Graphic by the St. Louis Battlehawks of the UFL
St. Louis fell at home Sunday afternoon to the Washington D.C. Defenders. It was a tight game that stayed close to the very end. The Battlehawks’ offense struggled down the stretch, while the defense forced some turnovers, helping the special teams keep them in the game. The Defenders would jump out to a 12-0 lead before the Hawks could answer.
They answered and got on the scoreboard when Manny Wilkins threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Frank Darby. The Battlehawks would miss on the two-point conversion, and the game would be 12-6. A 40-yard kick from Rodrigo Blankenship would make it 12-9. The Defenders would answer with Jordan Ta’amu’s second touchdown pass of the day. St. Louis would get another kick from Blankenship, this one from 47 yards just before the end of the first half. The Defenders led the Hawks 18-12 at the half.
Halftime
At halftime, Dany Garcia announced that the 2025 UFL Championship Game would be held right there in St. Louis at the Battledome. The Dome at America’s Center will host the championship on June 14th.
Both defenses made interceptions in the second half, and both offenses continued their first-half trends. Blankenship hit a 56-yard field goal in the third quarter, but Washington answered with another Ta’amu touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter to make the game 24-15. The Defenders scored a late 50-yard field goal to ice the game at 27-15.
The Battlehawks struggled to run the ball with Jacob Saylors like they had in their first two games. Saylors only had one yard on seven carries, and the Hawks had only 45 yards rushing as a team. Saylors contributed more to the passing game, catching seven passes for 91 yards. But Wilkins’ turnovers would doom St. Louis’ efforts to score late in the game. Wilkins would finish the game 16 of 29 for 147 yards and a touchdown but would also have three costly interceptions. His two in the fourth quarter would ultimately seal St. Louis’s fate in this loss to D.C.
Next, the 2-1 Battlehawks will travel to North Texas to take on a conference rival in the 2-1 Arlington Renegades. These XFL foes will lock horns on Saturday at 11:30 AM CDT in Choctaw Stadium.
