Inside the UFL

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Inside the UFL

by Fran Stuchbury
April 3, 2025 - United Football League (UFL)


The United Football League opened its second season over the weekend, debuting in primetime on Friday

This season the United Football League features a Friday night game of the week which airs on FOX, giving UFL fans a consistent times slot every week.

The St. Louis Battlehawks defeated the Houston Roughnecks 41-13 in the opener.

The Battlehawks focused heavy on the run with 41 carries for a UFL-record 273 yards and four rushing touchdowns. Jacob Saylors and Jarveon Howard combined for 213 of those yards and two touchdowns.

With A.J. McCarron no longer on the St. Louis roster, Manny Wilkins made the most of his opportunity, completing 17 of 22 passes for 189 yards while adding 43 yards on the ground and two rushing touchdowns. The run-heavy approach helped the Battlehawks dominate the time of possession, holding the ball for 35:33 of the game clock.

"I thought Manny Wilkins did a heck of a job managing the football game," said St. Louis Head Coach Anthony Becht. "The operation was clean. We had a new offensive coordinator three weeks before training camp. I give a lot of credit to Phil McGeoghan; nobody deserved this opportunity more than him. The ability to be a play caller for this team... I had complete trust in him. You would never think he put the offense together three days going into training camp."

"Really proud of my football team tonight. Been trying to find the secret sauce for the past two years on how to start fast and get these guys to perform. Every phase of our football team contributed, especially early in the game, That just set the tone. I challenged my offense and defensive line and really put it on their backs. If we are going win a championship our trenches have to be great and they really were."

Houston was able to get nothing going on offense with only 76 yards passing between Nolan Henderson and Anthony Brown who threw two interceptions in an abbreviated start.

"Tough game; got off to a slow start," said Roughnecks Head Coach Curtis Johnson. "I thought initially the defense started pretty good, then tackling was very flawed. We had some bright spots. We can't turn the ball over against a team like this. Coach Becht really prepared his team. Their quarterback was outstanding, and they ran the ball on us. Self-inflicted wounds kind of hurt us."

On Saturday the Arlington Renegades beat the San Antonio Brahmas 33-9.

Renegades quarterback Luis Perez completed 20 of 25 passes for 164 yards and one interception. Running back Kalen Ballage had the longest run for a touchdown in UFL history of 77 yards in the second quarter. Dae Dae Hunter contributed 40 yards on the ground.

De'Veon Smith had three carries for three yards and three touchdowns.

"I thought we were going be better," said Renegades Head Coach Bob Stoops. "I thought our line was better. I thought Kalen was going to make a big difference. He does. I was really anxious to see him in live action; he can run. Dae Dae Hunter is such a different change of pace. I love that Smith gets three touchdowns. He's really going to contribute in those tough areas. The third and one yard and inches and on fourth down. He's tough to deny."

The Brahmas who made it all the way to the UFL Championship last season but had a new quarterback at the helm in Kellen Mond. In his first start he went 17 of 31 passing for 159 yards.

"Obviously it wasn't what we wanted," said San Antonio Head Coach Wade Phillips. "I thought they played really well. They got a good coach and good players. We made too many mistakes. It starts with me; we have to do things better than we did in this ballgame. Were not going get down, we are going keep working hard. I think this team has a lot of heart and we will come back from this game."

On Sunday the Michigan Panthers defeated the Memphis Showboat 26-12. Michigan quarterback Bryce Perkins provided consistency, completing 16 of 19 passes for 163 yards plus a key two-yard rushing touchdown on a fourth down and two play where he made an amazing effort to get into the end zone.

"From a competitive standpoint I thought it was an evenly matched game," said Panthers Head Coach Mike Nolan. "Both teams continued to play hard throughout the game. We face this team again in three more weeks. The one thing about the game I thought was difficult for us was their offense because we haven't seen them play, and we adjusted as the game went along."

Memphis was missing coach Ken Whisenhunt, away on a leave of absence for personal reasons. Troy Williams and E.J. Perry combined for 178 passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Jonathan Adams caught six passes for 93 yards and one score.

"How do you know your football team after a three week preseason where we turned over 75 percent of the roster?" asked Showboats interim head coach Jim Turner. "Obviously we wanted to win that game, and our players showed we have a lot of fight to win a lot of football games. At the same time I wanted to learn about this team. So everybody was going play.

"We traded quarterbacks, we traded offensive lineman, wide receivers, everyone played. On defense we played all our numbers. Almost every single guy had a factor on if we won or lost. We learned a lot. I know a lot more about that football team. The number one thing I know about them is that we have character in that locker room. It was a game of halves, in the first half our offense did not move the ball well; we sputtered. We dug in the second half, we came swinging, running the football well. We kept our defense off the field. It was a different half. I thought our defense played well the whole game through."

To finish the first week of action, the D.C. Defenders stunned the defending champion Birmingham Stallions, 18-11, providing a win to D.C. Head Coach Shannon Harris in his first game in charge. Just a week before the opener, Reggie Barlow left the Defenders to become head coach at Tennessee State with Harris named his replacement.

The Defenders standout defense sacked Birmingham quarterback Alex McGough eight times and added one interception and one fumble recovery. Offensively, Jordan Ta'amu accumulated 211 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception.

"Very grateful for this opportunity; great hard fought game for our guys," said Defenders head coach Shannon Harris. "We challenged these guys all camp. These guys did a really good job of busting their butt in camp, getting into conditioning. We were the better team that was in shape. It was a great way for us to close out that win, especially on defense. So excited for that win; those guys played hard."

With last year's starting quarterback Adrian Martinez now on the New York Jets roster, Alex McGough stepped back in under center for the Stallions. He had previously led the team to two USFL Championships in 2022 and 2023 and returned to the team after making the Green Bay Packers practice squad as a receiver. Under constant duress, he completed only 10 of 23 passes for just 89 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while contributing eight carries for 84 yards. The Stallions had four offensive lineman returning from last season.

"Congratulations to D.C they certainly made the plays they needed to in order to win the football game," said Stallions Head Coach Skip Holtz. "Everyone has talent in this league and anybody can line up and beat anybody. If you don't do the things necessary to win, then you can get beat. We have a new team; I thought we were sloppy today. I thought offensively we could not get into a rhythm, do anything consistently. That is a testament to them and how they played on defense.

"Defensively we have to stop the penalties; we had four to five in the first half that really hurt us. (Those are) Key plays that lead to scoring drives. I certainly feel we could have given ourselves a better chance today with some of the mistakes we made on both sides of the ball. I take responsibility for that as the head coach. I did not do a good job with Alex McGough getting him ready. He's been out of the quarterback position for a while. I thought he did some great things athletically but I am talking about playing quarterback when you get blitzed and you have to throw hot and those type of things. I did not do a good job with him and I thought some of those things showed up today."

UFL Top 10 Plays From Week 1

Every Touchdown of Week 1

Week 2 Games

Friday April 4,

Birmingham Stallions at Michigan Panthers - 8 pm est. FOX

Saturday April 5th

Memphis Showboats at D.C Defenders - 8 pm est. ABC

Sunday April 6th

Houston Roughnecks at Arlington Renegades - 12 pm est. ESPN

San Antonio Brahmas at St. Louis Battlehawks - 6:30 pm est. FS1

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