The St. Louis Battlehawks (5-1) hosted the Houston Roughnecks (1-5) on Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 32,969 from The Dome at America’s Center. The Battlehawks dominated the Roughnecks to a 22-8 win for their fifth straight win. For the time being, St. Louis is in sole possession of first place in the XFL Conference.
St. Louis had 242 yards on offense. Quarterback A.J. McCarron completed 24 of 37 passes (65%) for 255 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, and five carries for four yards. In the second quarter, McCarron threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Hakeem Butler for a 6-0 lead with 6:12 left.
Next, McCarron found wide receiver Steven Mitchell Jr. for one-yard making it 14-0 as time expired to end the first half. In the fourth quarter, McCarron threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Hakeem Butler making it 22-6 with 3:06 left in the game.
Running back Jacob Saylors led the rushers with eight carries for 18 yards and five catches for 29 yards. The rushers finished the afternoon with 17 carries for -5 yards. Punter Sterlin Hofrichter ran out the clock with ten seconds for -37 yards that gave the Roughnecks a safety 22-8.
Wide receiver Hakeem Butler led the receivers making six catches for 134 yards, and two touchdowns. The receivers finished the game making 24 catches for 255 yards, and three touchdowns. There were no field goals made by St. Louis. St. Louis’s defense made 55 tackles, five tackles for loss, one sack, one pass breakup, two forced fumbles, and one forced fumble.
Houston had 217 yards on offense. Quarterback Reid Sinnett completed 19 of 34 passes (56%) for 135 yards. Running back Mark Thompson led the rushers with 13 carries for 45 yards, one touchdown, and two catches for 14 yards. Thompson’s touchdown happened in the fourth quarter for 16 yards cutting the Battlehawks lead down to 14-6 with 13:05 left in the game.
Wide receiver Justin Hall led the receivers making six catches for 59 yards. The receivers finished the afternoon making 19 catches for 135 yards. There were no field goal attempts by Houston. Houston’s defense made 52 tackles, six tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception, and two pass breakups.
Next Saturday, the St. Louis Battlehawks visit Protective Stadium against the Birmingham Stallions at 4 pm on FOX, while the Houston Roughnecks host the San Antonio Brahmas on Sunday at 3 pm on ESPN. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 UFL Season and tickets for the game are available today on StubHub and Viagogo.
