UFL

D.C. at St Louis: Battlehawks Clinch without McCarron, All but Dash Defenders' Postseason Dreams

The St. Louis Battlehawks are the first team in the XFL Conference to secure a playoff spot following their Week 8 win over the D.C. Defenders.

Kacy Sager

Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
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ST. LOUIS — The Battlehawks (6-2) became the first team to secure a spot in the XFL Conference Championship Game — and all but ended D.C.’s shot at the other — with a 26-21 victory on Sunday, besting the visiting Defenders (3-5) in front of a crowd of 32,403.

Trailing late in the fourth, backup quarterback Manny Wilkins and Wayne Gallman II connected for a 38-yard gain to set up Gallman’s go-ahead score with two minutes to go, and Willie Harvey’s monster third-down sack of Jordan Ta’amu on the following D.C. drive sealed the win.


The Defenders were first on the board with Matt McCrane’s 48-yard field goal, but St. Louis knotted it up in the second, settling for an Andre Szmyt 26-yarder after Kameron Kelly picked off Ta’amu on the 11th play of D.C.’s drive.

The first of the game’s five lead changes came with 1:16 left in the half when Jacob Saylors scored for St. Louis, and McCrane cut the Battlehawks’ edge to 9-6 with a 49-yarder a minute later. The field goal came after Ta'amu and Ty Scott teamed up for one of the better plays of the season.

Ta’amu and Alex Ellis opened the second half with a 30-yard touchdown connection, but Gallman answered with a 7-yard trip to the end zone to put St. Louis up 17-14. Ta’amu was then picked off by Qwynnterrio Cole on the first play of the final frame, and Szmyt tacked on a 37-yard kick.


Ta’amu responded with a 17-yard touchdown to Scott, and a successful one-point pass gave the Defenders the edge with 4:55 on the clock. Gallman’s game-winner came shortly after, however, and the Battlehawks defense stood strong on D.C.’s final drive.

Now, three necessary shout-outs following St. Louis’s victory.

Willie Harvey

Harvey took over on D.C.’s final drive, bringing up fourth-and-24 with a tackle for loss on second down and his third-down sack that left Ta’amu down on the field before backup QB Jalan McClendon came in for the final play.

He finished the game with six total tackles, three solo tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss and two pass breakups.

Wayne Gallman II

In addition to a pair of rushing scores and the 38-yard reception, Gallman was also the one who sniffed out the Defenders' fake punt in the second quarter and made the stop in D.C. territory on special teams.

Manny Wilkins

Wilkins performed well in A.J. McCarron’s absence, finishing 9-of-18 for 126 yards to go with 12 touches and 79 yards on the ground. Additionally, five of his runs picked up a fresh set of downs for the Battlehawks. St. Louis continues to label McCarron as week-to-week with the ankle injury he suffered in Week 7, and there is certainly an opportunity to rest him until the postseason if the Battlehawks can clinch home field.

Wilkins is more than capable of getting his team a win next week at Arlington before St. Louis closes out its regular season at home against likely XFL Conference Championship opponent San Antonio.

You can find Kacy Sager on X (Twitter) at @THESagerbomb.

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Kacy Sager
KACY SAGER

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