The St. Louis Battlehawks completed their second straight fourth-quarter comeback in the final
seconds to improve to 2-0 on the season with a 20-18 win Thursday over the Seattle Sea
Dragons at Lumen Field in Seattle.
After an 18-15, come-from behind victory Sunday at San Antonio, the Battlehawks found
themselves down by one point with 1 minute, 21 seconds to play. QB A.J. McCarron then led
the Battlehawks 50 yards down the field, while accounting for 23 rushing yards himself, to set
up K Donny Hageman for a 44-yard, game-winning field goal as time expired.
St. Louis took their first lead of the contest, 17-12, when WR Hakeem Butler caught a 44-yard
touchdown pass from McCarron for the Battlehawks’ longest play of the season with 7:14 left in
the game. The Sea Dragons came back with a seven-play, 60-yard touchdown drive of their own
two possessions later to take an 18-17 lead, but they were unable to complete a 3-point
conversion attempt from the St. Louis 10-yard line.
The Battlehawks’ special teams and defense provided the offense several extra opportunities
thanks to three turnovers in the second half. WR Gary Jennings recovered a muffed punt by
Seattle WR Jahcour Pearson, and DL Kevin Atkins recovered a fumble by RB Morgan Ellison that
St. Louis DL LaCale London forced with 10:20 left in the third. Hageman converted his first 44-
yard field goal of the night seven plays later to bring St. Louis within one point of Seattle, 12-11.
London forced another fumble that Atkins recovered again on the next Seattle drive. The
Battlehawks forced three fumbles for the game and hold a 5-0 turnover margin for the season.
The St. Louis offense got on the scoreboard with its first drive of the second quarter on a 14-
play, 72-yard drive McCarron completed with a quarterback sneak from the 1 yard line. He then
found WR Marcell Ateman for a 2-point conversion that narrowed Seattle’s lead to 12-8.
Seattle built a 12-0 lead early with a 29-yard field goal with 4:02 left in the opening quarter and
a 54-yard touchdown pass from QB Ben DiNucci to WR Jahcour Pearson on the first play of the
second quarter. Seattle elected a 3-point conversion attempt, and DiNucci connected with Josh
Gordon in the end zone to extend the Sea Dragons’ advantage to a dozen points.
St. Louis will finish its season-opening, three-game road trip in Washington, D.C., with a game
against the D.C. Defenders at noon CT on Sunday, March 5.