In game two of the inaugural United Football League season, the St. Louis Battlehawks finally had a chance to meetup with a former USFL squad when they traveled to Ford Field in Detroit to meet the Michigan Panthers. This was the first time either of these teams had met.
We expected a thrilling matchup between two teams who were aware of how important it would be to start off the short 10-week UFL season with a win. Oddsmakers had the Battlehawks as heavy favorites, but they probably weren’t expecting the defensive battle that took place.
Andre Szmyt kicked off 65 yards for the Battlehawks and Devin Ross returned the ball to the Michigan 41-yard line. E.J. Perry passed incomplete to Cole Hikutini, and then handed to Wes Hill for a 4-yard loss. Then a strong Battlehawks defense forced a Perry fumble which was recovered by the Battlehawks at the Michigan 43. However, a face masking penalty overturned the fumble and Michigan retained possession with a first down.
Perry handed to Hills for no gain, and then passed to Hills again for a loss of one yard. On third down a pass to Hightower was incomplete and the Panthers were forced to punt. Shepherd caught the punt with a fair catch at the St. Louis 43.
A.J. McCarron passed short left complete to Gallman for a 4-yard gain, then he was sacked for 7-yard loss. On third down McCarron’s pass fell incomplete and the Battlehawks went three-and-out. Hofrichter’s punt was returned to the St. Louis 44-yard line.
Perry’s first down pass was intercepted by Rose who was tackled on the St. Louis 33-yard line.
McCarron handed to Blake Jackson who rushed 15 yards to the St. Louis 48. A pass to Butler was incomplete and then a run by Gallman made 4 yards. A pass to Shepherd was short of the first down and the Battlehawks punted.
Perry started a drive on his own 7 yard line by handing to Matthew Colburn for a 1-yard gain. A pass to Colburn fell incomplete, and then a pass to Simms was also incomplete. The Panthers punted.
On first down, McCarron was sacked for a 5-yard loss. Then, he handed to Saylors for a 5-yard gain, and a pass to Jackson was incomplete on third down. The Battlehawks punted.
Starting on his own 18-yard line, Perry passed to Simms for an 8-yard gain, and then handed to Hills for a 4-yard run and a first down. Perry passed 4-yards to Ross and then to Quinn for an 11-yard gain that moved the markers. On the final play of the first quarter Perry handed to Hills for an 18-yard run.
There was no score at the end of the first quarter.
Perry rushed for 3 yards, and then handed to Hill for 5 yards more. On third down, Perry scrambled but was dropped for a 5-yard loss. The Panthers were forced to punt.
McCarron handed to Gallman for a pickup of 2 yards, and then passed to Marcell Ateman for 5 yards. On third down, a McCarron pass to Gallman was incomplete, forcing the Battlehawks to punt.
Perry handed to Colburn for a 3-yard run, and then passed to Oakes for a gain of 6 yards. A handoff to Colburn was good for 3 yards and a first down. Then, Perry passed deep right 42 yards complete to Devin Ross at the St. Louis 32-yard line. On the next play, Perry passed into the end zone but his pass was tipped and the ball landed in the hands of Qwynnterrio Cole for a Battlehawks interception.
McCarron took over and passed 13-yards for Jake Sutherland, and then handed to Saylors twice for short gains. A 6-yard pass to Darrius Shepherd gave the Battlehawks a first down.
A pass to Hakeem Butler was good for 14-yards, moving the ball to the St. Louis 45. Then, an 11-yard sideline pass to Marcell Ateman was good to move the chains. A short pass to Blake Jackson was good for 9 more yards, and then an offensive holding call stunted the Battlehawks drive, moving the ball back 10 yards. A 12-yard Wayne Gallman run gave St. Louis a first down as the two-minute warning was announced.
McCarron passed 8 yards to Ateman and then to Gallman for 2 yards and a first down. From the 22-yard line, McCarron took a shot at the end zone on first down but was incomplete. Then, McCarron passed complete to Ja’Marcus Bradley but he made zero yards.
With 0:01 on the clock, Andre Szymt attempted 36-yard field goal which was good, making the score 3-0 for the Battlehawks at halftime.
The third quarter began with a 78-yard Jake Bates kickoff which was returned to the Battlehawks 32-yard line. McCarron handed to Gallman who rushed 3 yards, and then McCarron was pressured and sacked for a loss. A defensive offside penalty cancelled the sack. Another handoff to Gallman was shut down for a 1-yard loss, and then an 8-yard pass to Shepherd moved the chains.
On second and ten, Daniel Wise was not blocked and he sacked McCarron handily. A 9-yard pass to Hakeem Butler on the sideline was deemed a catch, however the Battlehawks had to punt on fourth and 6. The punt was bobbled and there was no return.
The Panthers started on their own 7-yard line. E.J. Perry passed to Devin Gray for 6-yards and then to Quinn for 10 yards more and a first down. Then, Perry passed 30 yards for Marcus Simms to put the ball on the St. Louis 47, and a Perry pass complete to Cole Hikutini was good for a 42-yard gain to the St. Louis 4-yard line.
A handoff to Colburn did not get any yards, so Perry ran the ball right up the middle for a 4-yard touchdown. The one-point conversion was good on a 1-yard Colburn run. The Panthers now led 7-3.
Jake Bates kicked off 68 yards to the St. Louis 12. Darrius Shepherd returned the kickoff to the 32-yard line. McCarron handed to Gallman for 5 yards and then to Saylors for one more yard. On third down McCarron passed to Saylors for a 19-yard gain.
McCarron handed to Saylors for a short gain on the ground, and then he passed downfield to Sutherland for a 27-yard gain to the Michigan 14-yard line. A pass to Shepherd was good for 2 yards and then a pass to Ateman was good for 6 yards more. On third and 2, Saylors could only get one yard.
On fourth and 1, the third quarter ended with the score 7-3 for Michigan.
McCarron handed the ball to Gallman who was stopped for no gain. Michigan took over on downs on their own 5-yard line.
Perry handed to Wes Hills for no gain, and then handed to Hills again for a 17-yard run. Then, Perry passed incomplete to Quinn, and an offensive holding call negated a Perry run. On second and 20, Perry was sacked for an 8-yard loss. The Panthers could not get a first down and were forced to punt from their own end zone.
The Panthers were penalized on the punt for an ineligible man downfield, which caused the Panthers to have to re-punt even deeper in their end zone. Darrius Shepherd returned the punt to the Michigan 44-yard line.
McCarron started by handing to Saylors who was dropped for a loss. After an incomplete pass, McCarron passed 10-yards to Bradley, but a 15-yard face-masking penalty against the Panthers gave the Battlehawks a first down.
McCarron was pressured and scrambled and still managed to complete a pass to Shepherd for a 15-yard gain on the Michigan 5-yard line. A pass to Bradley was incomplete, and then a 5-yard pass to Jake Sutherland put the ball into the end zone. The two-point conversion pass attempt was incomplete, making the score 9-7 for St. Louis.
With 7:55 remaining in the game, Andre Szmyt kicked off 68 yards to the 12-yard line and Marcus Simms returned the ball back to the Michigan 44.
Perry handed to Wes Hills for an 18-yard run to the St. Louis 38. On the next play Hills ran 24 yards to the St. Louis 14. A third handoff to Hills only gained 1 yard. Perry kept the ball and scrambled for 5 yards, and then ran the remainder of the distance to the end zone on the next play for a Panthers touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt was successful with a pass to Devin Ross. The score was now 15-9 for Michigan.
Jake Bates kicked off 72 yards to the St. Louis 8 and Darrius Shepherd returned the ball 48 yards to the Michigan 44-yard line.
With 4:53 remaining, McCarron passed to Blake Jackson for 5 yards and then handed to Gallman for 3 more yards. On third down Gallman ran 7 yards for a first down on the Michigan 29.
McCarron handed to Gallman for zero gain and then passed incomplete on second down. On third down, a pass to Saylors slipped through his fingers as the two-minute warning arrived.
On fourth and ten, McCarron passed 25-yards to Marcell Ateman who caught the ball in double coverage at the Michigan 5-yard line. A pass to Shepherd was not caught inbounds and a run by Gallman was dropped for zero gain. On third down a pass to Gallman was incomplete.
On fourth and goal, a pass to Marcell Ateman just inside the end zone was good for the Battlehawks tying touchdown. The one-point conversion was good with a pass to Jake Sutherland. The score was now St. Louis 16, Michigan 15 with 0:49 remaining.
Andre Szmyt kicked off 65 yards to the Michigan 15 and Simms returned the ball to the 35-yard line. Colburn caught a 4 yard pass, and then Perry was pressured and threw incomplete on second down. An incomplete pass to Colburn on third down left the Panthers facing fourth and 6 at their own 39-yard line. A pass to Hightower was caught at the St. Louis 46.
With 0:19 remaining Perry spiked the ball to stop the clock. A pass to Suell was incomplete, and then Perry was pressured and threw incomplete to Colburn.
With 0:08 remaining, Jake Bates attempted a 64-yard field goal which was good, but the Battlehawks called a time out which nullified the kick. A second kick from 64-yards was also good giving the Panthers an 18-16 lead with 0:02 remaining.
The clock ran out as the Battlehawks attempted to run the return back for a touchdown.
The final score was Michigan Panthers 18, St. Louis Battlehawks 16.
