After a rough stretch of two games, the St. Louis Battlehawks rebounded nicely with two straight victories and currently hold a spot in the postseason. St. Louis gutted out two close victories over the Michigan Panthers 32-27 and the Arlington Renegades 12-6.

New quarterback, new offense

After a season-ending Achilles injury to starting quarterback Manny Wilkins, former TCU standout quarterback Max Duggan had to step in. After a not-so-successful first couple of games, Duggan found his groove in the last two matchups with a total of 217 passing yards, 119 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

It was the rushing game that really led the Battlehawks to their two-game winning streak, as St. Louis had a combined 239 rushing yards in its last two matchups. Against Michigan, the rushing impact was very apparent, as Duggan led the way with 70 yards on 10 rushes with two rushing touchdowns.

The quarterback wasn’t the only new member of the offense, as wide receiver Hakeem Butler finally came back from injury and immediately had a huge effect on the outcome of this matchup. In the fourth quarter against Michigan, Butler caught two deep touchdowns. The first came from Duggan for 57 yards, and the second came from a throw by wide receiver Blake Jackson for 67 yards.

That touchdown was ultimately the deciding factor, as St. Louis got back over .500 and Butler ended the game with 124 yards and two touchdowns on his two lone receptions.

Defense still a positive

The defense, while solid enough against the Panthers, didn’t exactly play up to the standard they had set for the season.

The Renegades, who had defeated the Battlehawks just two weeks prior 30-15, were held to just six points by the Battlehawks in round two. This stingy defensive performance gave the Battlehawks the 12-6 victory.

After obtaining just one sack and two tackles for loss in week five, St. Louis sacked Arlington quarterback Luis Perez three times and racked up five tackles for loss. They also allowed just over 200 total yards as opposed to the 400 yards allowed in week five.

However, the real difference in the game was the four turnovers forced by the Battlehawks. One of these turnovers came from an interception and the other three from recovered fumbles.

Standout performances

While Butler stole the show for the offense in week five, linebacker Willie Harvey Jr. was the biggest standout for the defense. Harvey Jr. racked up 17 total tackles over weeks five and six. However, the most important performance of the last two weeks may have come from outside linebacker Pita Taumoepenu, who forced two and recovered one of the three fumbles that were recovered by St. Louis in week six.

Other standouts include defensive back Kameron Kelly and cornerback Chris Payton-Jones, who each nabbed an interception and combined for eight total tackles over the last two weeks.

Next

The Battlehawks went on the road for their next matchup on Sunday, May 11 against the Memphis Showboats.

Edited by Colin Simmons l [email protected]
Copy edited by Amelia Schaefer and Natalie Kientzy | [email protected]
Edited by Emily Skidmore | [email protected]