San Antonio at St Louis: Battlehawks Hold On to Beat Brahmas, Secure Home Field Throughout Playoffs
ST. LOUIS — The road to St. Louis now runs through St. Louis following a thrilling 13-12 victory over San Antonio. The Battlehawks secured the series sweep over the Brahmas for home-field advantage in next weekend’s XFL Conference Championship Game, meaning the winner will play three straight weeks at The Dome at America’s Center, as St. Louis will host the UFL Championship Game on June 16.
An edge for any team, home-field advantage provides an especially big boost for the league’s leader in attendance, which has attracted an average of 34k fans at five home games this season.
Now, three keys to St. Louis’ win against San Antonio.
1. Crowd Noise:
St. Louis is already a brutally loud environment for opposing teams, but on top of that, backup Brahmas quarterback Quinten Dormady didn’t have a headset. Teams are only able to outfit seven players per game with the equipment, meaning Dormady was forced to run back and forth to the sidelines to get the play calls after he took over for the re-injured Chase Garbers.
2. Super Challenge:
Battlehawks coach Anthony Becht and his staff pulled off the super challenge of the season on San Antonio’s final possession. Jontre Kirklin first hauled in Dormady’s pass to bring the score to 13-12, then caught a two-point pass that was initially ruled short of the goal line before the officiating crew overturned the call for a 14-13 Brahmas lead.
Coach Becht quickly used his super challenge, however, initially confusing the broadcast team before specifying they were looking for an ineligible receiver. Julien Davenport (OL) was flagged, and San Antonio’s next two-point try was no good.
AJ McCarron was the one who suggested the Battlehawks use the Super Challenge that over turned the go-ahead PAT for the Brahmas 🧠🏈 pic.twitter.com/olVk9Y0ij1
— United Football League (@TheUFL) June 1, 2024
3. Santoso's Struggles:
I mentioned last week that I was worried about Ryan Santoso, who missed his last three kicks in the Brahmas’ win over Birmingham after making 12 of his first 13 attempts.
Well…he extended that streak to five straight misses in Week 10. The first attempt from 59 yards out was blocked by Kemari Averett, and Hakeem Butler came close to tipping the potential game-winner, but clearly something is going on with San Antonio’s kicking unit. They’ve got a week to figure it out.
You can find Kacy Sager on X (Twitter) at @THESagerbomb.
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