The Louisville Kings (6-4) and the St. Louis Battlehawks (6-4) played the final UFL Semi-Final game on Sunday night from The Dome at America’s Center, where the winner advances to the UFL United Bowl next Saturday.
In the first quarter, Louisville had the ball on the 26-yard line. Four plays later, running back James Robinson found an opening to score a 53-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead. The drive took four plays for 74 yards. For the rest of the first quarter, the two teams traded field goals.
St. Louis kicker Ramiz Ahmed made a 37-yard field goal, and Louisville kicker Tanner Brown made a 60-yard field goal. In the UFL, field goals for 60 yards or more are worth four points. The Kings led the Battlehawks 11-3 heading into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, St. Louis quarterback Luis Perez threw a 20-yard pass to Steven McBride to the 26-yard line. Four plays later, St. Louis running back Jarveon Howard scored a one-yard touchdown. The Battlehawks trailed the Kings 11-10 to conclude a 10-play drive for 67 yards.
Midway through the second quarter, Louisville quarterback Chandler Rogers fumbled the ball after being sacked by Travis Feeney on fourth down. St. Louis took over at the 48-yard line. Six plays later, Luis Perez threw a 17-yard pass to Jarveon Howard to the 12-yard line. On the next play, Perez threw a short pass to Blake Jackson for a 12-yard touchdown. The Battlehawks took a 17-11 lead that took six plays for 48 yards.
Late in the second quarter, Louisville quarterback Chandler Rogers threw the ball to Tyler Hudson, who then threw the ball into the endzone intended for Tarik Black, but it was intercepted by Myles Sims. The Battlehawks led the Kings 17-11 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Louisville had the ball on the 29-yard line. Three plays later, quarterback Chandler Rogers threw a 54-yard pass to Isaiah Winstead to the 11-yard line. Two plays later, Rogers threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Winstead to give the Kings an 18-17 lead. The drive took six plays for 89 yards.
Late in the third quarter, St. Louis moved the ball to the 27-yard line when kicker Ramiz Ahmed made a 45-yard field goal. The Battlehawks took a 20-18 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Louisville running back Ian Wheeler rushed for 11 yards to the 49-yard line. On the next play, Wheeler ran to his right side to score a 51-yard touchdown. The Kings took a 25-20 lead that took two plays for 62 yards.
St. Louis had the ball on the 35-yard line. They moved the ball to the 49-yard line. On fourth down, Louisville’s defense pressured Perez to throw an incomplete pass, and the Kings took over possession. Four plays into Louisville’s drive, quarterback Chandler Rogers rushed for 13 yards to the 45-yard line. Kicker Tanner Brown made a 63-yard field goal for a 29-20 lead. It was his second four-point field goal of the night.
St. Louis had the ball for the rest of the game. They moved the ball to the 20-yard line. On the next play, Luis Perez’s pass was intercepted in the endzone by Steele Chambers to end the game. The Kings defeated the Battlehawks 29-20. They will advance to the United Bowl against the D.C. Defenders next Saturday at 3 pm on ABC.
Louisville’s offense had 321 yards (162 passing yards, 168 rushing yards), 11 first downs, 1 for 1 in the redzone, and the team was penalized eight times. Quarterback Chandler Rogers completed 12 of 20 passes (60%) for 162 yards, one touchdown, and four carries for 19 yards. Running back Ian Wheeler had seven carries for 89 yards and one rushing touchdown, while James Robinson had seven carries for 51 yards and one rushing touchdown.
Wide receiver Isaiah Winstead made three catches for 66 yards and one touchdown, while Lucky Jackson made four catches for 38 yards. The defense had 65 tackles, five tackles for loss, four sacks, one interception, and eight pass breakups.
St. Louis had 332 yards on offense (249 passing yards, 107 rushing yards), 2 for 4 in the redzone, and the team was penalized eight times. Quarterback Luis Perez completed 27 of 45 passes (60%) for 249 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and one carry for -1 yard. Running back Jarveon Howard had 15 carries for 70 yards, one rushing touchdown, and six catches for 50 yards.
Wide receiver Steven McBride made six catches for 84 yards, while Blake Jackson made three catches for 27 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 36 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception, and one pass breakup.
