ST. LOUIS- The 2026 UFL season kicked off Saturday, and the St. Louis Battlehawks opened their season against the defending champs the D.C. Defenders and bullied the Defenders in a low-scoring 16-10 affair inside the dome Saturday afternoon.
The Battlehawks hosted a fan event right outside of the stadium between gate B and C which featured multiple booths of local and national sponsors of the Battlehawks and the UFL.
Local vendors included Renewal by Anderson, who has been a supporter of the Battlehawks for a couple years now, as well as Archway Contractors who have joined the list just recently.
An impressive 31,191 fans filled the Dome at America’s Center to kick off the home season. The roar of the crowd as the ball was kicked was second to none as football had officially returned to downtown St. Louis.
Unfortunately, those were the loudest roars through the first quarter as D.C. was able to score 10 points alone with a 60-yard field goal courtesy of Matt McCrane and a touchdown from Running Back Deon Jackson with 1:22 left in the first. St. Louis responded, though with two field goals, one in the first and one in the second quarter, courtesy of Tucker McCann, a former Missouri kicker.
This would have St. Louis down 10-6 going into halftime, where Nelly would come to the field to give a true St. Louis halftime that met every expectation.
Going into the second half, St. Louis had to turn the offense around to have a hope of catching up to the Defenders and escape the shame of the “Audi West” title.
Enter Battlehawks new QB1 Brandon Silvers. He would put on a second half performance that, while it may have only put St. Louis up 10 points, would put him to 198 yards on the day and a touchdown for good measure to Tight End Tyler Neville.
This wouldn’t be possible though without the absolute shut out performance from the defense through out the rest of the game. The defense alone recorded seven sacks on Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu coming from six different defenders including the reigning UFL Defensive Player of the Year Pita Taumoepenu. The defense would keep all points contained to the first quarter as not even so much as a field goal was scored after.
Speaking to the coaches after, Coach Ricky Proehl had nothing but praise for his defense.
“I have been on their tail about finishing you know it about not just being ordinary, but being extraordinary, and that’s finishing it’s a mindset. Every play, every day in practice just eleven guys to the ball,” Proehl said, “When one guy gets to the ball carrier, I want eleven guys rallying to the ball, and they’ve bought in.”
Proehl would also say that as a head coach, having something you preach pay off during game day feels special.
Quarterback Brandon Silvers would take the stage after and discuss his performance as well as the game in general. He would acknowledge how both teams have a new cast of players and that both sides were still figuring out the lay of the plays and how they work within the system. Silvers would also acknowledge that D.C. is a well-coached bunch but the defense was just to much for them even with their unique styles on defense.
“Yeah, said this earlier in the week, it feels great to be back. You know, when I was quarterback in Houston, we went to playoffs, and I was that guy in Houston, and then obviously the merger happened, I have to come here be AJ’s backup. Man, it just feels good to be back. Feels good to be wanted by coaching staff and being back with AJ Smith and then coach Ricky that I’ve known since 2020, ever since me and Austin played out in Seattle together. So, man, it just, it feels great just having the backing of your coaching staff and the players as well.”
The Battlehawks move to 1-0 on the season as their next game is Tuesday April 7 at 7 p.m. at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas against the Dallas Renegades. The game is also available to watch on the FS1 network.
