Turnovers lead to tough loss as Battlehawks fall to Defenders 27–15 (with game and fan photo galleries)

Mike Panasiuk, Manny Wilkins, and Jaryd Jones-Smith of the St. Louis Battlehawks. Photo by Marcelina Enriquez

Both the St. Louis Battlehawks and the DC Defenders entered week 3 of the UFL season undefeated, but obviously only one of them could still claim that on their way out of the Dome at America’s Center. Unfortunately, it was not the Battlehawks who could make that claim at the end of Sunday’s game, though the team put up a valiant effort.

Turnovers were a big part of the story: the Defenders were able to score the game’s first points after defensive end Andre Mintze knocked the ball out of Battlehawks quarterback Manny Wilkins’ hand just as he cocked back to make a throw, setting the Defenders up for a field goal just 5 minutes into the game. St. Louis fell behind early but rallied when defensive end Kameron Kelly snagged an interception off current Defender (though former Battlehawk!) QB Jordan Ta’amu deep in Defenders territory, narrowing the Defenders lead to 12–9 in the second quarter, and ultimately 18–12 at the half. Though the Battlehawks were able to get back within striking distance after an epic 56-yard field goal from Rodrigo Blankenship made it 18–15, another interception set up the Defenders to eat up the clock in the fourth quarter. One final interception set them up for an insurance field goal that put the game out of reach for St. Louis and set the final score at 27–15.

As ever, the best crowd in spring football was out in full force getting their Ka-Kaw on, with the official attendance again topping 30,000 fans. It’s no wonder that this weekend, the league announced that St. Louis would host the UFL championship game for the second year in a row. The Battlehawks get their next chance to earn a spot in that championship on Saturday, April 19, when they head down to Texas to take on the Arlington Renegades. Kickoff is at 11:30am St. Louis time. | Jason Green