Painful defeat: Battlehawks QB Manny Wilkins injured early in loss to Arlington© Jack Gorman, UFL/Getty Images

The St. Louis Battlehawks suffered one of the most painful losses in the short history of this franchise when they lost starting quarterback Manny Wilkins, who injured his Achilles tendon on the fourth play of the game and lost the ball that was returned for 39 39-yard touchdown. Arlington converted a two-point conversion to go up 8-0. Wilkins was replaced at quarterback by Max Duggan, who finished 8 of 27 with a pair of interceptions and 78 yards and was sacked six times. Battlehawks turnovers resulted in Arlington touchdowns, and the team jumped up to a 16-3 lead. Rodrigo Blankenship kept the Battlehawks alive with three field goals in the first half. He made a 55-yard field goal, a 34-yard field goal before half to make it 16-6, and a 53-yarder that made it 16-9 in the 3rd quarter.

Then the Defense stepped up for the Battlehawks when Defensive back fielder Willie Harvey picked off Arlington Quarterback Luis Perez and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown. The one-point PAT run attempt failed, and the Battlehawks trailed 16-15 with 3:13 remaining in the third quarter. But Arlington’s running back Dae Hunter scored a 3 yards to put the team up 22-15 after the point after failed. St. Louis had one more chance late in the fourth quarter when Duggan guided the Battlehawks to a first-and-goal from the Arlington 3-yard line. On fourth down, Duggan’s pass deflected off Gary Jennings Jr. and hands and landed in the hands of Arlington defensive back Ajene Harris at the goal line and returned it for a 100-yard touchdown that clinched it for the Renegades. The loss put the Battlehawks at 2-2, and if they going to turn their season around, they have to do it with Max Duggan for the rest of the season now that starting quarterback Manny Wilkins has been placed on the injured reserve list and will be out for the season. They will play host to the Michigan Panthers at 6 p.m. next Saturday at the Dome at America’s Center.