AJ Mccarron (10) of the St. Louis Battlehawks scores a touchdown against the San Antonio Brahmas during the first quarter in the game at Alamodome on April 14, 2024 - Brien Aho/UFL/Getty Images
Over the weekend, the San Antonio Brahmas defeated the St. Louis Battlehawks in the XFL Conference Championship. The final score ended up being 25-15. The Brahmas will face the Birmingham Stallions in the first UFL Championship. Here is a look back at the game, the Brahmas season, and a brief look ahead.
San Antonio Brahmas Win XFL Conference Championship
Although the Bramas headed into the game as underdogs, they came out victorious.
First Quarter
The first quarter of the game was fairly back and forth. The BattleHawks got the ball first, but the Brahmas’ defense stood strong. St. Louis was forced to punt right away. While it looked as though the Brahmas offense was moving down the field well, the BattleHawks defense stood their ground. While in the red zone, the pass was intercepted in the end zone. This gave the ball right back to the BattleHawks.
As the quarter continued, the BattleHawks gave it right back to San Antonio. On the third play of the drive, Darrius Shepherd fumbled the ball, which was recovered by San Antonio. This is the play that the Brahmas took advantage of. On their next drive, they were the first in the endzone. At this point, the score stands at 7-0, with San Antonio in the lead. The first quarter ended with this score, as the BattleHawks did not score on their next drive.
Second Quarter
The second quarter began during the Brahmas drive. This drive went for 82 yards, resulting in a touchdown to extend the lead. Chase Garbers passed the ball to Justin Smith which resulted in a 62-yard play into the end zone. The team did not get the one-point conversion The score stands at 13-0, Brahmas, with a lot of time left in the half.
On the BattleHawks’ next drive, they finally get onto the scoreboard. Kicker, Andre Szmyt attempts the 46-yard field goal and it is good. At this point, with still a lot of time left in the half, the score is 13-3, with San Antonio in the lead. The rest of the half was a defensive one. Both teams got possession of the ball twice, but they all resulted in punting the ball. While the half ended 13-3, there was still hope for St. Louis moving forward.
Third Quarter
The third quarter started slow, but greatly picked up the pace of the game. The Brahmas started the half with possession of the ball. The BattleHawks defense came out strong, forcing the Brahmas to punt. On the next drive, the San Antonio defense returned the favor. The first play of the Brahmas drive could have been the momentum the Brahmas needed, and the knock to the BattleHawks. In one play, Brahmas running back, Anthony McFarland rushed the ball for 69 yards into the endzone. This increased the lead for the Brahmas to 19-3.
Although it may have felt as though the Brahmas took the game there, the BattleHawks held out hope. It may have taken time, but in seven plays and just over four minutes, St. Louis scored their first touchdown of the game. Quarterback AJ McCarron made the short pass to Jake Sutherland for the touchdown. They attempted the two-point conversion but did not get it. At this point in the game, the score is 19-9 with a lot of time to go.
On the first play of the Brahmas drive, Garbers fumbled the ball, recovered by St. Louis. Not only was the ball recovered by Pita Taumoepenu, but he also returned it for a touchdown. St. Louis made the score 19-15 in the third quarter. With time left in the third quarter, St. Louis made this a completely different game than what was seen in the first half. The Brahmas ended up kicking a 31-yard field goal with just over a minute to go in the third quarter. The stands at 22-15, Brahmas at the end of the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The fourth quarter started slow, similar to the third quarter. Following the field goal by the Brahmas in the third quarter, the BattleHawks were forced to punt the ball. After a couple of plays by the Brahmas, they also had to punt. These two drives took over six minutes of the fourth quarter. On the BattleHawks’ next drive, they attempted a 50-yard field goal. Szmyt missed the kick, keeping the score 22-15, San Antonio in the lead with just over six minutes to go in the game.
The Brahmas had to be careful on the next drive. With the UFL rules, this game could still go anyway. They ended up wasting just over four minutes with their drive, kicking a field goal following the two-minute warning. Ryan Santoso kicked a 45-yard field goal, which was good. The score at this point stands at 25-15, with San Antonio Brahmas in the lead. The Battlehawks did well getting down the field on their final drive, but they could not do it.
The San Antonio Brahmas won the game 25-15, moving on to the UFL Championship Game.
A Look Back at the Brahmas Season
The Brahmas ended the regular season with a 7-3 record. They ended up second in the XFL Conference, behind the St. Louis Battlehawks. Despite having the same record as St. Louis, the two games against the BattleHawks in the regular season were both losses for the San Antonio Brahmas. Of course that is all okay now, as they defeated the BattleHawks in the conference championship. The third loss came against the D.C. Defenders in week six.
The Offense
Between quarterbacks Quinten Dormady and Chase Garbers, the team won some big games. In the regular season, Dormady completed 103 passes for 1,206 yards and six touchdowns, according to the UFL. Garbers completed 96 passes for 765 yards and six touchdowns. Although no running back ran for over 500 yards in the regular season, three did rush for over 100 yards. According to the UFL, John Lovett rushed for 422 yards. Morgan Ellison rushed for 206 yards. Anthony McFarland rushed for 192 yards. The team as a whole had just ten rushing touchdowns in the regular season, five coming from Lovett. The leading receiver on the team was Jonte Kirklin who played in all ten games with 614 receiving yards, according to the UFL.
The Defense
As a defense, the San Antonio Brahmas made big stops. The team as a whole had ten forced turnovers. Four were interceptions and six were fumble recoveries. The player with the most interceptions was Teez Tabor with two. Jordan Mosley and Darius Phillips both had two fumble recoveries. According to the UFL, the Brahmas also had 32 sacks this year. The player with the most sacks was Wyatt Ray with 5.5.
The Special Teams
As for Special teams, kicker Ryan Santoso made 12 field goals, attempting 18, according to the UFL. His longest kick went for 51 yards. There was no punt or kick return touchdowns, but the longest kick return of the year was by Pooka Williams Jr., for 44 yards.
Now, the San Antonio Brahmas have one more game to potentially win it all.
What’s Next?
The San Antonio Brahmas will now face the Birmingham Stallions in the UFL Championship. Back in the USFL, the Stallions won the league two years in a row. Now, they look for their third championship win in a row. It will be up to the Brahmas to stop them. The Brahmas ended the regular season with a 7-3 record, while the Stallions ended up with a 9-1 record. Who was the one team to beat the Stallions this year? The San Antonio Brahmas. The final score was 18-9. The two will face off again when it matters the most.
The UFL Championship Game will occur on Sunday, June 16th at 5 P.M. EST in St. Louis.
