The St. Louis Battlehawks (3-2) hosted the Michigan Panthers (3-2) on Saturday night from The Dome at America’s Center. The stories coming into this game were St. Louis looking to snap a two-game losing streak and the Michigan Panthers could move into first place in the USFL Conference with a win.
St. Louis kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made a 44-yard field goal to put the Battlehawks up 3-0 with 8:36 left of the first quarter. Late in the first quarter, Michigan quarterback Bryce Perkins threw a short pass to tight end Gunnar Oakes for a 12-yard touchdown.
They did not get the one-point conversion but led the Battlehawks 6-3 with 3:52 left. The Panthers led the Battlehawks 6-3 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, St. Louis quarterback Max Duggan rushed for a one-yard touchdown to put the Battlehawks up 9-6 with 5:36 left. Late in the second quarter, Max Duggan rushed for an eight-yard touchdown plus a two-point conversion extended the Battlehawks lead to 17-6 at halftime.
In the third quarter, St. Louis kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made a 28-yard field goal extending their lead to 20-6 with 9:23 left. Michigan quarterback Bryce Perkins got the team back in the game by throwing a 28-yard touchdown to Malik Turner and converted the two-point and it was now 20-14 St. Louis with 2:53 left. The score remained 20-14 St. Louis heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Michigan running back Toa Taua rushed for a five-yard touchdown plus a one-point conversion put the Panthers up 21-20 with 12:52 left. Later, St. Louis quarterback Max Duggan threw a deep pass to Hakeem Butler, who made the catch on his way to scoring a 67-yard touchdown and it was now 26-21 with 11:54 left of the game. With 6:56 left, Michigan running back Toa Taua scored a four-yard touchdown for a 27-26 lead.
Late in the game, St. Louis went with a trick play when quarterback Max Duggan pitched the ball to Blake Jackson. Then, Jackson completed the pass to Hakeem Butler for a 57-yard touchdown taking a 32-27 lead with 6:01 left.
Michigan’s final drive of the game happened with 1:57 left when quarterback Bryce Perkins’s pass intended for Cole Hikutini went incomplete. St. Louis ran out the clock on their way to defeating the Michigan Panthers by the final score of 32-27. St. Louis snaps a two-game losing streak and Michigan remains tied with Birmingham for first place in the USFL Conference.
St. Louis had 295 yards led by quarterback Max Duggan completing 9 of 12 passes (75%) for 124 yards, one touchdown. He also led the rushers with 10 carries for 72 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Running back Jacob Saylors had 12 carries for 48 yards.
Wide receiver Hakeem Butler led the receivers making two catches for 124 yards, and two touchdowns, while Jake Sutherland made two catches for 21 yards, and Blake Jackson made two catches for 23 yards.
Kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made two field goals with a long of 44 yards. The defense made 63 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, and two pass breakups.
Michigan had 400 yards of offense. They rotated quarterbacks throughout the game with Bryce Perkins completing 21 of 25 passes (84%) for 235 yards, two touchdowns, and four carries for 14 yards, while Danny Etling completed 4 of 9 passes (44.4%) for 59 yards, and one interception.
Running back Toa Taua led the rushers with 15 carries for 74 yards, and two touchdowns, while Nate McCrary had 10 carries for 23 yards. Wide receiver Siaosi Mariner led the receivers making six catches for 111 yards, while Malik Turner made eight catches for 71 yards, and one touchdown, and Gunnar Oakes made two catches for 19 yards, and one touchdown. The defense finished the night making 43 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, and one pass breakup.
Next week, the St. Louis Battlehawks host the Arlington Renegades on Friday at 8 pm on Fox, and the Michigan Panthers host the D.C. Defenders on Sunday at noon on ESPN 2. Purchase UFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
