St. Louis BattleHawks Survive Seattle Dragons 23-16
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St. Louis BattleHawks Survive Seattle Dragons 23-16

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The second game of the afternoon sees the Seattle Dragons traveling to St. Louis to take on the BattleHawks in The Dome. Seattle is hoping to get back on the winning side of things, whereas the BattleHawks are looking to continue their winning momentum.

St. Louis started out the game with possession of the ball but couldn’t do much. The quarter started out slow, but once we got a little past halfway through business started picking up. Jordan Ta’amu, looking as impressive as he has all season moved the ball well for his team. The franchise ended the 96-yard drive with a touchdown on a 27-yard pass to Pierson-El to put them up six early.

Coach Hayes opted for a 2-point conversion, which they successfully completed giving them a 8-0 lead.

Seattle was unable to do anything on their next drive of the day due to the BattleHawks defense. L’Damian Washington was able to snatch the ball out of the air, giving St. Louis possession once again with 2:33 left in the first.

With their new possession the BattleHawks were able to move the ball enough to get within field goal position. Tyler Russolino was able to knock it in from the 48-yard line, giving his team a solid 11-0 lead.

The Seattle Dragons had possession starting out the second quarter, and with this deficit they wanted to act fact. Brandon Silvers was able to move the ball, but not enough for a touchdown. The team was able to get within field goal range, putting them on the board with a 31-yard attempt. The game now stood at 11-3.

With St. Louis back in control we had a bit of a scare on the field. CB Mohammed Seisay suffered a neck injury defending the play, which seems to have looked worse then it could have been. The game went to a commercial break and when they came back Seisay was still being evaluated on the field. He was carted off the field, but gave the fans a thumbs up on the way out. Seattle has since commented on his condition saying he was in good spirits and was being taken to a local hospital for further evaluation as a precautionary measure.

The BattleHawks continued their dominance. Under two minutes left in the half Ta’amu connected with Keith Ford who tip-toed into the end-zone adding another six. Coach Hayes opted for a 2-point conversion, it looked like they would run it in, but Peirson-El with possession of the ball attempted to pass it in unsuccessfully. Regardless, they had a nice 17-3 lead.

The Dragons had the ball to end out the half. Remember, the XFL has a different set of rules for the last two minutes of each half, stopping the clock after each play to allow the teams to get back into the game. Unfortunately for The Dragons, they could not add any points on this last drive.

At the end of the half it was pretty much all St. Louis, with a home stadium like theirs it’s no surprise. The Dome was rocking and Ta’amu was playing like he has all season, spectacularly.

Starting out the second half Seattle had control of the ball, they also opted to start BJ Daniels at QB. Coach Zorn was asked about this decision and he said it came down to the limited first downs they were able to obtain and leaned on the fact that Daniels was a superb running quarterback.

Things didn’t work out as hoped, at least to begin with. Seattle was forced to punt back to St. Louis. The BattleHawks didn’t have any luck on their first drive of the half either, also being forced to punt the ball.

With The Dragons and Brandon Silvers back in the drivers seat they were hoping to have some better luck. He and his team moved the ball, better than in previous game getting them in coring position. Thanks to Silvers and Kenneth Farrow, Seattle was able to add six more. Coach Zorn decided to go for a 1-point conversion which was ultimately successful, bringing the game to 17-10.

Now that the BattleHawks had possession again, the team wanted to add to their lead and continue their winning ways. Ta’amu was able to get the ball moving, but only enough to get into field goal position. Russolino did what he’s done all season, successfully kick field goals. With these 3-points, St. Louis was now up 20-10.

Coach Zorn and The Dragons were now looking at a 10-point deficit with plenty of time to go in the game. With BJ Daniels back in the game he wanted to prove himself and secure the W for Seattle. Pinned within the 20, Daniels tossed it to Moore for a 57-yard gain.

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The game was now in the fourth, but Seattle had enough wiggle room to get back into this thing. BJ Daniels continued to prove his worth, getting some integral first downs for The Dragons using his feet.

Momentum seemed to be going Seattle’s way. BJ Daniels continued to move the ball, this time connecting with Evan Rodriguez for a touchdown. Seattle opted for a 3-point conversion to bring them within 1, Daniels was able to break free of a few tackles but the pass was dropped at the goal line, keeping the game at 20-16 in the BattleHawks favor.

With a lot of time left on the fourth, this was anybodies game at this point. Some could argue that Seattle made a mistake going for three, when they could have gone for 1 and been within a field goal of tying the game.

Ta’amu looked like a stud today, but he could not get it into the end-zone. But… he did get his team in field goal position.

Russolino once again successfully added 3 on the board for his team, extending their lead to 23-16 with a little over 8 minutes left in the game.

With roughly 4 minutes left in the game The Dragons we’re closing in and hoping to tie the game. Unfortunately, BJ Daniels luck had ran out. Daniels tossed it long, only to be picked by the BattleHawks for the first interception of the game.

St Louis, as they’ve done in each win of the season so far, did a great job running down the clock. They were able to use that last drive to seal the victory for the team. The Dragons move to 1-3, where the BattleHawks are now 3-1 leading the East.

What did you think of the first day of XFL week 4 action? Let us know down in the comments below or join the conversation on Discord.