The St. Louis Battlehawks secured home-field advantage for the XFL Conference Championship with a 13-12 victory Saturday over the San Antonio Brahmas in front of 34,379 fans at The Dome at America’s Center.
The Battlehawks (7-3) and Brahmas (7-3) will meet again in the conference championship contest at 6 p.m. CT on Sunday, June 9 at The Dome at America’s Center. The game will be televised on FOX and simulcast on FOX Sports on Sirius XM Radio.
St. Louis held a 13-6 lead at the 2-minute warning, but the Brahmas scored on a 37-yard touchdown pass from QB Quinten Dormady to WR Jontre Kirklin with 1:56 remaining to shave the Battlehawks’ lead to one point. Dormady completed a pass to Kirklin from the 2.5 yard line after a St. Louis penalty for a 2-point conversion, which the referees initially ruled short of the goal line. Officials overturned the spot of the ball on review, which gave San Antonio a 14-13 lead, but St. Louis challenged an ineligible man downfield penalty that negated the conversion. Dormady then threw an incomplete pass on the following attempt from the 7 yard line, and St. Louis maintained the lead.
St. Louis punted on its next drive. With 50 seconds left to make a comeback, the Brahmas reached the St. Louis 33 yard line with 12 seconds to play. K Ryan Santoso attempted an unsuccessful 51-yard field goal that WR Hakeem Butler tipped to seal the Battlehawks’ one-point triumph to end the regular season.
The Battlehawks initially built a 10-point lead in the first half. The teams committed a combined three turnovers in the first 16 minutes of play, but St. Louis broke through on a 22-yard touchdown pass from QB A.J. McCarron to WR Steven Mitchell Jr. with 11:54 to play in the second quarter. McCarron also found TE Jake Sutherland for a 1-point conversion to complete the drive and put St. Louis ahead, 7-0.
K Andre Szmyt increased the Battlehawks’ lead to 10-0 with 2:03 remaining before halftime on a 32-yard field goal, which completed a 13-play, 82-yard drive that covered 7:16 of game time. Santoso attempted a 59-yard field goal for San Antonio with 16 seconds left in the half, but TE Kemari Averett blocked the attempt to preserve the first-half shutout. San Antonio scored its first points on the first drive after halftime when RB Morgan Ellison rushed 6 yards for a touchdown to cap an 8-play, 75 yard march.
The winner of the XFL Conference Championship matchup between the Battlehawks and Brahmas will advance to face the USFL Conference Championship winner in the UFL Championship, which will be played at 4 p.m. CT on Sunday, June 16 at The Dome at America’s Center. It will be broadcast on FOX and FOX Sports on Sirius XM Radio.
