The Arlington Renegades (3-1) hosted the St. Louis Battlehawks (2-2) on Saturday afternoon from Choctaw Stadium. Both teams came into this game tied for second place.
On the fifth play of the first quarter, St. Louis quarterback Manny Wilkins fumbled the ball on a quarterback draw, and Arlington defensive end Chris Odom scooped it up for a 39-yard touchdown.
After the play, Wilkins suffered a right knee injury and the cart came out to take him to the locker room. Wilkins finished the afternoon with one carry for -4 yards. Arlington converted a two-point play to take an 8-0 lead with 12:25 left.
Max Duggan was the new quarterback for St. Louis. With 8:32 left, St. Louis kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made a 55-yard field goal to cut Arlington’s lead down to 8-3. Late in the first quarter, Arlington quarterback Luis Perez threw a short pass to JaVonta Payton for a two-yard touchdown. They got another two-point conversion for a 16-3 lead with 1:30 left. Arlington led 16-3 after one-quarter of play.
In the second quarter, St. Louis kicker Rodrigo Blankenship kicked a 31-yard field goal and it was now 16-6 Arlington. Those were the only points scored in the second quarter. Arlington led 16-6 at halftime.
In the third quarter, St. Louis kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made his third field goal of the afternoon from 53 yards and it was now 16-9 Arlington 11:34 left. St. Louis needed a spark and the offense was not doing much. They got the spark thanks to their defense when linebacker Willie Harvey picked off Luis Perez’s pass for a pick-six 44-yard touchdown. They were unable to get a one-point conversion and it was now 16-15 Arlington with 3:13 left.
Arlington started to pull away in the fourth quarter. With 33 seconds left of the game, Arlington running back Dae Dae Hunter rushed to his right side scoring a three-yard touchdown. They did not get the two-point conversion and it was now 22-15 with 13:41 left.
Late in the fourth quarter, St. Louis moved the ball to Arlington’s three-yard line. On the next play, St. Louis quarterback Max Duggan’s pass was intercepted by Ajene Harris for a pick-six 100-yard touchdown sealing the game. They got the two-point conversion and the Arlington Renegades defeated the St. Louis Battlehawks by the final score of 30-15.
Arlington had 209 yards of offense led by quarterback Luis Perez completing 17 of 25 passes (68%) for 149 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and one carry for eight yards. Running back Dae Dae Hunter led the rushers with eight carries for 25 yards, and one touchdown, while JaVonta Payton had one carry for 24 yards, one catch for two yards, and one touchdown.
Tight end Sal Cannella led the receivers making three catches for 35 yards, and Seth Green made one catch for 24 yards. Arlington’s defense made 65 tackles, eight tackles for loss, six sacks, two interceptions, two touchdowns, five pass breakups, and one fumble recovery.
St. Louis had 157 yards of offense led by quarterback Max Duggan completing 8 of 17 passes (47.1%) for 78 yards, two interceptions, and nine carries for 43 yards. Running back Jacob Saylors led the rushers with 20 carries for 61 yards and one catch for 17 yards.
Wide receiver Frank Darby led the receivers making two catches for 26 yards, and Denzel Mims made one catch for 17 yards. Kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made three field goals with a long of 55 yards. St. Louis’s defense made 57 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception, one touchdown, and one forced fumble.
Next week, the St. Louis Battlehawks host the Michigan Panthers on Saturday at 7 pm on ESPN. The Arlington Renegades host the D.C. Defenders on Sunday at noon on ESPN. Purchase UFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
