Wayne Gallman II #30 of the St. Louis Battlehawks rushes ahead of Johnson #32 during the first half at The Dome at America’s Center on May 19, 2024 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/UFL/Getty Images)

In his first start since his time at Arizona State University, in 2018, Manny Wilkins played turnover-free football at quarterback, filling in for the injured A.J. McCarron, to lead the St. Louis Battlehawks to a 26-21 victory over the D.C. Defenders on Sunday before a crowd of 32,000 at The Dome in downtown St. Louis. The two teams went back in forth with field goals early in the first half until the Battlehawks took the lead in the game after a rushing touchdown from Jacob Saylors with 1:07 left in the half.  D.C. Defenders place kicker Matt McCrane kicked a 49-yard field to narrow the Battlehawks lead to 9-6 going into halftime.

Former St. Louis Battlehawks Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu pass 30-yards to a wide-open Alex Ellis for a touchdown follow by a 2-point conversion to give the Defenders a 14-9. The Battlehawks bounce back when running back Wayne Gallman ran a 7-yard touchdown to follow by a two-point conversion to give the Battlehawks back the lead 17-14. Midway in the fourth quarter Ta’amu hit a 17-yard touchdown follow by a 1-point conversion to give the Defenders 21-20. Battlehawk’s running back Wayne Gallman put his team up 26-21 but the Defenders had one more chance to win the game. On 4th and 24 yards to go the Battlehawk defense that force 2 turnovers in the game came up big by tackling Defenders Wide Receiver Chris Rowland 7 yards short of the first down giving the Battlehawks the victory.

Manny Wilkins was 9-18 for 126 yards but did most of the damage with his legs by rushing for 80 yards on 12 careers while Wayne Gallman and Jacob Saylor combine for 67 yards and 3 touchdowns for the Battlehawks. With the victory the Battlehawks clinched a playoff spot and it’s the first time that a Professional Football from St. Louis will play in the post season since the St. Louis Rams during the 2004 NFL season. The next game for the Battlehawks will be on the road against the Arlington Renegades on Saturday.