THREE STALLIONS TO WATCH ON OFFENSE:
Jace Sternberger: It’s been a relatively quiet season for one of the Stallions’ top offensive weapons. That changed this past week when Sternberger had a season- high in catches (four) and receiving yards (74) during this past Sunday’s win over
the Houston Roughnecks. He also contributed in a timely fashion with a huge 8-yard scoring reception with three seconds left in the first half and a clutch 32-yard catch- and-run to help set up the winning touchdown. On the season, the former Texas A&M All-American has 12 catches for 165 yards with two touchdowns.
Ricky Person Jr.: The Stallions offense is at their best when the rugged running back is chewing up yards and running through defenders. He’s coming off his most productive outing of the season after rushing for 60 yards on 13 carries and scoring the final touchdown in a 33-25 win over the Houston Roughnecks. He also had three catches for 23 yards. Person has 229 yards on 58 carries with three touchdowns on the season.
Harrison Mevis: The ‘Thicca Kicker’ has just one miss this season. It was a memorable miss – a 63-yard attempt turned into a Kick Six for the Memphis Showboats – but he’s been automatic other than that. Mevis is 15-of-16 overall with a ton of clutch kicks. Mevis provided the first nine second-half points for the Stallions in the win over Houston on Sunday. He was one of the country’s most successful college kickers while at Missouri. Set an SEC record with a 61-yard field goal to beat Kansas State in 2023.
THREE STALLIONS TO WATCH ON DEFENSE
Bradlee Anae: The 6-foot-3, 272-pound edge rusher from Utah, who is in his first year with the Stallions, has been one of the top players at his position in the UFL this season. He is tied for fifth in the league with four sacks and has consistently pressured opposing quarterbacks into mistakes. He’s teamed with Ronnie Perkins, who lines up on the other end of the line, to form one of the top edge rushing duos in the UFL. However, Perkins was lost due to an injury and now Anae needs to step up his play even more.
Kenny Robinson Jr.: The talented safety entered the season as one of the top returning starters on the Stallions’ defense. He was hurt in the season-opening game and didn’t return until Sunday’s game against Houston. While he didn’t return to the starting lineup, Robinson Jr. made an impact with one of the team’s four sacks. His role will expand the rest of the way. He had 34 tackles, two tackles for loss and an interception in his first season with the Stallions in 2024.
Perrion Winfrey: He has been a leader – both emotionally and physically – on the defensive front this season. The 6-foot-3, 317-pound Oklahoma product has started at defensive tackle in five of the team’s seven games this season. Made a critical play with an eight-yard sack on second down of Houston’s final possession on Sunday. On the season, he has 17 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, three pass breakups and a forced fumble.
CLOSE GAMES
It’s certainly rare for the Stallions to play a game that most would call boring. Six of the team’s seven games have been decided by nine points or less, including the first overtime game in UFL history and last Sunday’s win that featured the biggest comeback Ieague history. In the UFL, nine points is a one-score game. The Stallions won an early season game against Arlington after scoring the winning touchdown several plays after a super challenge by Stallions Head Coach Skip Holtz – on a false start by his own team that was missed on the field - negated a late-game interception. A late Stallions touchdown and conversion forced the overtime against Memphis with the Showboats emerging with a 24-20 victory. The only lopsided final result came on May 4 when the Stallions beat the San Antonio Brahmas 26-3.
SCOUTING THE ST. LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS
A trip to The Dome at America’s Center means facing the largest and loudest home crowd – by far - in the UFL. The Stallions will play a road game against the Battlehawks for the first time. But, the Stallions do have fond memories of The Dome at America’s Center after winning the 2024 UFL Championship in that building with a 25-0 victory over the San Antonio Brahmas. The Battlehawks lost a chance to host the Cham- pionship Game after dropping a 25-15 decision to the visiting Brahmas in the XFL Conference Championship Game.
St. Louis leads the UFL in rushing and is last in passing. Running back Jacob Saylors is the league’s top rusher with 348 yards with four touchdowns on 91 carries. Quarterback Max Duggan, who took over as the starter after Manny Wilkins was injured, is 10th in the UFL with 240 yards with three touchdowns on 47 carries. As a team, the Battlehawks average 136.6 yards per game rushing and 125.1 yards per game passing. Rodrigo Blankenship is the only UFL kicker without a miss this season. He made all 16 of his field goal attempts and is tied for the UFL lead this with a long kick of 56 yards.
The Battlehawks are tied for third with the Stallions in sacks at 15. The Stallions need to pay special attention to outside linebacker Pita Taumoepenu, who leads the UFL with 6.5 sacks. The quarterback pressure, along with a secondary that is led by cornerback Chris Payton-Jones has helped the Battlehawks shut down opposing teams thus far. St. Louis is second in total defense (261.6 yards per game) and scoring defense (16.3 points per game) and tied for second with 12 takeaways. St. Louis has a UFL-best eight interceptions.