The Battlehawks gut-punched by the Brahmas, lose the first ever XFL conference championship

In the first ever XFL conference championship, the St. Louis Battlehawks were toppled by the San Antonio Brahmas 25-15.

The game got away from St. Louis early as they fell to a 13-point deficit at the beginning of the 2nd quarter. After the offense went 3 and out, the Battlehawks’ defense worked a stop on the first offensive drive for the Brahmas. Defensive back Kameron Kelly picked off quarterback Chase Garbers in the endzone, giving the Battlehawks the ball back at their own 25.

The Battlehawks gave the ball back three plays later as the offense ran a multi-pitch play in the backfield that resulted in a fumble.

San Antonio cashed in, as Garbers threw a touchdown to wide receiver Marquez Stevenson for a 15-yard reception. The Brahmas followed this up with a rushing 1-point conversion by running back Morgan Ellison to give San Antonio an early 7-point lead.

St. Louis again quickly stalled out as quarterback A.J. McCarron was sacked for the first of four times in the game.

San Antonio added to the lead with a huge strike as wide receiver Justin Smith hauled in a short pass before dashing into the endzone for a 63-yard touchdown reception to give the Brahmas a 13-point lead at the start of the 2nd quarter.

The Battlehawks responded, kicking off their next drive with a 21-yard passing play. St. Louis couldn’t get into the end zone, but cut the deficit down to 10 with a field goal from kicker Andre Szmyt.

Both teams continued to stall out on offense numerous times before halftime hit. Right before the half, McCarron sustained a leg injury, adding to the ankle injury that he suffered earlier in the season, which forced him to miss several games.

Both offenses failed to score on their first drives out of the half before the Brahmas slashed the St. Louis defense with another huge play. Running back Anthony McFarland dashed through the middle and to the endzone from 69 yards out to extend the Brahmas’ lead to 16.

In response, offensive coordinator Bruce Gradkowski started to expand the playbook. McCarron started to set up his receivers on some shorter digs and out routes and running back Jacob Saylors began to bounce the ball outside on his runs.

St. Louis capped off a sustained drive with a 1-yard touchdown reception by tight end Jake Sutherland to bring the game closer at 19-9.

The Battlehawks started to build momentum when the first play of San Antonio’s ensuing drive saw McFarland fumbling the ball. Defensive end Pita Taumoepenu then snagged the ball up and ran it 18 yards into the endzone to cut the lead to 4.

The Brahmas’ offense found success with a field goal to push the lead back up to 7. St. Louis’ offense cooled back down, as they were forced to punt after five plays. The offense gained another chance after a stop before running a verticals play deep on 3rd-and-2 that resulted in a sack. Szmyt consequently missed a 50-yard field goal after the sack, which was just his third miss of the year.

The Brahmas seized their opportunity to make it a two possession game with a 45-yard field goal. St. Louis’ offense could not work fast enough as the Brahmas emerged victorious 25-15 and earned a trip to the UFL Championship.

The offense had a season-low nine points and only two third down conversions, both of which came on the very last drive.

Wide receiver Hakeem Butler, the 2024 UFL offensive player of the year, was one of only two Battlehawks receivers to have over 50 receiving yards. No other Battlehawk could eclipse 30. McCarron finished the day going 19 of 29 for 179 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions.

Saylors had another productive game with 79 yards on 14 carries to lead all Battlehawks rushers. However, the Brahmas simply could not be detoured, as they racked up over 400 total offensive yards, over half of which came from their stellar rushing attack.

In the end, the Battlehawks’ season ended on Sunday night with a total 7-4 record, losing in the conference championship to a team that they had already defeated twice in the regular season, including the previous week. St. Louis will come back again next season in the second year of the UFL.

Edited by Dylan Heinrich | dheinrich@themaneater.com

Copyedited by Hannah Taylor | htaylor@themaneater.com 

Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com