ARLINGTON, Texas – The Arlington Renegades (3-1, 2-0) escaped a nail-biter against XFL Conference opponent St. Louis Battlehawks (2-2, 1-2) as the team collected a 30-15 victory at Choctaw Stadium Saturday afternoon.
After being held scoreless since the first quarter, the fourth stanza created momentum for the Renegades as their first play series concluded with them adding six points on the board. RB Dae Dae Hunter rushed three yards to put Arlington up 22-15 as a two-point conversion play was unsuccessful. With St. Louis at the Arlington 3-yard line on a fourth-and-three situation in the final seconds, a pick 6 from CB Ajene Harris secured the win for Arlington. A successful two-point conversion rounded out the game as the Renegades scored 14 points in the quarter to outlast the Battlehawks.
Arlington had a dominant first quarter performance, leading St. Louis 16-3 after the game’s first 15 minutes. DE Chris Odom put the Renegades up 6-0 within the opening minutes as he crossed the goal line after he recovered a fumble. QB Luis Perez connected with WR Isaiah Winstead for a successful two-point conversion to lead 8-0.
The Battlehawks converted a 55-yard field goal halfway in the quarter to shorten Arlington’s lead to five points. The Renegades defense recovered another fumble from St. Louis as CB Carlton Johnson returned the ball to the home team. A 27-yard pass from Perez to TE Sal Canella placed Arlington in a good scoring position before RB Dae Dae Hunter rushed nine yards to place the team within two yards of the end zone. Arlington’s scoring effort in the first quarter ended with a TD catch by WR JaVonta Payton and a successful 2-point conversion pass caught by WR Tyler Vaughns.
In the opening minutes of the second stanza, CB Chris Claybrooks picked off a pass intended for the Battlehawks but the Renegades were unable to score any points, only picking up 15 yards in six plays. The Battlehawks converted their second field goal to add three points to their score. Arlington would hold a 16-6 lead heading into the half after a 52-yard touchdown pass caught by WR Vaughns was overturned following an offensive holding challenge by St. Louis.
he Battlehawks came back in the third quarter scoring nine points to place them within one point behind the Renegades 16-15 heading into the fourth quarter. St. Louis converted another field goal attempt before scoring off an intercepted pass later in the quarter. The Arlington defense stifled the one-point conversion attempt, preventing the Battlehawks from tying the game heading into the final quarter and held them scoreless for the remainder of the game.
The Renegades (3-1, 2-0) are back in action against XFL Conference opponent DC Defenders (3-0, 1-0) at Choctaw Stadium (3-0, 1-0) on Sunday, April 27 at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN.