Battlehawks quarterback Max Duggan (14) scores a touchdown during Sunday’s win over the Memphis Showboats at Liberty Stadium in Memphis.Wes Hale/XFL

For the second week in a row, the Battlehawks defense held their opponent to 6 points, this time against the Memphis Showboats in their 19-6 victory at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Sunday afternoon. Battlehawks quarterback Mac Duggan played much better than he did against the Arlington Renegades, by finishing with 57 rushing yards over 10 attempts and going 15-23 for 158 yards, with 1 touchdown pass and one interception. He started by rushing up the middle with a 7-yard touchdown run to put his team up early. Then Duggan handed the ball off to Jarveon Howard to convert the point after to give the Battlehawks a 7-0 lead.

St. Louis defense stepped up when they regained possession on the Memphis 39-yard line. That drive ended with a 53-yard field goal by Rodrigo Blankenship to increase the Battlehawks lead to 10-0. Memphis finally got on the board when quarterback Dresser Winn threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to WR Jonathan Adams, making it 10-6. But just before half time, Duggan hit Hakeem Butler on a 29 pass, a 15-yard pass to WR Gary Jennings Jr, and then finished off with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jahcour Pearson to make the score 16-6.

In the third quarter, Memphis place kicker Matt Coughlin made a 27-yard field goal, making it 16-9. In the fourth quarter, St. Louis kicker Rodrigo Blankenship put the game out of reach when he made a 44-yard field goal with 2:57 left on the clock to make the score 19-9. The Battlehawks’ defense secured the victory once again when Memphis was unable to score again after being pushed back to 4th and 36 on the MEM 35, finalizing a Battlehawks 3rd straight victory, pushing their record to 5-2 and putting them tied in first place in XFL conference alongside the DC Defenders. Their next game will be against the 3 time league champion Birmingham Stallions on Saturday at 12 p.m. CT on Saturday, May 17 at The Dome at America’s Center.