Battlehawks rough up Houston, continue winning streak

St. Louis Battlehawks offensive coordinator Bruce Gradkowski warned against taking the one-win Houston Roughnecks lightly leading up to their Week 6 matchup because of how close many of the games in the UFL have been this season.

The Battlehawks heeded his warning, as the defense strangled the Roughnecks offensive attack and their areal attack flourished in a 22-8 victory on Saturday, May 4, in St. Louis.

“Their record is not a reflection of their team,” said Battlehawks receiver Hakeem Butler. “I think everybody expects us to go out and put up a lot of points and we expect that of ourselves. But it’s a chess game.”

St. Louis Battlehawks receiver Hakeem Butler attempts to leap over a Houston Roughnecks defender on Saturday, May 4, in St. Louis. Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

Hakeem Butler caught six passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns. He currently leads the league in yards (478) and touchdowns (5).

“I’m never expecting to have a big game,” Butler said. “I just go out there just trying to win.”

The Battlehawks demonstrated their depth at the receiver position, as five different pass catchers hauled in multiple receptions during the game. So far this season, the Battlehawks have two receivers (Bulter and Darius Sheppard) among the league’s top ten in receptions, and two (Butler and Marcell Ateman) in receiving touchdowns.

“We have so much talent, especially in our wide receiver room from top to bottom,” Butler said. “I told my teammates in the very beginning you guys will probably be open because they gotta focus on me.”

Battlehawks quarterback AJ McCarron completed 24-of-37 passes to seven different receivers for 255 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception, extending his UFL lead in yards (1,306) and touchdowns (13).

“I trust everybody,” McCarron said. “I think that’s been evident with how many guys have caught passes this year.”

The game was 0-0 for much of the first half. The Battlehawks broke the deadlock late in the second quarter with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Butler and later a goal-line touchdown pass to Steve Mitchell Jr. to go to halftime up 14-0.

Houston’s lone touchdown came on a 16-yard touchdown run by running back Mark Thompson in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 14-6.

The Battlehawks turned this game into a classic rout with a 36-yard touchdown pass to Butler later in the final period.

A quarter of the Roughnecks’ points came on Battlehawks punter Sterlin Hofrichter purposely running 37 yards south for a safety to run out the final seconds of the game.

The St. Louis defense, led by linebackers Willie Harvey and Mike Rose, continues to allow increasingly fewer points from the opposition.

“It’s never as pretty as you want it to be,” Harvey said. “Defense, we knew we had to show up.”

Harvey is second in the UFL in tackles this season with 41, and Rose is one of two defenders in the entire league with multiple interceptions. Harvey said trust is the key to the unit’s success.

“We’re all talented guys,” Harvey said. “We just find a way to trust each other. We’re playing better each week.”

Pita Taumoepenu, who is tied for fifth in the UFL in sacks and was the XFL Defensive Player of the Year last year, details what “trusting each other” on defense means to him.

“Basically, for example, myself, I try to execute my fundamental and my techniques to the best of my ability, letting the guy right next to me understand ‘Ima be there for you.’ So when the play comes my way I’m gonna make it and he's going to do the same things,” Taumoepenu said. “We build that trust in practice, we carry that over to the game and it just becomes second nature to us, and we’re just enjoying and having a lot of fun out there.”

The Battlehawks (5-1) will travel to Alabama to take on the undefeated Birmingham Stallions (6-0) on Saturday, May 11.