The St. Louis Battlehawks suffered their second defeat of the season Saturday, as they fell 28-
20 to the D.C. Defenders in front of 35,868 fans at The Dome at America’s Center.
QB A.J. McCarron pulled St. Louis within one possession of the lead late in the fourth quarter
when he completed a 50-yard touchdown pass to WR Steven Mitchell Jr. for his longest pass
completion of the season. McCarron connected with Mitchell again on the ensuing two-point
conversion to pull St. Louis within eight points of the Defenders. The Battlehawks threatened to
complete the comeback on their next drive before Defenders CB Michael Joseph intercepted a
McCarron pass with 55 seconds left to end their hopes.
The teams traded touchdowns in the second half after St. Louis K Donny Hageman made a 34-
yard field goal on the Battlehawks’ first drive after halftime to cut the Defenders’ lead to 14-6.
WR Darrius Shepherd put St. Louis in position for the field goal when he opened the second half
with a season-high, 80-yard kick return. Shepherd finished with 155 yards on three kick returns.
D.C. opened their lead to 14 points again on a 70-yard touchdown run by RB Abram Smith two
plays after Hageman’s field goal. The Battlehawks closed the deficit to eight points with 6
minutes, 20 seconds left in the third quarter when WR George Campbell caught a 5-yard pass
from McCarron for his first touchdown reception of the season.
St. Louis initially took a 3-0 lead on a 36-yard field goal by Hageman with 10:02 left in the
second quarter after a season-high 16-play scoring driver chewed up 8 minutes, 55 seconds of
game time.
The lead was short lived, however, as D.C. responded with a 62-yard touchdown rush by Smith
two plays later. A successful two-point conversion gave the Defenders an 8-3 lead. D.C.
extended that advantage to 14-3 with a touchdown on a 5-yard rush by Smith with 1:54 left
before halftime.
The Battlehawks will return to the road for a game against the Vegas Vipers at 6 p.m. CT on
Saturday, March 25 at Cashman Field in Las Vegas, Nev.