XFL St. Louis Battlehawks

Week 7 Battlehawks at Houston Game Notes

Published on March 29, 2023 under XFL (XFL)
St. Louis Battlehawks News Release


SERIES NOTES

This is the second meeting in the XFL between the Battlehawks and Roughnecks. Houston defeated St. Louis, 28-24, in Week 2 of the 2020 season at TDECU Stadium in Houston. The Battlehawks, which are T-2nd in the XFL North, have won both of their games against XFL South teams this season, while the XFL South-leading Roughnecks are 0-2 vs. North Division opponents.

ROAD FINALE

The St. Louis Battlehawks will finish their 2023 road schedule with a visit Sunday to TDECU Stadium in Houston to face the XFL South Division-leading Houston Roughnecks. The Battlehawks have a league-high three road victories on the season and will join San Antonio as the only XFL teams to have already played all five of their scheduled regular-season road games.

St. Louis will complete its regular-season schedule with three straight home games, beginning with a rematch vs. the Vegas Vipers at noon CT on Saturday, April 8 at The Dome at America's Center. The game will be televised on ESPN.

FAMILIAR FACES

- Battlehawks Head Coach Anthony Becht played for the St. Louis Rams in 2008.

- Offensive Coordinator Bruce Gradkowski (2008), Defensive Line Coach La'Roi Glover (2006-08), Running Backs Coach Art Valero (2008-09), Wide Receivers Coach Ricky Proehl (1998-2002), Linebackers Coach Chris Claiborne (2005), Director of Player Personnel Dave Boller (2004-07) and Vice President of Team Business and Event Operations Brandon Williams (2007) were also part of the St. Louis Rams organization.

- Running Back Brian Hill graduated from Belleville West High School.

- Wide Receiver Darrius Shepherd (Blue Springs) and Defensive Lineman Freedom Akinmoladun (Grandview) are both from western Missouri.

HIGH ROLLERS

The Battlehawks produced their most dominant victory of the season Saturday in a 29-6 victory over the Vegas Vipers at Cashman Field in Las Vegas, Nev.

The St. Louis offense set season highs with 29 points scored, 328 yards of total offense, while the defense held Vegas to 6 points, 230 total yards and 43 rushing yards, all of which were the fewest by a Battlehawks opponent this season.

The Battlehawks broke a scoreless tie with a 4-yard reception byv WR Gary Jennings from QB A.J. McCarron on the first play of the second quarter. McCarron then hit WR Darrius Shepherd with a 5-yard pass for a two-point conversion and give St. Louis an 8-0 lead. A 40-yard field goal by K Donny Hageman and 30-yard touchdown pass from McCarron to Shepherd later in the quarter extended the Battlehawks' lead to 17-0 by halftime.

RB Kareem Walker scored his first touchdown of the season with a 1-yard rush on the Battlehawks' first drive of the second half to build the lead to 23-0. The teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter, with McCarron and Shepherd connecting on a 6-yard pass with 3:06 left in the game to give St. Louis its season-high 23-point margin of victory.

H-TOWN CONNECTIONS

WR Hakeem Butler returns to Houston after he moved to nearby Richmond, Texas, at age 16 and starred at Fort Bend Travis High School, where he played both football and basketball.

While he no longer throws down slam dunks or grab rebounds, the Battlehawks' largest receiver has utilized his 6'6" height to haul in a team-leading 35 catches, 372 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

Battlehawks QB A.J. McCarron played in four games with the NFL's Houston Texans from 2019-20, including a start in 2019. He was 22-for-38 with 245 passing yards in those contests to go with five rushes for 39 yards and a touchdown run in 2019.

Roughnecks QB Kaleb Eleby is a native of Maryland Heights, Mo., and guided Pattonville High School to the Class 5 state championship game in 2017. He graduated as the school record holder in all passing categories, including 9,735 passing yards and 95 touchdowns.

HEAD COACHES HISTORY

Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht and Roughnecks head coach Wade Phillips will face each other as head coaches for the first time, but Becht previously played in two NFL games against a team led by Phillips.

Becht's New York Jets beat the Phillips-coached Buffalo Bills, 27-14, in Week 3 of the 2000 season when Becht was a rookie tight end. Becht did not face a team with Phillips at the helm again until 2008 when St. Louis defeated Phillips' Dallas Cowboys, 34-14.

RULES, RULES, RULES

The XFL has brought back several popular, unique rules from the 2020 season while also implementing new, innovative rules for the 2023 season.

Rules such as tiered extra points and double forward passes return, as well as kickoffs in which teams line up five yards apart. The kickoff rule led to fewer injuries and a 92 percent return rate in 2020.

New rules include an extra possession option in the fourth quarter only, teams may now attempt to retain possession by converting a 4th-and-15 play from their own 25-yard line. Teams can utilize an onside kick at any point in the game, but must notify the referee they plan to do so.

The play clock has been increased from 25 to 35 seconds, and each team will have three timeouts to use each half rather than the two at their disposal in 2020.

The XFL is also introducing a first of its kind, centralized 'command center' for instant replay review and officiating led by Dean Blandino, Vice President of Officiating and Playing Rules Innovation. The fully cloud-based instant replay program offers live integration during replay reviews and oversight of officiating discrepancies during all 43 XFL games.

USEFUL INNOVATIONS

The Battlehawks have put two of the rules that are unique to the XFL to good use through the first six weeks of the season.

St. Louis is 8-for-16 on extra-point conversions this season. The Battlehawks were successful in Week 1 at San Antonio on their only three-point attempt of the year and converted their first successful one-point attempt in Week 4 vs. Arlington. They are 6-for-10 on two-point conversions.

QB A.J. McCarron and WR Austin Proehl teamed up in Week 1 with the 4th-and-15 extra possession option in the fourth quarter at San Antonio. McCarron hit Proehl for a 22-yard gain to begin the Battlehawks' six-play, 75-yard drive that ended with the game-winning touchdown on a 14-yard pass from McCarron to Proehl. The Battlehawks are 1-of-2 on 4th-and-15 extra possession attempts this season.

BACK IN ACTION

WR Marcell Ateman has been activated from injured reserve after he missed three weeks with a hamstring injury. The 28-year-old Oklahoma State product who spent parts of three seasons with the NFL's Raiders caught six passes for 75 yards through the first three weeks of the season.

DB Tim Harris returned for Week 6 at Vegas for his first game back from a hamstring injury that had kept him out for two weeks. He saw his first game action of the season and made three tackles.

HILL'S THRILLS X 2

DB Lavert Hill and RB Brian Hill both starred in the Battlehawks' Week 6 victory at Vegas.

Lavert Hill caught his first two interceptions of the season and became the first Battlehawks player to have multiple interceptions in a single game this year. His first interception ended the Vipers' opening drive of the second half and set the Battlehawks up for a touchdown drive that extended their lead to 23-0. He also had two tackles, including one tackle for loss.

Brian Hill, meanwhile, compiled 91 all-purpose yards against Vegas, which was his third straight game with at least 90 all-purpose yards. He had a game-high 62 rushing yards on 13 carries for 4.8 yards-per-rush, and he caught four passes for 29 yards.

Hill has surpassed 60 rushing yards for three consecutive weeks and now ranks second in the XFL with 317 rushing yards for the season. He also ranks fourth among XFL rushers with a 5.1 yards-per-carry average (min. 15 attempts) and eight runs of at least 10 yards. Hill has accounted for 58 percent of the Battlehawks' 546 rushing yards for the season.

His 40-yard run in the fourth quarter of Week 1 at San Antonio still stands as the longest run by a Battlehawks player through the first six weeks of the season.

STAYING GROUNDED

The Battlehawks have had 98-or-more total rushing yards in each of their last three games and have moved into third in the XFL with 546 rushing yards on the season. They are also T-3rd in the league with 14 rushes of 10-or-more yards.

MCCARRON MAGIC

QB A.J. McCarron went 23-for-29 with 236 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in the Week 6 victory at Vegas. He also connected on 19 consecutive pass attempts from 9:51 left in the first quarter to 10:06 left in the third quarter during a streak that covered 200 yards and two touchdowns.

McCarron leads the XFL with 14 touchdown passes and has completed a league-leading 67.5 percent of his passes on the season (min. 20 pass attempts). He also has an XFL-best 14-4 touchdown/interception ratio through six games. His 131 completions and 1,322 passing yards also rank second in the league, behind only Seattle's Ben DiNucci (146/1,505).

McCarron also leads all XFL players with 15 total touchdowns on the year. He scored on a 1-yard rush in Week 2 at Seattle in addition to his 14 passing touchdowns for the season. He ranks T-3rd among XFL quarterbacks with four rushes of 10-or-more yards after a season-best, 16-yard rush in the first quarter of Week 6 at Vegas.

DANGEROUS DARRIUS

WR Darrius Shepherd led the team in catches and receiving yards for the second time in three weeks with a game-high seven receptions for 79 yards, two touchdowns and a twopoint conversion. He became the first Battlehawks receiver to score multiple touchdowns in a game this season, including a 30-yard score with 34 seconds left in the second quarter that was his longest reception of the year.

Shepherd also led St. Louis with a season-high eight catches for 91 yards in Week 4 vs. Arlington. He ranks second on the team with 27 catches, 270 receiving yards and three touchdowns on the season. Shepherd also leads St. Louis with 15 catches for first downs.

Shepherd also added 15 yards to his XFL-leading kick return total of 584 yards. He ranks second in the XFL with a 29.2 yards-per-return average and holds four of the five longest kick returns in the league through six weeks.

HAKEEM THE DREAM

WR Hakeem Butler caught five passes for 36 yards in Week 6 at Vegas and has made five-or-more receptions in each of his last four games. He ranks second in the XFL with a teamhigh 35 catches for the season, while his team-leading 372 receiving yards rank fourth.

The Iowa State alum who played his high school ball at Fort Bend Travis High School has led the team in receiving yards in three of its five games and is the only Battlehawks receiver to catch at least nine passes in a game this season, as he accomplished the feat in both Week 3 and Week 5 against D.C. Butler's team-high four touchdown receptions are tied for the second most in the XFL this year. He also ranks T-4th in the league with five catches of 20-or-more yards.

A QUARTER TO REMEMBER

The Battlehawks turned a scoreless game after the first quarter in Week 6 at Vegas into a 17-0 lead by halftime with three scores in 15 minutes of game time. QB A.J. McCarron found WR Gary Jennings for a 4-yard touchdown on the first play of the quarter and WR Darrius Shepherd for a 30-yard TD reception on the team's last play of the quarter.

McCarron was 10-for-10 with 114 passing yards and the two touchdowns in the quarter, as the Battlehawks outgained Vegas 130-46. The 17 points were the most St. Louis has scored in a single quarter this season and the second-most for any XFL team, behind Houston's 20-point first quarter in a 44-16, Week 4 win at Orlando.

WRAP 'EM UP

The St. Louis defense ranks second in the league with 265 tackles on the year. LB Willie Harvey leads the team with 36 tackles, which are the fourth most in the XFL. LB Mike Rose follows with 31 tackles that are T-8th in the league.

LB Carson Wells leads the team with five tackles for loss. He has four tackles for loss in his last two games to go with 1.5 sacks. His 2.0 sacks for the season rank second on the team behind only LB Travis Feeney with 2.5.

TURNOVER TERRITORY

The Battlehawks defense leads the XFL with 14 takeaways, including eight via fumble this season. DL Kevin Atkins, DB Ben DeLuca and LB Travis Feeney are three of the four players with a league-high two fumble recoveries on the season. Feeney and DL LaCale London are tied for second in the league with two forced fumbles each. DBs Lavert Hill and Nate Meadors are T-4th in the league with a team-high two interceptions each.

The Battlehawks have forced multiple turnovers in five of their six games, while the offense did not allow a turnover for the third time this season in Week 6 at Vegas. St. Louis holds a 14-9 turnover margin for the season.

ROAD WARRIORS

The Battlehawks lead all XFL teams with three road victories on the season, going 3-1 away from The Dome at America's Center. They join San Antonio as the only two teams in the league to have played at least four road games through the first six weeks of the season.

HOME SWEET DOME

The Battlehawks will hold their five home games at The Dome at America's Center. The Dome was constructed in 1995 and hosted NFL games from 1995-2015.

A multi-purpose facility that has hosted a wide variety of events in its nearly three decades, the Dome also hosted the Battlehawks during the 2020 season before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the league to suspend operations. The team went 2-0 in its two home games that season and is 1-1 at home in 2023.

Check out the St. Louis Battlehawks Statistics

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