Battlehawks shining ahead of playoffs highlights UFL storylines from Week 10
After finishing the regular season on a six-game winning streak and with a UFL-best 8-2 record, the Battlehawks won't have to leave the city of St. Louis as they continue their quest to win a championship.
St. Louis hosts the DC Defenders on Sunday in the XFL Conference Championship Game on FOX, and the winner will compete for the UFL title against either the Birmingham Stallions or the Michigan Panthers , who will face off earlier in the day in the USFL Conference Championship Game. Both the XFL and UFL championships will take place at The Dome at America's Center. The Battlehawks averaged a league-best 30,000 fans at home games this season.
"We're incredibly grateful to be in this position, and we're excited for next week's game in St. Louis," Becht said.
Becht sat the majority of his starters, including QB Max Duggan and RB Jacob Saylors , in a narrow Week 10 victory over the Defenders. In the other postseason game, the defending champion Stallions host the Panthers. Birmingham crushed the Memphis Showboats on the road in Week 10, while the Panthers fell to the Houston Roughnecks at home.
Elsewhere, the Arlington Renegades scratched back to the .500 mark with a win over the San Antonio Brahmas .
Here's a look at other storylines from Week 10: It's the Tae Crowder show!
Crowder led a Birmingham defense that forced two turnovers, totaled three sacks and held Memphis to 201 total yards in the final game of the regular season. The Stallions' standout linebacker was responsible for both takeaways, as he became the first player in UFL history to account for two pick-sixes in a single game. Birmingham's 46 points scored are the most the Stallions have scored in franchise history during the regular season.
Crowder's first interception came off a tipped pass from defensive lineman Carlos Davis, with the Georgia product hauling in the deflection and weaving his way past the Showboats for a score. On the second pick for a score — this one from 75 yards — Crowder faked a pitch to teammate Chapelle Russell, fooling Memphis receiver Isiah Hennie and creating space for him to scoot into the end zone.
"I feel like the coaches do a great job of working the turnover drills throughout the week," Crowder said. "And we're just flying around as a defense, and it paid off today."
In their last home game of the season, the Panthers paid tribute to one of their star players from last season, handing out bobbleheads of Bates to the first 2,000 fans who attended their game against the Roughnecks.
Bates went 17-for-22 on field goals for the Panthers last season. That included going 7-for-11 from at least 50 yards and 3-for-4 from 60-plus yards. His 64-yard, game-winning field goal last season is the longest in UFL history.
The impressive performance earned him a job as kicker for the NFL's Detroit Lions, going 26-for-29 on field goals last season, with a long of 58 yards in his rookie season.
"My life and my family's life [have] changed forever because of this league and this team giving me an opportunity to keep chasing a dream," Bates said about the UFL and the Panthers. "It's just so cool to see … the way the league has continued to grow. I'm going to be the biggest supporter of it forever because it did so much for me, and I'm so thankful for it."
The Panthers' replacement for Bates this season is B.T. Potter. He is 11-for-16 on the year, with a long of 56 yards. Arlington QB Luis Perez finishes season as UFL passing leader
With UFL MVP frontrunner and Defenders QB Jordan Ta'amu resting in Week 10 in preparation for the postseason, Perez overtook the Ole Miss product as the league's passing leader for a second straight season with a sizzling performance in a Week 10 win over the Brahmas. Perez went 26-for-32 (81%) for 283 yards. The San Diego native, not known for his running ability, also ran for a 7-yard touchdown.
For the season, Perez totaled a league-high 2,298 passing yards, with nine touchdown passes and five interceptions. Perez led the UFL last season with 2,307 passing yards.
Even with the big numbers, Perez still failed to get the Renegades into the playoffs for a second straight year. Arlington head coach Bob Stoops did not attend the game due to a leg injury suffered during practice this week. Renegades offensive coordinator Chuck Long served as interim head coach.
Houston head coach C.J. Johnson got a suffocating performance from his defense to help the Roughnecks finish at the .500 mark to end the year. Houston forced four turnovers and held Michigan to 12 points defensively.
Panthers head coach Mike Nolan didn't play starting QB Bryce Perkins, who's recovering from an ankle injury and working to get fully healthy for the playoffs. Instead, Nolan started third-stringer Rocky Lombardi and played backup Danny Etling.
The Roughnecks finished tied with St. Louis for the league-lead in takeaways (17).
J'Mar Smith appears to have seized the starting job for the Stallions, who are looking to earn a fourth consecutive pro spring football championship, with his stellar play over the past three weeks. He has completed 65% of his passes for 758 yards, six touchdowns and just one interception in three starts, two of those ending in victories for Birmingham.
However, with Alex McGough (shoulder) and Matt Corral (abdomen) potentially making a healthy return next week and both ahead of Smith on the depth chart to start the year, Holtz will have options heading into the postseason.
Andrew Peasley served as the backup for Smith and got some playing time in the second half, allowing Holtz to get a closer look at the overall depth of his QB room. Case Cookus was the No. 3, emergency QB over the weekend.
"With the way the game got, it gave us an opportunity to put him (Peasley) in there and give him a little bit of game experience to be able to evaluate him a little bit," Holtz said. "We're getting ready to make some decisions on what that quarterback room is going to look like for the playoffs."
Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him at @eric_d_williams .
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