The St. Louis Battlehawks (6-2) hosted the Birmingham Stallions (5-3) on Saturday afternoon from The Dome at America’s Center in a potential preview of the UFL Championship Game.
In the first quarter, Birmingham quarterback J’Mar Smith threw a beautiful pass right into the hands of Deon Cain for a 65-yard touchdown for a 6-0 lead with 11:01 left. Later, Birmingham kicker Harrison Mevis made a 44-yard field goal extending their lead to 9-0 with 8:54 left.
Later, St. Louis quarterback Max Duggan rushed up the middle to score a 13-yard touchdown. They did not get the one-point conversion and trailed the Stallions 9-6 heading into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, Mat Duggan rushed to his left side to score a 12-yard touchdown. On the one-point try, Duggan threw the ball to Jacob Saylors, who made the catch giving the Battlehawks a 13-9 lead with 13:26 left. Birmingham kicker Harrison Mevis made a 34-yard field goal. The Battlehawks led 13-12 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Birmingham quarterback J’Mar Smith completed a short pass to Deon Cain, who took it for a 50-yard touchdown. The Stallions did not get the two-point conversion but did get the lead back 18-13 with 13:05 left.
Then, Birmingham extended its lead to 21-13 on a 36-yard field goal by Harrison Mevis. It was his third field goal of the afternoon. Birmingham headed into the fourth quarter up 21-13.
In the fourth quarter, St. Louis kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made a 49-yard field goal to cut Birmingham’s lead down to 21-16 with 13:58 left. Next, St. Louis’s defense made a big play when linebacker Callahan O’Reilly intercepted J’Mar Smith’s pass for an 18-yard pick-six touchdown. St. Louis did not get the two-point conversion and led Birmingham 22-21 with 13:13 left in the game.
Birmingham quarterback J’Mar Smith made up for the pick-six touchdown by throwing a 47-yard touchdown pass to Cade Johnson. Then, Smith threw the ball to Deon Cain for the one-point conversion to take a 28-22 lead with 5:21.
St. Louis came back late in the fourth quarter when running back Jacob Saylors rushed for a one-yard touchdown that tied the game. He later scored the one-point conversion for a 29-28 lead with 3:03 left. Late in the game, Birmingham running back C.J. Marable fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by St. Louis to end the game. The Battlehawks defeated the Birmingham Stallions by the final score of 29-28 for their fourth straight win.
St. Louis had 275 yards of offense led by quarterback Max Duggan completing 12 of 21 passes (57.1%) for 110 yards, one interception, 11 carries for 54 yards, and two rushing touchdowns. Running back Jacob Saylors led the rushers with 16 carries for 118 yards, and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Hakeem Butler led the receivers making three catches for 36 yards, and Blake Jackson made two catches for 36 yards. Kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made 1 of 2 field goals (50%) with a long of 49 yards. The defense made 63 tackles, three tackles for loss, four sacks, one interception, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
Birmingham had 369 yards of offense led by quarterback J’Mar Smith completing 14 of 27 passes (51.9%) for 262 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, and led the rushers with ten carries for 45 yards. Running back C.J. Marable had 11 carries for 40 yards.
Wide receiver Deon Cain led the receivers making two catches for 115 yards, and two touchdowns, while Cade Johnson made one catch for 47 yards, and one touchdown. Kicker Harrison Mevis made three field goals with a long of 44 yards. The defense made 54 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, five pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Next week, the St. Louis Battlehawks visit the San Antonio Brahmas on Friday at 8 pm on Fox, while the Birmingham Stallions host the Michigan Panthers on Saturday at 3 pm on ABC. Purchase UFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
