St. Louis Battlehawks Win Fifth Straight, Knock off Houston 22-8

The St. Louis Battlehawks delivered a decisive 22-8 victory Saturday over the Houston Roughnecks for the 32,969 fans in attendance at The Dome at America’s Center.

The Battlehawks (5-1) held the Roughnecks (1-5) scoreless through the first 46 minutes, 55 seconds of game time that established a franchise-record 77:02 scoreless streak that reached back to the second quarter of a 45-12 win May 28 in Week 5 at the D.C. Defenders. Houston RB Mark Thompson ended the streak with a 16-yard rushing touchdown with 13:05 left in the game, which narrowed St. Louis’ lead to 14-6.

The Roughnecks threatened to erase the rest of their deficit when they drove into Battlehawks territory with under 8 minutes to play in the fourth quarter. The St. Louis defense, however, forced a turnover on downs on 4th-and-6 when SS Kameron Kelly stopped WR Justin Hall at the St. Louis 33 yard line after a 5-yard reception with 4:59 left in the game.

The Battlehawks turned that stop into a touchdown in four plays. QB A.J. McCarron launched a 36-yard pass to WR Hakeem Butler for Butler’s second touchdown catch of the game with 3:06 left in the game. McCarron then found RB Jacob Saylors for a two-point conversion that gave St. Louis a 16-point lead. The Roughnecks’ final points came via a safety when P Sterling Hofrichter ran out the clock by running into the St. Louis end zone.

The Battlehawks took a 14-0 lead into halftime thanks to a 1-yard touchdown pass from McCarron to WR Steven Mitchell Jr. as time expired in the first half. McCarron completed the scoring drive with a 5-yard pass to TE Jake Sutherland for the two-point conversion. ILB Mike Rose put the Battlehawks in position for that score with his first forced fumble of the season when he knocked the ball loose from Roughnecks RB Mark Thompson with 50 seconds left in the second quarter. DT T.J. Pesefea Jr. recovered the fumble at the St. Louis 38 yard line.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Battlehawks broke through with a 13-play, 80-yard drive that covered 8:41 of the second quarter, the team’s longest drive of the season by time of possession. Butler made a 17-yard catch for his team-leading fourth touchdown catch from McCarron with 6:12 remaining in the first half to give St. Louis a 6-0 lead.

The Battlehawks head back to the road in Week 7 to face the Birmingham Stallions at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday, May 11 at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Ala. The game will be broadcast on FOX and FOX Sports on SiriusXM Radio.

Game Notes

• WR Hakeem Butler caught a season-high two touchdown passes for the second consecutive week (Also: Week 5 at D.C.) to give him a team-leading five touchdown receptions for the season. He finished with a game-high six catches and 134 receiving yards, overall.
• QB A.J. McCarron tied his season high with three touchdown passes (Also: Week 4 vs. Memphis). He went 24-for-37 with three touchdowns and an interception. McCarron leads the UFL with 13 touchdown passes for the season and has a 13-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
• WR Steven Mitchell Jr. caught his first touchdown pass of the season with a 1-yard reception as time expired in the first half. He had four catches for 35 yards for the game.
• LB Willie Harvey had a team-high nine tackles, including a team-high six solo tackles and a tackle for loss. He also forced his first fumble of the season with 1:08 left in the third quarter. He leads the team with 41 tackles and 22 solo tackles this season.
• LB Mike Rose forced his first fumble of the season with 50 seconds left in the second quarter, the first of his Battlehawks career. He also had seven tackles for the game.
• DT T.J. Pesefea Jr. recorded his first sack of the season with 4:48 left in the second quarter and recovered his first fumble of the year with 50 seconds to play in the first half.
• The Battlehawks defense established a franchise record with a 77:02 scoreless streak dating back to 00:07 left in the second quarter of Week 5 at D.C. The streak ended on a Houston touchdown with 13:05 left in the first quarter.