This is the second meeting this season between the Battlehawks and Vipers and a rematch of a Week 6 contest in Las Vegas that St. Louis won 29-6.
The St. Louis Battlehawks return to The Dome at America’s Center, where they will complete the regular season with a three-game homestand. Watch for the home crowd to buoy their efforts every game as the season windows down.
Meanwhile, the Vegas Vipers, sit in fourth place in the XFL North Division and a win does not get them into playoff contention. With zero chances of making the playoffs they are playing for pride.
What should we look for?
The Battlehawks never trailed Sunday in a 24-15 victory in their road finale over the Houston Roughnecks at TDECU Stadium in Houston. QB A.J. McCarron threw three touchdowns, including a 14-yard strike to WR Gary Jennings to put St. Louis in front, 6-0, with 4:18 left in the first quarter. The Roughnecks tied the game, 6-6, with a touchdown three plays into the second quarter, but St. Louis responded with both a touchdown and a two-point conversion catch by Hakeem Butler to move in front, 14-6. After a Houston field goal narrowed the margin to 14-9, Donny Hageman closed out the first half with an XFL record, 59-yard field goal to extend the lead to eight points. Houston rallied with a touchdown in the fourth quarter to close to within two points of St. Louis, but McCarron then led the Battlehawks offense on an 11-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass to WR Darrius Shepherd. RB Brian Hill scored on the one-point conversion attempt with a 1-yard rush to give St. Louis its winning nine-point margin.
The St. Louis defense allowed its fewest yards of the season when it limited Houston to 228 yards of total offense in Week 7. St. Louis has held opponents to 15 points or fewer in three of its last four games, and the Battlehawks are 5-0 when they allow fewer than 20 points. The defensive corps also ranks third in the league with 306 tackles on the year. LB Willie Harvey leads the team with 39 tackles, which are the fifth most in the XFL. LB Travis Feeney had a pair of tackles for loss in Week 7 at Houston to tie LB Carson Wells for the team lead with five tackles for loss on the season. Feeney also recorded a sack for the second consecutive game and leads the team with 3.5 sacks for the year.
The Battlehawks defense leads the XFL with 16 takeaways, including a league-high nine via fumble this season. DL Kevin Atkins, DB Ben DeLuca and LB Travis Feeney are three of the six players with a league-high two fumble recoveries on the season. Feeney and DL LaCale London are tied for second in the league with two forced fumbles each. DBs Lavert Hill and Nate Meadors are T-4th in the league with a team-high two interceptions each. The Battlehawks have forced multiple turnovers in six of their seven games and hold a 16-11 turnover margin for the season.
Vegas earned its second victory of the season in its final game of the year at Cashman Field. The 19 points that Vegas scored in the first half were the most the team has scored in any half this season. In addition, Vegas pitched its first shutout of a second half this season and it was the second time that they have held an opponent scoreless in either a first or second half.
Jalan McClendon started the first professional game of his career and finished 21-of-31 for 246 yards and two touchdowns. Look for McClendon to attempt to continue on right where he left off. Last week, Vegas covered 2.5 points as the favorite and is now 2-4-1 against the spread this season. The final combined score in the game was 38 points, falling under the 38.5 over/under line for the game and Vegas is now 5-2-0 against the over/under line. Deontay Anderson recorded his first interception of the season
The Vegas Vipers have scored on their first or second offensive possession in five of their seven games this season. The only games where they didn’t score on either their first or second possession was against DC in Week 4 and against St. Louis in Week 6. Houston was the only team this season to score on each of it’s first possessions through Week 4, but failed to do so against Seattle in Week 5 and against St. Louis in Week 7, giving the Roughnecks five opening possession scores this year. Orlando has also scored on it’s opening possession five times this season. DC, San Antonio and Arlington have each scored on its opening possession three times. Seattle has scored on their opening possession twice, while St. Louis has done so once.
Conclusion
With at least 20 points in six straight games, the Battlehawks rank second in the league with 23.3 points-per-game. Vegas, meanwhile, has allowed 25.0 points-per-game, which are the most in the XFL North and second-most in the league. With a home field crowd behind them, St. Louis will take this game and they may even cover the spread. Look for the Battlehawks to quell the Vegas offense, making an O/U of 46 seem high.
