Blake Jackson of the Battlehawks reaches for a pass against Gabe Taylor of the DC Defenders Saturday at Audi Field in Washington, DC.Hannah Foslien/UFL/Getty Images

The Battlehawks’ comeback fell short Saturday afternoon at Audi Field, falling to the defending UFL champion DC Defenders 28-22. St. Louis had an impressive first series of the game after a 51-yard field goal from kicker Tucker McCann, taking an early 3-0 lead. But Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu connected with wide receiver Keke Coutee for a 14-yard touchdown on a six-minute scoring drive to take a 7-3 lead that would last through the first quarter.

Battlehawks Quarterback Harrison Frost went 6-21 for 144 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in his first start, and connected with Hakeem Butler, who turned a short pass from Frost into a 75-yard touchdown, giving St. Louis their last lead of the game and making it 9-7 after McCann missed the extra point.  Costly penalties by the Battlehawks ‘defense gave the Defenders a chance to extend their lead, and Ta’amu made St. Louis pay for it when he found wide receiver Ty Scott for a touchdown, making it a 17-9 ball game.

St. Louis got a huge break in the closing seconds of the first half when a pass interference call against the Defenders allowed the Battlehawks to try to set up a final scoring attempt of the game. Frost found Butler in between four defenders for a gain of 34 yards. Instead of the clock running out before the Battlehawks could spike it, the Defenders were penalized for a neutral zone infraction, setting up McCann for a 26-yard field goal, trimming it to 17-12 at half time.

DC came out after halftime to extend the lead when kicker Matt McCrane kicked a 47-yard field goal to put the Defenders up 20-12. Then, the Defenders’ defense scored the first safety of the UFL season after Defenders Defensive Tackle Devonnsha Maxwell dropped Frost in the end zone, extending the lead to 22-12. After McCrane added another field goal to his tally, making it 25-12 DC, the Battlehawks’ offense finally found rhythm with a 65-yard scoring drive, running back Kevon Latulas stiff-armed his way on a seven-yard touchdown run, his first of the season, to bring the Battlehawks within six and made it a 25-19 game. DC and St. Louis traded field goals on the next two drives, keeping the difference at six points, now 28-22. 

The Battlehawks ‘defense forces the Defenders to punt after a three-and-out, and they had one last chance to steal a last-second victory. But the St. Louis offense couldn’t convert when Frost was sacked for 11 yards and threw an interception to safety Sam Kidd on 3rd and 21 to seal the victory for DC. Jarveon Howard had eight rushes for 85 yards, his longest being a 51-yard rush. Hakeem Bulter had two catches for 109 yards and a touchdown but had no catches in the second half.

The Battlehawks are on the road again in Week Five, heading to Orlando to take on the Storm and former head coach Anthony Becht on April 25th at Inter&Co Stadium.