This game marks the third meeting between the Renegades and Battlehawks, with St. Louis winning both of the previous matchups. The first game was on March 1, 2020 at Choctaw Stadium (15-9) and the second game was on March 12, 2023 at The Dome At America’s Center (24-11).
This is the first time the teams have clashed as conference foes. St. Louis and Arlington resided in opposite conferences in both the 2020 and 2023 XFL seasons. St. Louis finished the 2023 season 7-3 and missed the XFL playoffs. Arlington won the 2023 XFL Championship after going 4-6 in the regular season.
Arlington and St. Louis are also scheduled to meet again during the 2024 regular season on Saturday, May 25 in Arlington.
As the game began, the crowd noise in The Dome was overwhelming. The league later announced an attendance of 40,317, which set a record for attendance at a modern spring football league game.
Arlington’s Taylor Russolino kicked off 69 yards and Darrius Shepherd returned the ball to the St. Louis 42-yard line. A.J. McCarron went three-and-out and the Battlehawks were forced to punt.
Perez started a drive on the Arlington 9-yard line, and made one first down with a Tyler Vaughns reception, but the drive stalled and the Renegades were also forced to punt.
After the punt, A.J. McCarron was backed up inside his own 10. A handoff to Mataeo Durant was good for one yard, and a pass to Darrius Shepherd made 2 yards. On third down, a 23-yard pass to Marcell Ateman gave the Battlehawks a first down on their own 33.
A pass to Hakeem Butler was incomplete, and then a Gallman run made 5 yards. A 14-yard pass to Ateman took the ball past midfield. On first down, McCarron rolled out and could not find a receiver, so he ran to the sideline for a 5-yard gain. An unnecessary roughness call against Arlington’s Myles Dorn gave the Battlehawks 15 yards and a first down on the Arlington 28.
A Durant rush went nowhere, and then McCarron’s pass to Ateman was well defended and not caught. On third down, McCarron was sacked for a 7-yard loss and the Battlehawks were forced to attempt an Andre Szmyt 53-yard field goal, which was no good.
The score remained 0-0 as the first quarter ended.
Starting a drive at the Arlington 43, Perez’s first pass was batted down and landed back in his arms for no gain. Then, Perez passed incomplete, and then was sacked for an 8-yard loss. The Renegades had to punt.
Darrius Shepherd returned the Marquette punt to the St. Louis 28. McCarron passed complete to Hakeem Butler for 13-yards to the 41, and then handed to Durant for 5 more yards. Another handoff to Durant saw him break into the secondary for a 16-yard gain, and then a 15-yard pass to Shepherd put the ball on the Arlington 23-yard line. A 24-yard pass to Marcell Ateman saw him run the ball into the end zone for a Battlehawks touchdown. In the two-point conversion attempt, McCarron rolled out and tossed to Shepherd for the points. The score was now 8-0 for St. Louis.
The Szmyt kickoff went 69 yards and was returned by Manigo to the Arlington 47. Perez handed to Leddie Brown for a 3-yard gain, and then passed to Sal Cannella for 4 yards more. A catch by Payton on the St. Louis 46 moved the markers. Perez passed 12 yards to Tyler Vaughns to move the markers to the 25, and then a Brown run lost two yards. Perez passed to Caleb Vander Esch for 14 yards to the St. Louis 13. A Lyndsey Scott 7-yard keeper was followed by another Scott run that put the ball into the end zone for a touchdown. On the two-point conversion attempt, Perez flipped the ball to Vaughns, and he threw it to a wide open Leddie Brown for the points. The score was now tied 8-8.
After the kickoff, McCarron started a drive on his own 35. He passed to Butler for 5 yards, and then threw incomplete. On third down McCarron was sacked, but a defensive holding call gave the Battlehawks a first down. McCarron handed to Durant and he ran 16 yards right up the middle. A second Durant run only made 4 yards, and then a 32-yard pass to Darrius Shepherd put the ball on the 1-yard line.
After the two-minute warning, McCarron handed the ball to Mataeo Durant for a 1-yard run and the touchdown. The two-point conversion pass attempt was batted down, making the score 14-8 for St. Louis.
After the Szmyt kickoff, the Renegades started on their own 29. Perez passed to De’Veon Smith for 5 yards and then passed to Vander Esch. An illegal formation call against Arlington moved the ball back 5 yards. A 15-yard pass to Smith gave the Renegades a first down. A pass intended for Deontay Burnett was incomplete, but Bob Stoops challenged the play for defensive pass interference and he won the challenge. The ball was spotted on the St. Louis 41-yard line with 0:48 remaining.
Perez passed 12-yards to Payton and then connected a pass to Burnett, but he was called for illegal motion and was penalized 5 yards. With the clock running down, Perez could not connect passes to Winstead and Vaughns. The Renegades were forced to attempt a 52-yard Taylor Russolino field goal and he was good to make the score 14-11 for St. Louis at half time.
To start the second half, Szmyt kicked off 70 yards and Arlington’s Manigo returned the ball to the St. Louis 45-yard line. St. Louis’s defense stood up strong and Perez went three-and-out.
McCarron started his drive on the St. Louis 25. He passed 6 yards to Shepherd and then was sacked for a 7-yard loss. On third down, McCarron passed 18-yards to Bradley on the sideline for the first down. A handoff to Durant was good for 6 yards, and then another handoff to Durant made 2 yards more. On third and 1, McCarron lost 1 yard, and then passed to Butler for a 6-yard gain on fourth down.
McCarron hit Shepherd for a 5-yard pass. On 4th and 6 from the Arlington 38-yard line, a pass to Shepherd was well defended and the ball was turned over on downs. St. Louis head coach Anthony Becht challenged the play for defensive holding and lost the challenge.
Luis Perez started off by throwing to Tyler Vaughns for a 13-yard gain to just past midfield. On third down, Perez completed a pass to Payton on the St. Louis 32. Perez then setup a screen and passed to Leddie Brown for 12 yards and another first down. Then, Perez threw to Vaughns in the end zone which went incomplete, but drew a defensive pass interference call. The ball was spotted on the 5-yard line.
St. Louis fans did not like the pass interference call and pelted the field with beverage containers.
A Lyndsey Scott quarterback sneak lost 2 yards, and then a 6-yard pass to Sal Cannella in the end zone was caught for an Arlington major. The one-point conversion attempt failed, making the score 17-14 for Arlington.
Darrius Shepherd returned the kickoff to the St. Louis 47. A.J. McCarron then passed 53 yards to Marcell Ateman for a St. Louis touchdown. The one-point conversion attempt was successful on a Durant 2-yard run. The score was now 21-17 for St. Louis.
After the kickoff, Perez started a drive on the Arlington 18-yard line. Tyler Vaughns caught a 14-yard pass as the third quarter ended.
Perez passed 43-yards to Payton on the St. Louis 25, and then handed to De’Veon Smith for a 6-yard gain. On second down, Perez kept the ball and lost 2 yards, and then he passed to Burnett for 10 yards and a first down on the St. Louis 12-yard line. De’Veon Smith ran for 7 yards, and another run by Smith was good for 2 more yards. On the next play, Smith ran the remaining 3 yards for the touchdown. The one point conversion was good when Perez handed the ball to Lyndsey Scott and he passed to Vaughns in the end zone. The score was now 24-21 for Arlington.
Sutherland returned the Russolino kickoff to the St. Louis 37-yard line. A 4-yard catch by Durant was followed by a 4 yard catch by Shepherd. On third down, Durant was dropped for a 1-yard loss. On fourth and 2, McCarron saw pressure, but managed to pass complete to Shepherd for a 16-yard gain on the Arlington 39-yard line.
McCarron passed incomplete to Butler, and then passed to Shepherd for 6 yards. A 3-yard pass to Blake Jackson was six inches short of the first down. The Battlehawks opted to attempt a 47-yard Szmyt field goal, which was good, tying the score at 24 apiece.
With 6:47 remaining, Szmyt kicked off 70 yards and Manigo returned the ball to the Arlington 35-yard line. Perez handed to Brown for 8 yards, and then handed to Brown again for no gain. A pass to Brown gained 4 yards and moved the chains.
Another handoff to Brown made 9 yards, and then a 10-yard pass to Vaughns moved the markers to the St. Louis 32. A pass to Payton gained 2 yards, and then a handoff to Brown was only good for a short 2-yard gain. On third and 6, Perez passed incomplete to Vaughns as the two-minute warning arrived.
A 46-yard Taylor Russolino field goal attempt was unsuccessful, keeping the score tied at 24.
McCarron started a drive on the St. Louis 36. He threw incomplete to Ateman, and then incomplete to Shepherd. On third down, McCarron nearly threw an interception, but a defensive pass interference penalty gave the Battlehawks a first down on the Arlington 49.
McCarron handed to Durant who ran 41-yards to the Arlington 11-yard line. Another handoff to Durant made 7 yards, and Durant ran again, this time for 2 yards to the Arlington 2-yard line. With 0:02 on the clock, McCarron grounded the ball on third down, and the Battlehawks prepared for a Szmyt field goal to win the game.
Andre Szmyt kicked a 23-yard field goal to win the game 27-24 for the St. Louis Battlehawks.
2 thoughts on “Game Summary: Arlington Renegades at St. Louis Battlehawks, Saturday April 6, 2024”
Does anybody know what happened to the tight end Sternberger from Birmingham? Is he in the doghouse or cut or what? Anybody have information on him I can’t find anything? Thanks.
Does anybody know what happened to the tight end Sternberger from Birmingham? Is he in the doghouse or cut or what? Anybody have information on him I can’t find anything? Thanks.
He was thrown two passes on Sunday, both incomplete. That is all there is in his stat line.