Lucky Jackson of the Louisville Kings is tackled by a pair of Battlehawks defenders Thursday at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.Dylan Buell/Getty Images

The Battlehawks defense controlled and owned the Louisville Kings in the first-ever “Derby Classic” with a 16-3 Thursday Night at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville. The defense held Louisville to 166 total yards of offense and held them to just 6 first downs the entire game, while St. Louis had a total of 20 first downs. The Kings came out of the gate on their first drive of the game and opened the scoring with a 40-yard field goal from Tanner Brown on their first possession, and it would be the only points for Louisville. St. Louis would tie the game with a 42-yard field goal made by Ramiz Ahmed, who was making his first start with the team.

Louisville came back strong with a 51-yard kickoff return, but Battlehawks Defensive Tackle Taylor Stallworth came up big with a huge sack of Kings quarterback Chandler Rogers. Kicker Tanner Brown missed from 53 yards. The Battlehawks would take the lead of the game for good when quarterback Harrison Frost connected with Gary Jennings Jr. for a 4-yard touchdown and a 9–3 halftime lead. The Defense of the Battlehawks controlled much of the second half, with OLB Pita Taumoepenu, Jordan Mosley, Travis Freeney, and Jordan Williams sacking Kings’ quarterback Chanlder Rogers 6 times and forcing him to throw an interception.

The Battlehawks sealed their victory as Frost found Steven McBride in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown to make it 16–3. It was pretty, but Frost finished with 2 touchdown passes and threw for 242, while running back Jarveon Howard rushed for 56 yards. The victory pushed the Battlehawks to 4-2, and they look to extend their winning streak Friday at home against the Columbus Aviators on May 8 at The Dome at America’s Center.