The D.C. Defenders (3-0) visited The Dome at America’s Center on Sunday afternoon to take on their rivals the St. Louis Battlehawks (2-1) in a battle of two unbeaten teams. This game lived up to the hype and it could be a preview of the XFL Conference Championship Game.
D.C. kicker Matt McCrane put the Defenders up 3-0 with a 30-yard field goal with 9:09 left of the first quarter. Later in the first quarter, D.C. quarterback Jordan Ta’amu threw a 62-yard touchdown pass to Ty Scott for a 9-0 lead with 4:23 left. Kicker Matt McCrane added three more points on the board for D.C. making a 42-yard field goal. The Defenders led 12-0 over St. Louis.
St. Louis started to make a comeback in the second quarter when quarterback Manny Wilkins threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Frank Darby cutting D.C.’s lead to 12-6 with 9:49 left. Later, St. Louis kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made a 40-yard field goal and the score was now 12-9 D.C. with 6:10 left of the second quarter.
Late in the second quarter, D.C. quarterback Jordan Ta’amu completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Briley Moore-McKinney for an 18-9 lead. St. Louis kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made a 47-yard field goal to end the first half. The Defenders led the Battlehawks 18-12.
In the third quarter, St. Louis kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made his third field goal of the afternoon from 56 yards that made it a three-point game 18-15 with 7:39 left.
In the fourth quarter, D.C. quarterback Jordan Ta’amu threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Cornell Powell for a 24-15 lead, and kicker Matt McCrane sealed the game with a 50-yard field goal. The D.C. Defenders defeated the St. Louis Battlehawks by the final score of 27-15.
D.C. had 346 yards in total offense led by quarterback Jordan Ta’amu completing 17 of 37 passes (45.9%) for 243 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions, and one carry for -3 yards. Running back Deon Jackson led the rushers with eight carries for 54 yards, while Abram Smith had 23 carries for 52 yards.
Wide receiver Ty Scott led the team in receiving making three catches for 85 yards, and one touchdown, while Briley Moore-McKinney made three catches for 40 yards and one touchdown. Kicker Matt McCrane made 3 of 4 field goals (75%) with a long of 50 yards. The defense made 46 tackles, nine tackles for loss, three sacks (2 by Andre Mintze), three interceptions, five pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
St. Louis had 173 yards in total offense led by quarterback Manny Wilkins completing 16 of 29 passes (55.2%) for 147 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions, and four carries for 39 yards. Running back Jarveon Howard had three carries for six yards, while Jacob Saylors had seven carries for one yard and seven catches for 91 yards.
Wide receiver Frank Darby made one catch for 35 yards, and one touchdown. Wide receiver Denzel Mims made one catch for nine yards. Kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made three field goals with a long of 56 yards. The defense made 67 tackles, five tackles for loss, two interceptions, and seven pass breakups.
Next week, the St. Louis Battlehawks visit the Arlington Renegades on Saturday at 12:30 pm on ABC, and the D.C. Defenders host the San Antonio Brahmas on Sunday at 5 pm on Fox. Purchase UFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
