The Battlehawk Brief: Week 9 2025

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UFL St. Louis Battlehawks

The Battlehawk Brief: Week 9 2025

May 23, 2025 - United Football League (UFL)
St. Louis Battlehawks News Release


"I'm proud of that because it's hard to win," shared Becht. "You reflect on it. People see it, but just proud of the fact we have that kind of culture here..."

-This has been another tough week for many around St. Louis who are dealing with the aftermath of the recent tornadoes. Our thoughts are with you and know that efforts are underway to provide more than just our prayers.

-For those joining us tonight, the "Battle March" and "Hawk Walk" take place at 4pm, so be sure to have your place in line at Baer Plaza.

-Game captains this week are Freedom Akinmoladun, Juwann Bushell-Beatty, Chase Allen, Travis Feeney, and Blake Jackson.

-Congratulations to St. Louis Battlehawks Head Coach Anthony Becht.

The Battlehawks win this past week not only helped secure the team's second consecutive playoff appearance, but also marked the twentieth victory of Anthony Becht's coaching career.

"I'm proud of that because it's hard to win," shared Becht. "You reflect on it. People see it, but just proud of the fact we have that kind of culture here and some of the choices and things that I've done on the way I want to manage, control, and coach have worked. Always trying to get better, even if you are winning-'what can I do better?' and I do that after every season."

That assessment led to Becht and General Manager Dave Boller focusing on building a deeper and overall stronger team for 2025. Notable with a raised level of competition in training camp,the results have been evident during the season as the Battlehawks have dealt with injuries at quarterback, on both the defensive and offensive lines, and in the secondary.

The proverbial "next man up" mentality has been a reality as St. Louis enters Week 9 with a record of 6-2 and tied atop the XFL Conference for first place and the best record in the UFL.

"There's just a lot of urgency," explained Becht. "This is my third year as a head coach and I'm trying to build. I'm desperately worried about failure and not winning and not holding up to the responsibility of having a great product in St. Louis every year."

The first of the 2023 XFL head coaches to reach the 20-win milestone, Becht has yet to experience a losing season, having guided the Battlehawks to 7-3 records in 2023 and 2024.

"I don't know how I'd handle that if I do, but it's going to come at some point," admitted Becht. "Coach Stoops, Coach Phillips and these guys have gone through bad seasons, but they've had a crapload of winning ones that people just forget about those seasons. They know about them, they remember them, but these guys are winners. They're champions."

Arlington's Bob Stoops (12-21), who also coached the Renegades in 2020, stands with Becht as the only two remaining head coaches from legacy XFL as D.C.'s Reggie Barlow (13-7) and San Antonio's Wade Phillips (14-9) stepped down from their roles earlier this season. Stoops led the Renegades to the XFL title in 2023 and Phillips guided San Antonio to the UFL Championship last season.

St. Louis missed the playoffs in 2023 due to a fifth-tiebreaker scenario and earned a spot in the XFL Conference Championship last season and again this year.

"The championship has always been the goal," stated Becht. "We're going to work really hard and I'm going to do everything I can to help our players, our coaching staff is going to do everything it can to help achieve that."

While both St. Louis (6-2) and D.C. (6-2) have clinched their playoff spots, the conference title remains on the line and won't be settled until the two teams face each other next Friday for the regular-season finale at Audi Field. The two teams will then battle again the next week in the XFL Conference Championship.

Due to a previously scheduled stadium event at Audi Field, the UFL has previously announced the XFL Conference Championship game will take place at The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis on June 8th.

Fans can take advantage of the Battlehawks Bundle for specially priced combo-tickets for both the XFL Conference Championship and the UFL Championship on June 14th.

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United Football League Stories from May 23, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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