Brahmas’ Rally Falls Short in 31-24 Loss to St. Louis Battlehawks

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Three straight thrillers through the first three weeks of the 2024 UFL season. That’s what the San Antonio Brahmas (2-1, 1-1 XFL) have managed to orchestrate. The first two weeks ended with wins and a 2-0 start. Sunday at the Alamodome, the Brahmas came close to staying undefeated but the St. Louis Battlhawks (2-1, 2-0 XFL) held off a fourth quarter rally to defeat San Antonio, 31-24.

Chase Garbers and San Antonio’s trio of running backs kept the Brahmas in the game on offense. Running backs John Lovett, Anthony McFarland Jr. and Brycen Alleyne combined for 93 yards on 25 carries. Lovett carried 12 times for 41 yards and a touchdown while McFarland added 39 yards on nine carries while also scoring on the ground.

Garbers completed 27-of-40 passes for 143 yards and one touchdow. He completed over 65 percent of his passes for the third straight week.

Defensively, San Antonio held St. Louis to 116 yards in the second half, forcing a fumble and picking up sacks by Jacob Sykes and Jalen Dalton. St. Louis outgained the Brahmas, 138-105 in the first half and scored touchdowns on its first two drives. 

For the second straight week, San Antonio was hoping for some fourth quarter magic. St. Louis pushed its lead to 31-18 on Jacob Saylors 19-yard touchdown run with 8:33 to go in the game. The Brahmas marched 60 yards in 12 plays that took 6:23 off the clock. Garbers found Mack for a two-yard touchdown. The PAT failed making it 31-24. After the Brahmas defense forced a three-and-out, San Antonio took possession at its own 21-yard line after a punt. The Brahmas drove down to the St. Louis 44-yard line, but Garbers’ fourth down pass for Jontre’ Kirklin fell incomplete to turn the ball over on downs.

San Antonio opened up the scoring in the first quarter on a 35-yard field goal by new kicker Ryan Santoso. St. Louis’ offense then got in a rhythm behind veteran quarterback A.J. McCarron. McCarron led his team on back-to-back touchdown drives to give the Battlehawks a 14-3 lead. He ran for a 10-yard touchdown and hit Hakeem Butler for a 20-yard touchdown in the first quarter. The Brahmas drew within 14-9 on Lovett’s 2-yard TD run in the second quarter. 

Andre Szmyt closed out the half with a 44-yard field goal putting the Battlehawks ahead at halftime, 17-9.

Santoso closed the deficit to 17-12 with a 32-yard field goal on San Antonio’s first possession of the second half. Szmyt hit again - this time from 54 yards out giving St. Louis a 20-12 advantage. McFarland’s 8-yard TD run pulled San Antonio to 20-12 but Szmyt closed out the third quarter with his third field goal of the game - a 46-yarder giving St. Louis a 23-18 edge.

McCarron finished 19-of-27 for 152 yards and a touchdown. Butler caught six passes for a game-high 87 yards and a touchdown. Saylors finished with 62 yards on seven carries.

San Antonio’s Jontre’ Kirklin had a game-high eight receptions for 52 yards. Jordan Williams paced the Brahmas’ defense with nine tackles. Tavante Beckett and Jordan Mosley each had seven tackles while Beckett added a tackle for loss.

Santoso connected on both field goal attempts and averaged 71 yards on his six kickoffs including one touchback.

San Antonio continues its home-stand by hosting the Michigan Panthers at 6 p.m. (CT) next Saturday, April 20 on FOX. St. Louis will host the Memphis Showboats at 11:30 a.m. CT on ABC next Saturday.

POSTGAME NOTES

Final Score: St. Louis Battlehawks 31, San Antonio Brahmas 24

Recap: The San Antonio Brahmas fell to the St. Louis Battlehawks 31-24 in a game St. Louis led wire-to-wire. The Brahmas fell behind St. Louis by as many as 11 points, and despite a second half push, were unable to overcome the deficit. 

The Big Three Strike Again

TE Cody Latimer, WR Marquez Stevenson and WR Jontre Kirklin hauled in 19 of 28 completed passes in the game, building on their high volume of work last weekend. Latimer was the Brahmas leading receiver with 58 yards on seven catches while Kirklin had 52 yards on eight catches. 

Better Late Than Never

San Antonio scored 15 of their 24 points in the second half. Going back to last week, San Antonio has now scored 35 of their last 44 points in the second half.

One More Chance

Despite the Brahmas defense allowing 31 points and 254 total yards, they made a stand with two minutes left in the game to give their offense the ball down seven. Chase Garbers was able to get the ball to the St. Louis 44-yard line with 21 seconds on the clock with the help of reciever Jontre Kirklin, who tallied three catches on the drive. However, the drive stalled, and Garbers pass on fourth down fell incomplete to end the game. 

Rushing Attack

For the first time this season, San Antonio totaled over 100 rushing yards. Running back John Lovett totaled 42 yards on 12 carries while Anthony McFarland added 39 yards on nine carries. Brycen Alleyne added 12 rushing yards and Garbers added 10 more. The game also marked the first time the Brahmas had two rushing touchdowns, one by Lovett and one by McFarland.

Taking care of the ball

The San Antonio Brahmas did not commit a turnover for the first time this season. Through three games, San Antonio is averaging just one turnover a game.

Home Sweet Home

Today’s attendance at the Alamodome was 11,970.