St. Louis Battlehawks defenders tackles DC Defenders quarterback Jordan Ta’amu (10) during the UFL football game on Saturday, March 28, 2026, at the Dome at America Center in St. Louis, Missouri. (Source: West Newsmagazine/Lou Countryman photo)

The St. Louis Battlehawks rally from a 10-3 deficit to be the defending UFL Champs, D.C. Defenders 16-10 at the Dome of the Americas. The Battlehawks open the season without their star Wide Receiver Hakeem Bulter, and earlier in the first half, the offensive struggled without him as Starting Quarterback Brandon Silver was either off target with his current receiving core, or his receivers were dropping easy passes. Meanwhile, the Defender offense was in high gear, and history was made when place kicker Matt McCrane made a 60-yard field goal for four points to give his team a 4-0 lead.

St. Louis got on the board when kicker Tucker McCann made 58 yards, bringing the Battlehawks within one point. Then the Defenders Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu connected multiple 20-plus-yard plays to Mason Fairchild and Seth Williams, setting up a Deon Jackson one-yard rushing score. Ta’amu was a perfect four-for-four for 67 yards on the 10-play drive. The Defenders went for the two-point conversion but failed, keeping the score at 10-3.

It was time for the Battlehawks ‘defense to step up, and Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Pita Taumoepenu picked up where he left off, notching a remarkable 2.5 sacks in the first 30 minutes, including the team’s first interception early in the second quarter, as Jordan Mosley jumped a deep ball intended for Braylon Sanders. The Battlehawks settled for a 27-yard McCann field goal as a result of Gary Jennings Jr. turning a 5-yard hitch route into a 64-yard gain at the one yard to only for the Defenders’ defense to stop the Battlehawks offense 3 times and force to settle a field goal making 10-6.

The momentum shifted to St. Louis when the defense stepped up, forcing an interception and sacking quarterback Jordan Ta’amu a record-setting 7 times. That gave the Battlehawks offense the needed lift as Tyler Neville found the end zone from 10 yards out to give them a 13-10 advantage, their first lead of the game. St. Louis added a field in the 4th quarter to make it 16-10. After a rough start, Brandon Silvers threw for 198 yards and a touchdown while Ta’amu, who was intercepted twice and managed just 24 passing yards in the second half.  Battlehawks victory was the first for coach Ricky Proehl, and it was sweet revenge after last year’s conference loss against the defending UFL Champs Defenders. The team takes a 10-day break before they play against the Dallas Renegades at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The game is slated for 8:00 PM ET on Tuesday, April 7