By: Amirah Razman
The Battlehawks had quite the showing last week in their 31-6 victory over Houston. Much of their success last week came from the offense. As a whole, they put up 273 rushing yards and 460 yards along with 31 first downs.
Big Week for the “Knights of Colombo”
It was a performance so stellar that the UFL named the entire Battlehawks offensive line — led by OL coach Marc Colombo and are affectionately known as the “Knights of Colombo” — the UFL’s Offensive Player of the Week for Week 1.
The line is made up of Jaryd Jones-Smith, Steven Gonzalez, Mike Panasiuk, Abdul Beecham and Juwann Bushell-Beatty, who are all veterans of the team. They were responsible for providing QB Manny Wilkins with adequate pocket protection, which allowed him to make several downfield passes and rushing plays.
OL coach Marc Colombo is in his first season with the Battlehawks, having previously been the OL coach for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. He replaced Gino Gradkowski, who left the team to be Rowan University’s offensive coordinator.
New Look ‘Hawks
One thing that Battlehawks fans can all agree on is that this is an exciting offense to watch this season. And everyone’s taken notice.
Any woes about the Battlehawks’ offense’s performance following the departure of Bruce Gradkowski were settled for now. It’s Phil McGeoghan’s offense now, and after their Week 1 performance, it’s evident that the Battlehawks will be just fine.
It wasn’t just the offense that shocked the UFL world. A strong showing on both defense and special teams last week has a lot of people putting the Battlehawks near the top of their power rankings.
However, this was against a underperforming Roughnecks team. The ‘Hawks’ first real test comes this weekend.
Battling the Brahmas
St. Louis is coming in hungry this week as they face a familiar foe, the San Antonio Brahmas. The last time these two teams met was in last year’s XFL Conference Championship game — a game that didn’t end well for the Battlehawks. However, St. Louis did beat San Antonio in both their regular season meetings last season, and they look to increase that number this weekend.
This weekend’s matchup is also big in another way. It’s the Battlehawks’ home opener, and the first time they will play on the Battledome’s updated turf and light features. Battlehawks fans, known for showing up in big numbers, hope to maintain the league’s largest in-person attendance record this year.
There could be around 30-40k people in attendance this weekend eager to watch the Battlehawks, who are looking stronger than ever in the post-A.J. McCarron era. Expect Manny Wilkins to get the start once again as the Battlehawks look to improve to 2-0.
This isn’t Wilkins’ first rodeo at the Battledome – he stepped up for an injured A.J. McCarron and was instrumental in helping the Battlehawks clinch their first ever playoff berth last season.
Clearly, Wilkins won’t be intimidated by the razzle dazzle of the Battledome. He’ll have the strength of the O-line to give him the pass protection that helped him make numerous explosive plays last week.
Despite the Brahmas’ blowout loss to Arlington last weekend, they’ve consistently been one of the league’s strongest teams. The loss could motivate Kellen Mond’s squad to perform better this week in an environment they know all too well. But it could also be a piece of cake for the Battlehawks, who will have the Battledome’s energy on their side this weekend.
Either way, expect this to be an electric game. Both sides will definitely make some great plays. Both sides will also be putting their blood, sweat, and tears out there. The Battlehawks could be in first place in the XFL Conference by the end of the weekend if they win and Arlington loses (or STL scores more points than Arlington).
The St. Louis… Nighthawks?
April Fools Day, one of the Battlehawks’ favorite holidays, happened this week. It’s their favorite holiday because they love messing with the entire UFL world (see exhibit A and exhibit B).
Two seasons ago, the team pranked everyone into thinking they were relocating to Los Angeles. It was a jab at the Los Angeles Rams, who called St. Louis home for a long time. They gave fans a break from their shenanigans last year, but they came back to fool us all this year.
They successfully fooled the fanbase once again with this fake promotion seemingly teasing a black alternative uniform combination this weekend. Let’s just say, their social team did a really great job with the photoshop, because these uniforms looked legit.
Naturally, it generated a lot of excitement – it looked too good to be true, right? But others were vigilant, aware of the day.
The uniforms looked so amazing, even the Brahmas and their fans were in support.
Much to the dismay of Battlehawks Nation, this teaser was, indeed, an April Fool’s joke. However, they should seriously consider making these jerseys for next season. Considering there was positive fan reaction, it would be something totally new and unique. The Battledome’s attendance could reach 50k when that happens (assuming that figure isn’t reached this year).
Game Details
Your St. Louis Battlehawks will be taking on the San Antonio Brahmas this Sunday, April 6 at 5:30 PM CDT. The game is at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. Catch the game on FS1 and SiriusXM.