St. Louis Battlehawks begin UFL season in Michigan

A new season in a newly formed league begins for the St. Louis Battlehawks.

The Battlehawks finalized their 50-man roster in time for the regular season to begin on Saturday, March 30 against the Michigan Panthers at 3 p.m. at Ford Field in Detroit. The game can be viewed on FOX.

The game will be a homecoming for Battlehawks defensive back Lavert Hill, who played at Ford Field a few times during his youth, competing for the city and state championships in high school before playing college ball at Michigan.

“I’m real familiar with the field and just excited to get back,” said. Hill, a Detroit native. “All my family and friends are gonna be there so it’s really going to be fun for sure.

“Everybody’s anticipating this merger and I think Michigan fans do have a lot of people who support them,” he said. “So it should be an exciting rocking game for sure.”

The XFL and USFL (where the Panthers are from) combined over the winter to form the UFL in time for the spring. Half the teams from each league merged into one and now play in two four-team divisions, similar to the XFL rules last year.

"To have one uniform league, now, it is nice to have different leagues for guys, but to have success long term for spring football, it has to be one uniform league," said Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht. "To have that sustainability, it has to be great on the field, it has to be great on TV, and hopefully, every year more and more continue to buy in.”

The impact of the XFL’s only season was felt this week as the NFL announced that it would revamp its kickoff rules to mirror that of the spring league. The key rule is that everyone outside the kicker and returner must remain still until the ball is caught or hits the ground. That has allowed the play to actually have some action that was lost when the NFL moved the kickoff position forward in a way that resulted in regular touchbacks.

“I think this what this league is about,” said Battlehawks defensive coordinator Donnie Abraham, who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Jets from 1996-2004. “It’s about developing players. It’s about going to the limits and testing the rules for the NFL or for football in general. The NFL going to the old XFL-style kickoff return is monumental. I heard people compare that to when they introduced the three-point shot in basketball. I mean, this is something that is huge and I’m just glad this spring league was a part of that.”

St. Louis Battlehawks quarterback A.J. McCarron scrambles during an XFL game last year in St. Louis. Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

The Battlehawks tied with the Seattle Sea Dragons for the second playoff spot in their Division with a 7-3 record. The DC Defenders defeated the Sea Dragons to reach the title game only to lose to the Arlington Renegades, who had a sub-.500 record.

The Defenders and Renegades joined the Battlehawks in returning for the new league, along with the San Antonio Brahmas and Houston Roughnecks. The Roughnecks moved to the USFL division with the Panthers, Birmingham Stallions, and the Memphis Showboats.

The Battlehawks return quarterback AJ McCarron, who led the XFL in touchdown passes, completion percentage, and passing-efficiency rating last year. He returned to the NFL as a backup quarterback with his old team, the Cincinnati Bengals.

McCarron will have his top wide receivers, Hakeem Butler and Darrius Shepherd, both of whom were All-XFL selections. Butler finished last season leading the XFL with eight receiving touchdowns and was second in receptions (51) and yards (599).

The Panthers will be led by quarterback E.J. Perry. Perry was a mid-season addition for the Panthers last season before starting the final two games of the USFL regular season and leading the Panthers to the playoffs, where he threw for a record 370 yards.

“He’s a really good quarterback and they have a really good group of receivers, running backs, and o-linemen,” Hill said.

Perry, a Brown alum, was also the Offensive Player of the Year in the 2022 East-West Shrine Bowl, an All-Star Game that featured NFL quarterbacks Skylar Thompson (Miami Dolphins) and Brock Purdy (San Francisco’s 49ers), as well as Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco.

The Battlehawks will host five home games this season, similar to the XFL schedule, including the UFL Championship Game on June 16. The top two teams with the best record in the XFL and USFL Conference will play in conference championship games on June 8-9, so there’s a chance that St. Louis could play host to seven games this year if the Battlehawks play their cards right.

"We're looking to getting over that hump and winning a championship," Becht said.