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The St. Louis Battlehawks, in front of 30,237 fans, came up short of getting to host the first UFL Championship game this Sunday at 5 on Fox. Instead, St. Louis will play host to the San Antonio Brahmas and the Birmingham Stallions.
Surely, the UFL has to be more than a little disappointed as they were hoping to have the franchise with the best fan support would be available to pack the house for the home team in the league's showcase game. After all, St. Louis accounted for the lion's share of attendance of the entire league while the Brahmas and Stallions each only averaged about 12,000 fans at home. Instead, they will have to cross their fingers that the city shows up to support two rival franchises. We would be shocked if either San Antonio or Birmingham fans travel in numbers to St. Louis on relatively short notice.
Sadly for the enthusiastic home base, St. Louis lost at home for the first time this season in dropping a 25-15 decision to San Antonio to give the Brahmas the XFL Conference title.
San Antonio took control from the start and led by as much as 19-3 with 10:08 to play in the 3rd quarter. St. Louis pulled to within 19-15 by tallying two touchdowns in 13 seconds in the 3rd quarter. A 1-yard touchdown pass from QB A.J. McCarron to TE Jake Sutherland with 5:54 left in the third made it 19-9. Then, LB Pita Taumoepenu recovered a fumble by Brahmas QB Chase Garbers at the San Antonio 10 yard line and sprinted to the end zone to narrow the score to 19-15.
San Antonio's next possession ended in a 31-yard field goal, leaving St. Louis with some hope, but the game was later put out of reach by another Santosa field goal from 45 yards out.
There was a moment at the end of the San Antonio/St. Louis game when Battlehawk receiver Hakeem Butler came up to congratulate opposing head coach Wade Phillips who told Butler he would tell to everyone he knows in the NFL that Butler should be playing somewhere in the fall. Butler led the league with 652 yards and was tied for second among receivers with 5 touchdowns. Butler was drafted in the 4th round of the NFL Draft by Arizona Cardinals in 2019. The former Iowa State standout (2016-2018). He suffered a broken hand before ever playing a regular season down. He was released and bounced around to Carolina and Philadelphia, and even tried to land a spot in the CFL with the BC Lions and Edmonton Elks, all with no success.
He caught on with St. Louis last year in the XFL and had 8 TD receptions on 51 catches and 599 yards. After the season, he was immediately signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but was plagued by drops and ultimately released before the season began.
On Sunday, Birmingham used a 19-0 second half to rally past Michigan for a 31-18 home win to claim the USFL Conference title. The visiting Panthers had opened an 18-3 lead before the Skip Holtz-coached team scored 28 unanswered points to claim the victory. Michigan head coach Mike Nolan had inexplicably been named the UFL's top head coach earlier in the week, despite Birmingham's dominance and the fact that Michigan has never beaten Birmingham.
The Stallions are now 31-4 all-time in USFL/UFL games and will be looking to go 3-for-3 in USFL/UFL Championship games.
The USFL and XFL merged this season, taking Birmingham, Michigan, and Memphis from the USFL, along with Arlington, Houston, San Antonio, DC and St. Louis from the XFL. To give the league 4 teams in each conference, the Houston Roughnecks were moved to the XFL Conference.
The XFL Conference was 9-7 vs the USFL Conference.
The eight teams left behind - four from each league - were the Orlando Guardians, Seattle Sea Dragons and Las Vegas Vipers from the XFL, along with the New Jersey Generals, Philadelphia Star, Pittsburgh Maulers, Houston Gamblers and New Orleans Breakers from the USFL.
XFL Conference
| Team | Won | Lost | Pct. | PF | PA | Home | Road | Conf. | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x-St. Louis Battlehawks | 7 | 4 | .636 | 275 | 227 | 5-1 | 2-3 | 5-2 | L1 |
| c#-San Antonio Brahmas | 8 | 3 | .727 | 217 | 168 | 4-1 | 4-2 | 4-3 | W1 |
| e-DC Defenders | 4 | 6 | .400 | 209 | 251 | 2-3 | 2-3 | 2-4 | L1 |
| e-Arlington Renegades | 3 | 7 | .300 | 247 | 249 | 2-3 | 1-4 | 2-4 | W2 |
USFL Conference
| Team | Won | Lost | Pct. | PF | PA | Home | Road | Conf. | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x#-Birmingham Stallions | 10 | 1 | .909 | 296 | 198 | 6-0 | 4-1 | 7-0 | W2 |
| c-Michigan Panthers | 7 | 4 | .636 | 246 | 220 | 4-1 | 3-3 | 4-3 | L2 |
| e-Memphis Showboats | 2 | 8 | .200 | 188 | 290 | 1-4 | 1-4 | 2-4 | W1 |
| e-Houston Roughnecks | 1 | 9 | .100 | 158 | 233 | 1-4 | 0-5 | 0-6 | L6 |
x- Regular season conference championship; host of Conference Championship Playoff game
c-clinched playoff spot
#-Conference Championship game winner
e-eliminated from playoff
Week 10 Results (Home Team in BOLD):
Saturday
Birmingham 31, Michigan 18
Sunday
San Antonio 25, St. Louis 15
Stallions Come Back, Top Panthers 31-18 to Win USFL Conference Championship Game
Brahmas Top Battlehawks 25-15, Punch Ticket to UFL Championship Game
Birmingham Stallions VS San Antonio Brahmas
Sunday, June 16 | 5:00 PM ET | St. Louis, MO | The Dome at America's Center | FOX | FOX Sports on SiriusXM