The St. Louis Battlehawks (2-1) hosted the Birmingham Stallions (1-2) on Sunday afternoon to close out Week 3 from The Dome at America’s Center.
In the first quarter, St. Louis’s defense made a statement. Birmingham was pinned on the five-yard line when quarterback Matt Corral’s pass was intercepted by Jordan Williams for a pick-six 10-yard touchdown to take a 7-0 lead.
Later, St. Louis defensive back Nevelle Clarke picked off Corral at the 26-yard line. The offense went on a nine-play drive for 38 yards before kicker Tucker McCann made a 54-yard field goal. The Battlehawks led the Stallions 10-0 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Birmingham’s defense made a play when Tae Crowder intercepted Brandon Silvers at the 35-yard line. On the next play, Birmingham went play-action with Matt Corral throwing a 35-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Thomas. The Stallions trailed the Battlehawks 10-7. Late in the second quarter, St. Louis kicker Tucker McCann made a 40-yard field goal. The Battlehawks led the Stallions 13-7 at halftime.
Brandon Silvers was benched, and Harrison Frost was the new quarterback for St. Louis to begin the third quarter. In the third quarter, Birmingham kicker Jonathan Garibay made a 34-yard field goal. The Stallions trailed the Battlehawks 13-10.
St. Louis had the ball on the 35-yard line. On the first play, Harrison Frost’s pass was intercepted by Mario Goodrich for a pick-six 40-yard touchdown. Kicker Jonathan Garibay missed the extra point. The Stallions took a 16-13 lead.
On the third play for St. Louis, Frost was picked off again, this time by Lukas Denis at the 37-yard line. Birmingham’s offense marched down the field before running back Anthony McFarland scored a one-yard touchdown that concluded a six-play drive for 37 yards. The Stallions led the Battlehawks 23-13 to end the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, St. Louis quarterback Harrison Frost threw a 31-yard pass to Hakeem Butler. Two plays later, Frost threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Steven McBride. The Battlehawks trailed the Stallions 23-20. The drive took five plays for 55 yards.
Birmingham came back in the next series. Running back Anthony McFarland Jr. had two carries for 13 yards before quarterback Matt Corral froze the defense with a pump fake before throwing a 67-yard touchdown pass to Deon Cain. The Stallions led the Battlehawks 30-20 to conclude a three-play drive for 80 yards.
St. Louis had the ball on the 31-yard line. On the third play, quarterback Harrison Frost threw the ball right into the hands of Hakeem Butler for a 64-yard touchdown. The Battlehawks trailed the Stallions 30-27 to conclude a two-play drive for 69 yards.
On the next St. Louis drive, the offense moved the ball to the 11-yard line. On the next play, quarterback Harrison Frost threw a short pass to Tyler Neville. Neville pushed his way up front before extending his arms to break the goal line for the touchdown. The Battlehawks took a 34-30 lead with 1:52 left in the game to conclude a 12-play drive for 75 yards.
Birmingham had one timeout and the ball on the 27-yard line. Matt Corral threw a 22-yard pass to Jaydon Mickens, followed by four straight incomplete passes, turning the ball over to St. Louis. The Battlehawks ran out the clock, and the game was over. The Battlehawks held on to beat the Birmingham Stallions by the final score of 34-30.
St. Louis had 276 yards on offense (224 passing yards, 75 rushing yards), 14 first downs, 2 for 4 in the red zone, and the team was penalized five times. Quarterback Brandon Silvers completed 6 of 11 passes (54.5%) for 76 yards and one interception. Backup quarterback Harrison Frost completed 9 of 15 passes (60%) for 148 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions, and three carries for -11 yards.
Running back Kevon Latulas had 13 carries for 41 yards. Wide receiver Hakeem Butler led the receivers with four catches for 146 yards and one touchdown, while Steven McBride made three catches for 35 yards and one touchdown, and Tyler Neville made two catches for 16 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 48 tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions, eight pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Birmingham’s offense had 308 yards (252 passing yards, 65 rushing yards), 16 first downs, 1 for 2 in the red zone, and the team was penalized eight times. Quarterback Matt Corral completed 16 of 33 passes (48.5%) for 252 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and two carries for -1 yard. Running back Anthony McFarland Jr. had 13 carries for 56 yards, one rushing touchdown, and two catches for eight yards.
Wide receiver Deon Cain led the receivers with three catches for 116 yards and one touchdown, while Jordan Thomas made one catch for 35 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 50 tackles, eight tackles for loss, four sacks, three interceptions, and seven pass breakups.
Next Saturday, the St. Louis Battlehawks visit the D.C. Defenders at 12:30 pm on ABC, while the Birmingham Stallions host the Orlando Storm at 4 pm on Fox.
