It’s week four of the XFL season and the St. Louis Battlehawks finally played their first home game when they hosted the Renegades on Sunday afternoon. All we can say is, “What took so long?” This battle of 2-1 teams might play out to be the most entertaining game of the week. XFL week four. In a matchup of second place teams, each will be attempting the win just to stay competitive in their divisions.
In week three, the Battlehawks lost to the league leading DC Defenders in a high-scoring 34-28 game. As for the Renegades, they managed to eke out a close 10-9 win over a hapless Orlando Guardians squad. Certainly, different experiences for each team, but both are coming off winning efforts.
It was loud in the Dome. The St. Louis fans came out to support the home team, and hopes were high they would see a Battlehawks win.
Arlington took the kickoff, and because of crowd noise quarterback Kyle Sloter had to use silent count to snap the ball. Sloter’s first pass was successful to Sal Cannella for 8-yards. De’Veon Smith carried the ball on 2nd down to get the first down for the Renegades. Sloter racked up two more first downs before crowd noise made it impossible for him to get a play called, and Arlington called a time-out. On 4th and 2 on the St. Louis 45-yard line, the Renegades could not get the yards and they turned the ball over on downs.
St. Louis quarterback A.J McCarron took over and immediately handed to Brian Hill for an 8-yard rush into Renegades territory. A pass to Steven Mitchell deep on the sidelines was dropped, but a hand off to Hill gave the Battlehawks a 15-yard gain to the Arlington 20. St. Louis could not put it in the end zone and settled for a 28-yard Donald Hageman field goal, which made the score 3-0 for St. Louis.
Arlington’s Kenneth Farrow returned the kickoff, but a holding call brought the ball back to the Arlington 15. Sloter went three and out and the Renegades had to punt.
McCarron took over on the St. Louis 38 to begin his drive. An 18-yard pass to Darrius Shepherd moved the chains to the Arlington 44-yard line. On 3rd down the Renegades defense stuffed Brian Hill for a loss. The Battlehawks were forced to punt.
Sloter began a drive on the Arlington 11 and was able to get two first downs before the quarter ended. At the end of the 1st quarter the Battlehawks led 3-0.
The Battlehawks defense stiffened and Arlington was forced to punt. Austin Proehl took the fair catch on the St. Louis 14-yard line.
A long pass up the middle to Hakeem Butler was dropped. The Battlehawks could not move the ball and had to punt after going three and out.
A short punt and a penalty put Kyle Sloter and the Renegades on the St. Louis 40-yard line. The St. Louis defense pressured Sloter. On 4th and 3 a pass to Sal Canella was tipped and picked off by Tre Watson and downed on the St. Louis 26.
McCarron had a decent drive until the Renegades Joe Powell picked him off and returned the ball to the St. Louis 23. Sloter could not get any yards, and the Renegades settled for a 37-yard Taylor Russolino field goal to tie the game 3-3.
The Battlehawks took over on their own 33. McCarron handed to Durant twice for a first down. A pass to Brian Hill for 6-yards, and then a 3-yard run by Hill put the Battlehawks at third and 1 just in time for the two minute warning.
McCarron connected an 11-yard pass to Austin Proehl for a St. Louis first down on the Arlington 37. A holding penalty aided the Battlehawks drive. Then, McCarron passed 27-yards to a wide open Darrius Shepherd for the Battlehawks touchdown. A 2-point conversion pass to Brian Hill was good, making the score 11-3 for St. Louis.
At the half the Battlehawks led the Renegades 11-3.
The Battlehawks took the Russolino kickoff and returned the ball to the St. Louis 23. A. J. McCarron handed to Brian Hill twice for some good gains and a first down. Unfortunately, Arlington’s defense put pressure on the Battlehawks and they were forced to punt.
Kyle Sloter began his drive on the Arlington 27 but could not move the ball. The Renegades punted back to the Battlehawks.
McCarron started a drive on the St. Louis 32-yard line. The drive was aided by an 11-yard pass to Hakeem Butler, a 20-yard pass to Brian Hill, and a 19 yard pass to Steven Mitchell. The drive was capped by a Brian Hill 15-yard rush for another Battlehawks touchdown. The 2-point conversion attempt failed making the score 17-3 for the Battlehawks.
It was important for Kyle Sloter and the Renegades to get something going on a drive that began on the Arlington 26. On third and 13 Sloter connected to Tyler Vaughns for a 17-yard catch. Then, another pass intended for Tyler Vaughns was picked off by Nate Meadors and returned 20-yards to the Renegades 42.
The Battlehawks went three and out and were forced to punt. Sloter took over deep in his own end on the Arlington 13. A pass to Nate Becker gave the Renegades a 1st down. Another pass to Brandon Arconado took the Renegades to the 39-yard line. Then, a 41-yard pass to Caleb Vander Esch gave Sloter a first down on the St. Louis 20.
At the end of the third quarter the score was 17-3 for the Battlehawks.
The crowd noise became deafening. A 14-yard pass to Tyler Vaughns put the ball on the St. Louis 5-yard line. After a 4-yard pass to Kenneth Farrow, running back De’Veon Smith ran the ball 1-yard for an Arlington touchdown. A 2-point conversion pass to Sal Cannella was good, making the score 17-11 for the Battlehawks.
The Battlehawks fielded the kickoff on their 33-yard line. A 10-yard pass to Austin Proehl gave St. Louis a first down. A 15-yard pass to Darrius Shepherd moved the chains again. Then, a 25-yard pass to Hakeem Butler gave the Battlehawks another touchdown. A 1-point conversion pass to Jake Sutherland was good, to make the score 24-11 for St. Louis.
With a sense of urgency, Kyle Sloter began a Renegades drive on their own 23-yard line. A pass to LuJuan Winningham was aided by a roughing the passer call that gave the Renegades a first down. Now in St. Louis territory, Sloter connected to Sal Canella for another first down. Then, a pass to Caleb Vander Esch moved the chains to the St. Louis 27. The Battlehawks defense stepped up and sacked Sloter on 4th and 9, to turn over the ball on downs.
McCarron kept the ball on the ground, running down the clock past the two-minute warning. On 4th and short St. Louis turned over the ball on the Arlington 39-yard line with 1:15 remaining. Sloter connected to Sal Cannella for a first down near mid field. Then, Sloter was intercepted by Silas Kelly giving the Battlehawks the ball on the St. Louis 49-yard line.
A.J. McCarron went into victory formation and ran out the clock.
The final score was St. Louis 24, Arlington 11.
Box scores – Statistics Summary
Scoring
1 2 3 4 F
ARL 0 3 0 8 11
STL 3 8 6 7 24
------ ARLINGTON RENEGADES ------
Passing
PLAYER C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT LONG SCK-YDS
Kyle Sloter 23/39 205 5.3 0 3 41 1 - 14
Rushing
PLAYER CAR YDS AVG TD LONG
De'Veon Smith 9 24 2.7 1 5
Kenneth Farrow 4 14 3.5 0 6
Kyle Sloter 1 11 11.0 0 11
Adrian Killins 1 0 0.0 0 0
TEAM TOTAL 15 49 3.3 1 11
Receiving
PLAYER REC YDS AVG TD LONG TGTS
Caleb Vander Esch 2 48 24.0 0 41 5
Tyler Vaughns 4 45 11.3 0 17 6
Sal Cannella 6 40 6.7 0 13 9
Brandon Arconado 3 35 11.7 0 16 6
LuJuan Winningham 2 10 5.0 0 6 3
Kenneth Farrow 2 8 4.0 0 4 2
Jordan Smallwood 1 7 7.0 0 7 2
De'Veon Smith 2 6 3.0 0 7 4
Nate Becker 1 6 6.0 0 6 2
TEAM TOTAL 23 205 8.9 0 41 39
Fumbles
PLAYER FUM LOST REC
Kyle Sloter 1 1 0
Defensive
PLAYER SOLO AST TOT SACKS-YDS TFL INT FF FR
Donald Payne 2 10 12.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Darnell Sankey 3 6 9.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Colin Schooler 2 3 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Josiah Coatney 1 4 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 2.0 0 0 0
Joe Powell 1 3 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 1 0 0
Will Clarke 2 2 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Shakur Brown 0 3 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Will Hill 2 1 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
De Vante Bausby 1 2 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Willie Taylor 1 2 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
T.J. Barnes 0 3 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Tomasi Laulile 1 1 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Darren Evans 1 1 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Brandon Rusnak 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Jamar Johnson 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Bruce Hector 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Bunmi Rotimi 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Isaiah Graham-Mobley 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTAL 22 43 65.0 0.0 - 0.0 4.0 1 0 0
Interceptions
PLAYER INT YDS TD
Joe Powell 1 33 0
Punt Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Joe Powell 2 17 8.5 10 0
Kick Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Kenneth Farrow 4 83 20.8 23 0
Adrian Killins 1 33 33.0 33 0
TEAM TOTAL 5 116 23.2 33 0
Punting
PLAYER NO YDS AVG TB IN-20 LONG
Marquette King 2 102 51.0 0 0 57
------ ST. LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS ------
Passing
PLAYER C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT LONG SCK-YDS
A. J. McCarron 20/27 214 7.9 2 1 27 0 - 0
Rushing
PLAYER CAR YDS AVG TD LONG
Brian Hill 18 89 4.9 1 15
Mataeo Durant 5 13 2.6 0 5
Kareem Walker 3 12 4.0 0 7
A. J. McCarron 2 -4 -2.0 0 -2
TEAM TOTAL 28 110 3.9 1 15
Receiving
PLAYER REC YDS AVG TD LONG TGTS
Darrius Shepherd 8 91 11.4 1 27 8
Hakeem Butler 5 52 10.4 1 25 6
Austin Proehl 4 26 6.5 0 11 6
Brian Hill 2 26 13.0 0 20 3
Steven Mitchell 1 19 19.0 0 19 3
Mataeo Durant 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
TEAM TOTAL 20 214 10.7 2 27 27
Fumbles
FUM LOST REC
0 0 0
Defensive
PLAYER SOLO AST TOT SACKS-YDS TFL INT FF FR
Mike Hampton 6 1 7.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Willie Harvey 1 6 7.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Mike Rose 2 3 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Elorm Lumor 1 3 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Travis Feeney 2 2 4.0 0.5 - 7.0 1.0 0 1 1
Lukas Denis 2 1 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
LaCale London 1 2 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Carson Wells 0 3 3.0 0.5 - 7.0 1.0 0 0 0
Ben DeLuca 1 2 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Jonathan Alexander 2 1 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Tre Watson 0 3 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 1 0 0
Nate Meadors 1 2 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 1 0 0
Lavert Hill 1 1 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Freedom Akinmoladun 0 2 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Lakiem Williams 1 1 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Silas Kelly 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 1 0 0
Gelen Robinson 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Chris Cooper 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTAL 23 34 57.0 1.0 - 14.0 4.0 3 1 1
Interceptions
PLAYER INT YDS TD
Tre Watson 1 0 0
Nate Meadors 1 20 0
Silas Kelly 1 0 0
TEAM TOTAL 3 20 0
Punt Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Austin Proehl 2 25 12.5 15 0
Kick Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Darrius Shepherd 3 63 21.0 26 0
Punting
PLAYER NO YDS AVG TB IN-20 LONG
Sterling Hofrichter 4 135 33.8 0 2 39
------ TEAM STATS ------
TEAM STATS ARL STL
TOTAL PLAYS 55 55
TOTAL YARDS 240 324
YARDS PER PLAY 4.4 5.9
FIRST DOWNS 14 20
FIRST DOWNS PASSING 11 12
FIRST DOWNS RUSHING 2 7
FIRST DOWNS PENALTY 1 1
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 36.4% 25.0%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 0.0% 0.0%
TOTAL PASSING YARDS 191 214
PASS COMPLETIONS 23 20
PASS ATTEMPTS 39 27
INTERCEPTIONS THROWN 3 1
YARDS PER PASS 4.9 7.9
PASSING TOUCHDOWNS 0 2
SACKS ALLOWED 1 0
SACK YARDS LOST 14 0
TOTAL RUSHING YARDS 49 110
RUSH ATTEMPTS 15 28
YARDS PER RUSH 3.3 3.9
RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS 1 1
PENALTIES 6 4
TURNOVERS 4 1
FUMBLES 1 0
DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS 0 0
SPECIAL TEAMS TDS 0 0
POSSESSION 28:55 31:05
