St. Louis Battlehawks get the win over the San Antonio Brahmas

Jake Sutherland #84 of the St. Louis Battlehawks scores a two point conversion against Scott Nelson #21 of the San Antonio Brahmas during the second quarter in the game at Alamodome on April 14, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by CJ Halloran/UFL/Getty Images)

The St. Louis Battlehawks moved into a tie atop the XFL Conference with a 31-24 win Sunday over the San Antonio Brahmas with 11,790 fans in attendance at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

The St. Louis (2-1) defense preserved the seven-point winning margin when it stopped the Brahmas’(2-1) final drive at the St. Louis 44 yard line after the 11-play march ended on a 4th-and-4 incompletion with 16 seconds left. St. Louis now sits in first place along with San Antonio and the D.C. Defenders (2-1).

The Brahmas made it a one-possession game with 2 minutes, 15 seconds to play when QB Chase Garbers connected with TE Alizé Mack on a 2-yard touchdown pass. However, St. Louis RB Jacob Saylors had pushed the Battlehawks’ lead to 31-18 on their previous drive with 8:39 left in the game when he scoredon a 19-yard rush followed by a 5-yard catch for a two-point conversion.

San Antonio had closed to within two points, 20-18, when RB Anthony McFarland Jr. rushed for an 8-yard touchdown with 2:03 left in the third quarter. Battlehawks K Andre Szmyt then padded the St. Louis lead on the following possession with a 46-yard kick to extend the lead to 23-18 with 12:11 left in the game.

The teams traded field goals to begin the second half. San Antonio K Ryan Santoso hit a 32-yard field goal with 11:38 to play in the third quarter to shave St. Louis’ lead to 17-12, but Szmyt made a season-long, 54-yard field goal to restore the team’s eight-point margin with 7:05 left in the third quarter.

The Battlehawks entered halftime with a 17-9 advantage after Szmyt drilled a 44-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. WR Darrius Shepherd gave the Battlehawks possession at the San Antonio 45 yard line with a game-high, 43-yard kick return. The Brahmas had cut the Battlehawks’ lead to 14-9 with 1:57 left before halftime when RB John Lovett reached the end zone on a 2-yard rush.

QB A.J. McCarron punctuated St. Louis’ first offensive drive of the game with a 10-yard touchdown rush with 4:33 left in the first quarter. His scamper put St. Louis ahead, 6-3. WR Hakeem Butler then caught his first touchdown reception of the season on a 20-yard catch with 11:05 left in the second quarter.

McCarron completed a shuffle pass to TE Jake Sutherland for a two-point conversion that ran St. Louis’ lead to 14-3. San Antonio also scored on its first drive of the game with a 35-yard field goal by Santoso that put the Brahmas briefly in front, 3-0, with 10:25 left in the first quarter.

The Battlehawks will play their second home game of the season in Week 4 when they take on the Memphis Showboats at 11:30 a.m. CT on Saturday, April 20 at The Dome at America’s Center. The contest will be broadcast on ABC and simulcast on ESPN Xtra on SiriusXM Radio.

POSTGAME NOTES

QB A.J. McCarron notched his first rushing touchdown of the season and second of his Battlehawks career with a 10-yard run in the first quarter. He was 19-for-27 with 152 passing yards and a touchdown pass to go with 21 rushing yards.
WR Hakeem Butler caught his first touchdown pass of the season on a 20-yard reception with 11:06 left in the second quarter. Butler led the XFL in 2023 with eight touchdown receptions. He finished with a game-high 87 receiving yards on six catches, including a game-high 33-yard reception on 3rd-and-17 on the final play of the third quarter.
WR Darrius Shepherd had a game-high, 43-yard kick return to begin the Battlehawks’ final drive of the first half and a season-high 32-yard punt return with 10:21 left in the fourth quarter. He entered the game as the UFL leader in all-purpose yards and has had a kick return of at least 31 yards in each of his three games this season.
RB Jacob Saylors led the Battlehawks with 62 rushing yards on seven attempts, including a game-high, 25-yard rush on the first play of the fourth quarter. He also scored his first touchdown with the Battlehawks on a 19-yard rush with 8:39 left in regulation followed by a two-point conversion that put St. Louis up, 31-18.
MLB Willie Harvey had a career-high 12 tackles and his team-leading third pass breakup of the season. He leads the team with 24 tackles for the season.
MLB Callahan O’Reilly tallied 12 tackles, including a game-high six solo tackles, for his second straight game with at least seven tackles.
Harvey and O’Reilly tied 2020 Battlehawks DB Will Hill for the second-most tackles in a single game in franchise history, behind only LB Terence Garvin’s 16 tackles on March 8, 2020, at the D.C. Defenders.
K Andre Szmyt made a season-long, 54-yard field goal with 7:05 left in the third quarter to give St. Louis a 20-12 lead. Szmyt finished 3-for-3 in field goal attempts for the game and is 6-for-7 on the season.