St. Louis Battlehawks defensive lineman Taniela Tupou #91 (Twitter)
Thursday, February 23rd, at 9:00 pm ET (6:00 PM PT)
Lumen Field, Seattle, WA
Attendance: 10,386
Broadcaster: FX, ESPN+
Announcers: Lowell Galindo, Sam Acho, Ian Fitzsimmons & Taylor McGregor
Week 2 of the XFL season kicked off on Thursday with a prime time matchup between the Battlehawks and the Sea Dragons at a wintery Lumen Field. Both teams were on a quick turnaround, playing four days ago.
St. Louis is coming off a road win in the Alamodome where they beat the San Antonio Brahmas in a come from behind victory. After doing virtually nothing for the first 57 minutes of the game, the Battlehawks offence eventually got going, scoring two touchdowns (and a three-point conversion) on the game’s final two drives with the help of the XFL’s new onside kick option. Although quarterback A.J. McCarron’s stats for the game (18-for-26, 190 yards, and two touchdowns) were lackluster, he made the right plays at the right time to win the game.
Last week, Seattle lost to the D.C. Defenders on the road, and twice showed they were unable to hold onto a lead. After a strong start, the Sea Dragons were ahead 18-8 after three quarters, but the Defenders scored the final 14 points. Moving the ball wasn’t a problem as Seattle outgained D.C. 331-177 yards, with quarterback Ben DiNucci of the Sea Dragons turning in a good performance. But he committed three turnovers. DiNucci needs to stop giving the opposing team opportunities in tonight’s game, as last week’s turnovers undermined a solid Seattle defensive performance, limiting the Defenders to 177 total yards.
The Battlehawks kicked off to the Sea Dragons and the ball was returned to the 17-yard line. After two incompletions and a sack DiNucci went three and out. The Sea Dragons were forced to punt.
Battlehawks took over on their own 41-yard line. Seattle’s defense got to McCarron and he was sacked on first down. The Sea Dragons defense was tight and the Battlehawks were also forced to three and out.
Seattle’s Pearson returned the ball to just shy of the 30-yard line. Seattle took to the run with DiNucci handing to Ellison. Then DiNucci carried the ball himself for the first down. DiNucci handed the ball again to Ellison for positive yards, then completed a short pass to Jackson. On third down DiNucci ran the ball to get another first down. Again, the ball went to Ellison for another first down. DiNucci was building a good drive here.
DiNucci completed to Pearson for a first down on the St. Louis 15, then handed to Knox twice for two short gains. On third down DiNucci passed to Josh Gordon in the end zone, but the timing was off and it went incomplete. A 29 yard field goal by Dom Eberle was good, making the score 3-0 for the Sea Dragons.
On the kickoff return, the Battlehawks fielded the ball on their own 25. McCarron could not move the ball and looked to have recorded back-to-back three and outs. However, an offside penalty extended the Battlehawks drive. Seattle’s defense then stiffened and recorded a sack on McCarron. St. Louis was forced to punt.
On Seattle’s possession, DiNucci completed a 19-yard pass to Blake Jackson to their own 46-yard line. At the end of the first quarter the score was 3-0 for Seattle.
DiNucci hit Jahcour Pearson for a 54-yard touchdown pass. The three-point conversion throw was complete to Josh Gordon. Seattle upped their lead by 9 points, to make it 12-0.
For the Battlehawks, McCarron completed a pass to Austin Proehl to finally record a first down. The Battlehawks had a drive going until the Sea Dragons defense forced McCarron out of the pocket and he had to run for the first down.
A roughing the passer call assisted the Battlehawks drive. McCarron now had the ball in the red zone. Seattle’s defense tried to hold the Battlehawks on the one-yard line, but McCarron managed to cross the goal line for the St. Louis touchdown. A two-point conversion pass to Marcell Ateman was good. The score was now 12-8 for the Sea Dragons.
Jaylon Redd returned the kickoff to the Seattle 28-yard line. DiNucci began to move the ball with a combination of passes and running plays. The Sea Dragons were eventually forced to punt.
McCarron and the Battlehawks struggled to move the ball, barely making a first down, but a face masking penalty against Seattle helped the drive.
McCarron was moving the ball with a first down pass to Marcell Ateman. Then McCarron took a sack, but an offside call negated the play. McCarron again connected to Ateman for another first down. McCarron passed to Mataeo Durant in the corner of the end zone but it was incomplete. Then Hakeem Butler almost made a fantastic one-handed catch on the goal line. Unfortunately, in the next play McCarron was strip sacked. The Battlehawks recovered the ball, but it was now out of field-goal range. Battlehawks were forced to punt.
At half-time the score was 12-8 for the Sea Dragons.
The Battlehawks opened the third quarter by going three and out. On the ensuing punt the ball was touched by a Seattle player and the Battlehawks recovered the ball. Dean Blandino reviewed the play and the call on the field stood. Battlehawks ball on the Seattle 20. St. Louis could not convert for a first down and were forced to attempt a Hageman 36-yard field goal. The ball hit the upright. No good!
Ben DiNucci completed a 13-yard pass to Ellison to the Seattle 39. On the next play Ellison fumbled and the Battlehawks recovered the ball on the Seattle 41. McCarron began to drive the ball, including a 1- yard pass to Austin Proehl.
McCarron looked to end zone, but was incomplete to Butler. Then he completed a short pass to Walker. On 4th down Hageman kicked a 44-yard field goal, making the score 12-11 for Seattle.
Seattle returned the kickoff to their own 31. Ben DiNucci completed a 5-yard pass to Ellison, and went back to Ellison for another pass,and then a handoff to Ellison made for a first down. Seattle’s offensive coordinator June Jones was calling the plays as the Sea Dragons marched down the field. On 4th down and short, Ben DiNucci called his own number to get the first down.
At the end of the third quarter Seattle led St. Louis 12-11.
On an Ellison run, the Battlehawks stripped the ball, but the ruling was Seattle retained the ball. Seattle’s drive continued with another DiNucci run for close to a first down. DiNucci argued he went out of bounds past the first down marker, to no avail. On third and one, the ball was fumbled and the Battlehawks Atkins recovered the ball.
Two penalties backed St. Louis up to 1st and 25 on their own 16. They were forced to punt. Seattle took possession on their own 36. DiNucci went three and out.
McCarron took over on his own 27, and immediately connected to Austin Proehl for a first down. Durant ran for another first down. With just over 8 minutes remaining, McCarron was moving the ball. A 44-yard pass to Hakeem Butler was good for a touchdown. A two-point conversion pass was caught by Butler but out of bounds. The score was now 17-12 for the Battlehawks.
Seattle took over on their own 26. DiNucci passed over the middle to Willis, then ran to the 35, one yard short of a first down. On third down DiNucci threw an incomplete pass to Willis. On 4th and 1 DiNucci’s pass was low and the Sea Dragons turned over the ball on downs.
Ben DiNucci to June Jones: “Can we not run the ball?”
Seattle’s defense stiffened, and was able to sack McCarron for a loss on third down. The Hageman 50-yard field goal attempt was short by about a foot.
DiNucci got the ball back and completed a 33-yard pass to Josh Gordon on the St. Louis 27. Then, Ellison rushed the ball to the St. Louis 22 just before the two minute warning.
DiNucci completed a pass to Pearson on the St. Louis 10. A stingy Battlehawks defense caused Ben DiNucci problems, and pressured him on third down. Facing fourth and goal, DiNucci’s pass was complete to Veasy for the touchdown. The three-point conversion attempt was batted down and the score was now 18-17 for Seattle.
Battlehawks took over on their own 24 with 1:16 remaining. McCarron was flushed out of the pocket and ran for a first down. Then, McCarron avoided a sack and ran the ball to near mid field. McCarron completed a pass to Campbell on the Seattle 42. With 3 seconds remaining on the clock, a pass to Proehl was complete on the Seattle 26.
Hageman attempted the winning 44-yard field goal. This time he was good making the final score 20-18.
The second week in a row the St. Louis Battlehawks engineered a last minute win.
Box scores – Statistics Summary
Scoring
1 2 3 4 F
STL 0 8 3 9 20
SEA 3 9 0 6 18
------ ST. LOUIS BATTLHAWKS ------
Passing
PLAYER C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT LONG SCK-YDS
A. J. McCarron 22/36 184 5.1 1 0 44 3 - 18
Rushing
PLAYER CAR YDS AVG TD LONG
A. J. McCarron 5 41 8.2 1 14
Mataeo Durant 13 34 2.6 0 7
Kareem Walker 7 27 3.9 0 13
Gary Jennings 1 6 6.0 0 6
TEAM TOTAL 26 108 4.2 1 14
Receiving
PLAYER REC YDS AVG TD LONG TGTS
Austin Proehl 4 37 9.3 0 12 6
Darrius Shepherd 3 12 4.0 0 9 3
George Campbell 1 11 11.0 0 11 2
Hakeem Butler 4 61 15.3 1 44 7
Kareem Walker 2 13 6.5 0 10 2
Marcell Ateman 3 23 7.7 0 9 6
Mataeo Durant 3 21 7.0 0 10 4
Steven Mitchell 2 6 3.0 0 3 3
Gary Jennings 0 0 0.0 0 0 3
TEAM TOTAL 22 184 8.4 1 44 36
Fumbles
PLAYER FUM LOST REC
A. J. McCarron 1 0 1
Defensive
PLAYER SOLO AST TOT SACKS-YDS TFL INT FF FR
Chris Cooper 1 1 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Lavert Hill 0 3 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Kevin Atkins 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 2
Lukas Denis 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Mike Hampton 3 1 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Ben DeLuca 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Elijah Hamilton 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Willie Harvey 2 5 7.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Mike Rose 2 3 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Elorm Lumor 1 1 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
Gelen Robinson 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Nate Meadors 2 3 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Carson Wells 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Jonathan Alexander 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Silas Kelly 0 2 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Brandon Sebastian 5 0 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Damion Daniels 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
LaCale London 3 0 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 2 0
Freedom Akinmoladun 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTAL 27 24 51.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 2 2
Interceptions
INT YDS TD
0 0 0
Punt Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Austin Proehl 1 -2 -2.0 -2 0
Kick Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Darrius Shepherd 4 73 18.3 24 0
------ SEATTLE SEA DRAGONS ------
Passing
PLAYER C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT LONG SCK-YDS
Ben DiNucci 19/29 196 6.8 2 0 54 0 - 0
Rushing
PLAYER CAR YDS AVG TD LONG
Ben DiNucci 8 38 4.8 0 7
Morgan Ellison 10 50 5.0 0 14
Brenden Knox 3 15 5.0 0 11
TEAM TOTAL 21 103 4.9 0 14
Receiving
PLAYER REC YDS AVG TD LONG TGTS
Blake Jackson 5 26 5.2 0 19 6
Jordan Veasy 1 8 8.0 1 8 3
Josh Gordon 1 33 33.0 0 33 2
Morgan Ellison 4 24 6.0 0 13 4
Damion Willis 2 13 6.5 0 7 4
Charlie Taumoepeau 1 9 9.0 0 9 1
Jahcour Pearson 4 78 19.5 1 54 8
T.J. Hammonds 1 5 5.0 0 5 1
TEAM TOTAL 19 196 10.3 2 54 29
Fumbles
PLAYER FUM LOST REC
Morgan Ellison 1 1 0
Jahcour Pearson 1 1 0
Ben DiNucci 1 1 0
TEAM TOTAL 3 3 0
Defensive
PLAYER SOLO AST TOT SACKS-YDS TFL INT FF FR
Tre Walker 2 5 7.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Niko Lalos 2 4 6.0 0.5 - 3.0 2.0 0 0 0
Shareef Miller 3 0 3.0 1.0 - 7.0 1.0 0 0 0
Alijah Holder 0 2 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Rojesterman Farris 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Qwynnterrio Cole 5 1 6.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Antwuan Jackson 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Jordan Evans 1 3 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Antoine Brooks 5 4 9.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Sama Paama 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Emmanuel Smith 3 7 10.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Austin Faoliu 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Tuzar Skipper 3 1 4.0 1.0 - 5.0 2.0 0 1 0
Linden Stephens 3 0 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Daniel Joseph 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
P.J. Hall 0 2 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Elijah Ponder 1 2 3.0 0.5 - 3.0 1.0 0 0 0
Bryce Thompson 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTAL 32 34 66.0 3.0 - 18.0 6.0 0 1 0
Interceptions
INT YDS TD
0 0 0
Punt Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Jahcour Pearson 2 14 7.0 14 0
Kick Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Jaylon Redd 3 45 15.0 19 0
Blake Jackson 1 18 18.0 18 0
TEAM TOTAL 4 63 15.8 19 0
------ Team Stats ------
TEAM STATS
STAT STL SEA
TOTAL PLAYS 65 50
TOTAL YARDS 274 299
YARDS PER PLAY 4.2 6.0
FIRST DOWNS 20 14
FIRST DOWNS PASSING 9 7
FIRST DOWNS RUSHING 8 7
FIRST DOWNS PENALTY 3 0
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 40.0% 20.0%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 0.0% 66.7%
PASS COMPLETIONS 22 19
PASS ATTEMPTS 36 29
PASSES INTERCEPTED 0 0
YARDS PER PASS 7.5 10.3
PASSING TOUCHDOWNS 1 2
SACK YARDS LOST 18 0
RUSH ATTEMPTS 26 21
YARDS PER RUSH 4.2 4.9
RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS 1 0
PENALTIES 2 4
TURNOVERS 0 3
FUMBLES 1 3
INTERCEPTIONS 0 0
DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS 0 0
SPECIAL TEAMS TDS 0 0
POSSESSION 34:03 40:57
