The St. Louis Battlehawks (6-3) visited Shell Energy Stadium on Sunday to close Week 9 of the UFL season in a rematch against the Houston Gamblers (3-6).
In the third quarter, Houston had the ball on the seven-yard line. Quarterback Hunter Dekkers fumbled the ball before scooping it up and throwing a touchdown pass to JaVonta Payton. Kicker John Hoyland missed the extra point. The Gamblers led 6-0 to conclude a three-play drive for 64 yards.
St. Louis had the ball on the 40-yard line. They moved the ball to the 25-yard line. Kicker Ramiz Ahmed missed a 43-yard field goal wide left. On the last play of the first quarter, Houston quarterback John Rhys Plumlee threw a short pass to Marcus Yarns for five yards to the 41-yard line. The Gamblers led the Battlehawks 6-0 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Houston moved the ball to the 11-yard line before kicker John Hoyland made a 28-yard field goal for a 9-0 lead. St. Louis had the ball on the 20-yard line. They moved the ball to the 27-yard line. On the next play, quarterback Luis Perez threw the ball to Jahcour Pearson for 22 yards before Eli Walker forced the ball out and Kary Vincent Jr. recovered it on the five-yard line. Houston went three-and-out.
St. Louis had the ball on the 39-yard line. Quarterback Luis Perez threw a 16-yard pass to Steven McBride to the 23-yard line. The Battlehawks reached the 18-yard line before kicker Ramiz Ahmed made a 36-yard field goal. St. Louis trailed Houston 9-3.
Houston’s offense moved the ball to the 20-yard line. On the next play, St. Louis defensive back Michael Ojemudia intercepted John Rhys Plumlee’s pass at the 32-yard line. Four plays later, quarterback Luis Perez threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Hakeem Butler to give the Battlehawks a 10-9 lead at halftime to conclude a four-play drive for 68 yards.
In the third quarter, Houston had good field position at the 31-yard line. Four plays later, quarterback John Rhys Plumlee threw a 44-yard pass to Jalen Moreno-Cropper to the four-yard line. On the next play, running back Kirk Merritt scored the touchdown. They went for a two-point conversion, but did not get it. Houston took a 15-10 lead to conclude a five-play drive for 69 yards.
St. Louis had the ball on the 31-yard line. On the seventh play, quarterback Luis Perez threw a 10-yard pass to Steven McBride to the 36-yard line. Running back Kylin James had two carries for 27 yards. Two players later, James scored a two-yard touchdown. Running back Jarveon Howard scored the two-point conversion to make 18-15 that concluded a 12-play drive for 69 yards.
Late in the third quarter, St. Louis had the ball on the 13-yard line. On the final play of the third quarter, Kevon Latulas rushed for seven yards to the 35-yard line. The Battlehawks led 18-15 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Luis Perez’s pass was intercepted by Major Burns. However, Houston quarterback John Rhys Plumlee threw a nine-yard pass to Jontre Kirklin before Jordan Williams forced the ball out and recovered it at the 46-yard line. St. Louis would go three-and-out.
Later in the fourth quarter, St. Louis moved the ball to the 16-yard line before kicker Ramiz Ahmed made a 34-yard field goal for a 21-15 lead. For the rest of the game, Houston’s offense moved the ball to the 36-yard line before St. Louis stopped them on fourth down. The Battlehawks defeated the Gamblers 21-15 to clinch a playoff spot, while Houston has been eliminated from playoff contention.
St. Louis had 342 yards on offense (239 passing yards, 111 rushing yards), 17 first downs, 1 for 3 in the redzone, and the team was penalized six times. Quarterback Luis Perez completed 26 of 39 passes (66.7%) for 239 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and six carries for 18 yards. Running back Jarveon Howard had 14 carries for 55 yards, while Kylin James had six carries for 31 yards and one rushing touchdown.
Wide receiver Steven McBride made six catches for 76 yards, while Hakeem Butler made four catches for 60 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 46 tackles, four tackles for loss, four sacks, one interception, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.
Houston’s offense had 288 yards (182 passing yards, 142 rushing yards), 16 first downs, 2 for 3 in the redzone, and the team was penalized three times. Quarterback Hunter Dekkers completed 4 of 8 passes (50%) for 51 yards and one touchdown, while John Rhys Plumlee completed 11 of 21 passes (52.4%) for 131 yards, one interception, and three carries for 29 yards.
Running back Marcus Yarns had 13 carries for 98 yards, while Kirk Merritt had five carries for 15 yards and one rushing touchdown. Wide receiver Jalen Moreno-Cropper made four catches for 103 yards, and JaVonta Payton made one catch for seven yards and one touchdown. The defense made 62 tackles, seven tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, four pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Next week is the UFL regular-season finale. The St. Louis Battlehawks host the Dallas Renegades on Friday at 8 pm on Fox, while the Houston Gamblers visit the Birmingham Stallions on Saturday at 3 pm on ESPN2.
