Battlehawks collectively rushed for a season-high 133 yards, their most since they had 173 rushing yards in the final game of the 2020 season against the D.C. Defenders. Running back Jacob Saylors led the way against Memphis, with a career-high 103 rushing yards, which were the second-most in team history behind Mataeo Durant’s 104 rushing yards in the home opener two weeks ago against the Arlington Renegades.
Saylors also set a franchise record for the longest running play in team history on a 57-yard burst with 6 minutes, 28 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The record run set up the Battlehawks for their season-high fourth touchdown of the game when QB A.J. McCarron found WR Jahcour Pearson for an 8-yard pass with 5:06 left to play, which gave the Battlehawks their 15-point winning margin.
As the Battlehawks defense held Memphis scoreless throughout the second half with 55 yards allowed, the offense extended the 20-17 halftime lead with a 10-play, 71-yard drive. McCarron finished the drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass to TE Jake Sutherland with 14:20 left in the fourth quarter. McCarron then rushed 1 yard for a one-point conversion to extend St Louis’ lead to 26-17.
“It’s been crazy because the last two or three weeks teams have played us completely different than what they showed on film,” McCarron said. “We had a plan we felt we could spread it out and be successful. It’s just that teams, for whatever reason, are trying to keep everything underneath and making us sustain drives. We’re doing a good job of that. I’m proud of the guys being able to adjust.”
St. Louis opened the game with its most explosive quarter of the season, scoring 17 points in the first 15 minutes of play. Kicker Andre Szmyt made a 54-yard field goal to put the Battlehawks ahead 3-0, but Memphis answered with four-play, 44-yard drive that began with a 40-yard kickoff return by Vinny Papale, who also ended the drive with a 17-yard touchdown to put the Showboats up 6-3.
The Battlehawks responded with a 60-yard kickoff return by UFL all-purpose yards leader Darrius Shepherd, who caught the ball at his own 22 and returned it to Memphis’ 18. Three plays later, McCarron hit Saylors for an 11-yard touchdown that put St. Louis back ahead 9-6.
An interception by by Lamont Hill gave the Battlehawks the ball back at Memphis’ 41. Eight plays later, Wayne Gallman busted into the end zone for a touchdown, that along with a McCarron pass to Marcell Ateman two-point conversion gave St. Louis a 17-6 lead.
Memphis answered with a touchdown, a two-point conversion, and a field goal in the second quarter to tie the game at 17.
In the second half, McCarron, who completed 35-of-45 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns, put the game away for St. Louis with the two fourth-quarter touchdown tosses to Sutherland and Pearson.
Pearson was making his first appearance as a member of the Battlehawks. He signed with the club as a free agent in the offseason, but missed the first three games due to a knee injury suffered during training camp.
In his first game as a Battlehawk, Pearson caught 10 passes for 70 yards and the game’s final touchdown.
“It felt good to be back out there,” he said. “I get to enjoy my team and get a victory. It’s great energy in there. This is the best spot to be in the UFL. It feels like an NFL stadium.”
The win lifted St. Louis’ season record to 3-1, where the club remains tied for first place (with San Antonio) in the XFL Division of the UFL.
The Battlehawks will face another stiff contest next week, when they’ll travel to the nation’s capital to play the D.C. Defenders. That game will be on Sunday, April 28, and will kickoff at 11 a.m.
SCORING SUMMARY
| Team | Qtr | Clock | Score | Type | Play | Drive | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL | 1 | 10:38 | FG | Andre Szmyt 54 yd Field Goal | 8/27/4:22 | 3-0 | |
| MEM | 1 | 8:46 | TD | PASS | Vinny Papale 17 yd reception thrown by Case Cookus (1PT ATT PASS to Jonathan Adams FAILED) | 4/44/1:52 | 3-6 |
| STL | 1 | 7:18 | TD | PASS | Jacob Saylors 11 yd reception thrown by AJ McCarron (2PT ATT PASS to Jahcour Pearson FAILED) | 3/18/1:28 | 9-6 |
| STL | 1 | 1:51 | TD | RUSH | Wayne Gallman II 2 yd rush (2PT ATT PASS caught by Marcell Ateman GOOD) | 8/33/5:04 | 17-6 |
| MEM | 2 | 6:12 | TD | RUSH | Darius Victor 6 yd rush (2PT ATT PASS caught by Sage Surratt GOOD) | 5/45/2:56 | 17-14 |
| MEM | 2 | 1:14 | FG | Matt Coghlin 28 yd Field Goal | 4/9/1:46 | 17-17 | |
| STL | 2 | 00:21 | FG | Andre Szmyt 47 yd Field Goal | 7/36/00:53 | 20-17 | |
| STL | 4 | 14:15 | TD | PASS | Jake Sutherland 7 yd reception thrown by AJ McCarron (1PT ATT RUSH by AJ McCarron GOOD) | 10/71/6:25 | 26-17 |
| STL | 4 | 4:54 | TD | PASS | Jahcour Pearson 8 yd reception thrown by AJ McCarron (1PT ATT RUSH by Wayne Gallman II FAILED) | 4/67/2:12 | 32-17 |