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San Antonio opened a 20-3 lead and held on for a 20-15 win over Arlington on Sunday in a battle branded as the I-35 Rivalry. The win pushed the Brahmas into the UFL Playoffs as they maintained a tie with St. Louis in the XFL Conference. The Battlehawks clinched earlier in the day with a 26-21 win at home over DC. San Antonio (6-2) will travel to St. Louis (6-2) in two weeks in the regular season finale to determine home field advantage for the XFL Conference title game the following week.
The championship game for the inaugural season of the UFL will be played in St. Louis on Sunday, June 16.
The city of St. Louis last hosted a pro football playoff game on January 10, 2004 when the NFL Rams lost 29-23 to Carolina in double-overtime for a disappointing end to a 12-5 season. Carolina that year went on to the Super Bowl and lost 32-29 to New England.
The USFL conference was clinched by Birmingham after just 6 games had been played. The Stallions are now 8-0 after 35-28 win at home over Houston on Saturday. They have won 15 straight games in the USFL/UFL over the past two seasons and are now 29-3 all-time in USFL/UFL games, including back-to-back USFL championships. The Stallions are coached by Skip Holtz.
Michigan, which had clinched the other USFL Conference playoff spot a week ago, won for the fourth straight weekend with a 24-18 triumph at home over Memphis on Saturday.
The home teams went 4-0 in Week 8 and all maintained the higher level of their attendance numbers for the season.
San Antonio, which had not played in the Alamodome since April 20, drew 11,395. The Brahmas had 11,251 in week 4 after drawing 11,790 in week 3 and 13,164 in week 1.
The numbers for Birmingham are a bit puzzling as the best team in the league saw attendance of just 10,245. The Stallions are only averaging 10,957.
St. Louis continues out-pace the league by a mile. The Battlehawks' faithful have showed up each week with every home game played in front of at least 31,757 (week 4) fans. This week's game drew 32,403 as the only thing puzzling about that number is that the last 3 weeks have been flat after opening with 40,317. You would think if anyone is paying attention around St. Louis to how much excitement and fun is being generated by the crowd that the numbers would grow each week. Of course, the MLB Cardinals were also at home and drew 39,316 to their 11-3 loss to the Red Sox as they came up one win shy of a weekend sweep (2-1).
Ford Field in Detroit was the only venue that failed to reach at least 10,000, but the crowd of 9,370 was the most since opening weekend when 9,444 were in the seats.
Overall, the league attendance for week 8 games was the season's second-highest at a cumulative 63,413, buoyed by St. Louis which accounted for slightly over half (50.07%) of the total.
XFL Conference
| Team | Won | Lost | Pct. | PF | PA | Home | Road | Conf. | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c-St. Louis Battlehawks | 6 | 2 | .750 | 225 | 154 | 4-0 | 2-2 | 4-0 | W1 |
| c-San Antonio Brahmas | 6 | 2 | .750 | 162 | 131 | 3-1 | 3-1 | 3-2 | W2 |
| e-DC Defenders | 3 | 5 | .375 | 142 | 198 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 2-3 | L2 |
| e-Arlington Renegades | 1 | 7 | .125 | 179 | 196 | 1-3 | 0-4 | 0-4 | L1 |
USFL Conference
| Team | Won | Lost | Pct. | PF | PA | Home | Road | Conf. | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c-Birmingham Stallions | 8 | 0 | 1.000 | 236 | 143 | 4-0 | 4-0 | 5-0 | W8 |
| c-Michigan Panthers | 6 | 2 | .750 | 183 | 147 | 4-1 | 2-1 | 3-1 | W4 |
| e-Memphis Showboats | 1 | 7 | .125 | 148 | 242 | 0-3 | 1-4 | 1-4 | L7 |
| e-Houston Roughnecks | 1 | 7 | .125 | 124 | 188 | 1-3 | 0-4 | 0-4 | L4 |
c- Playoff berth clinched
e - eliminated from playoff contention
Week 8 Results (Home Team in BOLD):
Saturday
Michigan 24, Memphis 18
Birmingham 35, Houston 28
Sunday
St. Louis 26, DC 21
San Antonio 20, Arlington 15
Week 9 Games
St. Louis Battlehawks vs Arlington Renegades
Saturday, May 25 | 12:00 PM ET | Arlington, TX | Choctaw Stadium | ABC | ESPN Xtra on SiriusXM
Birmingham Stallions vs San Antonio Brahmas
Saturday, May 25 | 3:00 PM ET | San Antonio, TX | The Alamodome | ABC | ESPN Xtra on SiriusXM
D.C. Defenders vs Memphis Showboats
Sunday, May 26 | 2:30 PM ET | Memphis, TN | Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium | FOX* | FOX Sports on SiriusXM
Michigan Panthers vs Houston Roughnecks
Sunday, May 26 | 2:30 PM ET | Houston, TX | Rice Stadium | FOX* | FOX Sports on SiriusXM
*Check local listings for market regionalization
(Saturday at Michigan) Michigan 24, Memphis 18 - The visiting Showboats twice tied the game, but could not break through to the victory column and dropped to 1-7 on the season with a 7th straight setback. For the second consecutive game, Michigan found success with the quarterback tandem of Brian Lewerke and Bryce Perkins and extended its winning streak to four.
Memphis kicker Matt Coghlin booted a 55-yard field goal as time expired for the first half, cutting Michigan’s lead to 18-9. The third quarter opened with a sack of Case Cookus, who rebounded with a 39-yard dart to Dee Anderson but was injured on the play and did not return. Memphis backup Josh Love entered and continued the drive, capping it with a 14-yard pass to Davis to make it 18-15, Michigan.
The Panthers drove into Memphis territory on their ensuing possession but came up empty-handed, with Jake Bates missing a 51-yard field goal for his first miss inside of Ford Field this season and just his third of the season (15-of-18). Memphis then began a 15-play drive that took 8:33 off the clock, but ended with a 39-yard Coghlin field goal to tie the score at 18. Michigan responded with a 7-play, 68-yard amrk in 4:24 to re-take the lead at 24-18. Memphis had to punt with 3:52 to go and Michigan ran out the clock.
SEE: Panthers Keep Rolling with 24-18 Win Over Showboats
(Saturday at Birmingham) Birmingham 35, Houston 28 - The Birmingham Stallions kept their winning streak intact in a dramatic finish that saw the defense thwart Reid Sinnet's final scoring attempt.
Quarterback Adrian Martinez threw for 173 yards, completing 19 of 31 passes for a 61.3% completion rate. He recorded three touchdowns and one interception.
Houston drove to the Birminghham 8 before fumbling with 10:35 to play, but got the ball right back after a Stallions' fumble at their own 21. That led to a TD and 2-point conversion that produced the games' final points with 7:21 to go.
Houston's final opportunity started at its own 42 with just 14 seconds left, but two quick passes pushed the ball to the Birmingham 32. However, the final play of the play game ended with a 15-yard sack.
SEE: Stallions Edge Roughnecks 35-28 to Extend Winning Streak
(Sunday at St. Louis) St. Louis 26, DC 21 - RB Wayne Gallman II scored the game-winning touchdown on a 1-yard rush with 2 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to give St. Louis (6-2) its 5-point margin. Gallman accounted for all 44 yards on the drive with 6 rushing yards and a 38-yard catch that was the longest play from scrimmage for either team.
The Defenders (3-5) had taken a 1-point lead, 21-20, with 4:55 to play after a 73-yard, 12-play drive culminated in a 17-yard touchdown pass from QB Jordan Ta’amu to WR Ty Scott and 1-point conversion pass from Ta’amu to TE Kaden Smith.
The win guaranteed the Battlehawks a spot in the XFL Conference Championship Game scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on Sunday, June 9.
SEE: Battlehawks Clinch Playoff Spot With 26-21 Win Over Defenders
(Sunday at San Antonio) San Antonio 20, Arlington 15 - an Antonio Brahmas’ Running Back Anthony McFarland Jr. made the most of his return having missed the last five weeks of the regular season. McFarland had two first half catch-and-run touchdowns for 52 and 37 yards as San Antonio (6-2) knocked off the Arlington Renegades (1-7) Sunday afternoon, 20-15, at The Alamodome. The Brahmas clinched a spot in the XFL Conference Championship Game against the St. Louis Battlehawks (6-2).
The Brahmas and Battlehawks will face off in the XFL Conference Championship on Sunday, June 9, with home-field advantage still to be determined.
SEE: Brahmas Clinch Final Playoff Spot with 20-15 Over Arlington