Looking forward to this Sunday’s kickoff (2 p.m. CT/ESPN) and an early Happy Mother’s Day to all of those special ladies who helped us grow into who we are today.
Like many players, Max Duggan played multiple sports growing up and is grateful for his mom who ran him to practices and came to all his games. Deb Duggan even threw batting practice if needed.
“Yeah, soft-toss in the cage after a tough game during baseball if I went 0-4 or something,” smiled Duggan. “She’s always been extremely supportive. She’s had my back and helped me through everything.There’s not a lot more I can say. I appreciate her and she’ll probably never know how much I appreciate her.”
Max may not be swinging the bat these days, but his runs and leaps over tacklers may have something to do with Deb, who ran hurdles and is in the South Dakota Hall of Fame.
–Congratulations to Rodrigo Blankenship and Pita Taumoepenu on being named the UFL’s Special Teams Player of the Week and Ortho UFL Defensive Player of the Week. St. Louis Battlehawks Head Coach Anthony Becht has not only relied on “Hot Rod” as an extra offensive weapon, but is fully prepared to seek the kicker in a different uniform next season.
“He’ll be the first guy taken out of this league–if he’s not, the NFL is crazy,” stated Becht postgame. “Enjoy him now, he’s not going to be here next year…he has been fantastic. Doesn’t open his mouth, doesn’t gloat. He’s on social media, but it’s all positive stuff. He’s just a good dude to embrace.”
Blankenship is 14-14 on field goal attempts this season, booting four of over 50 yards.
With his 5.5 sacks this season, Taumoepenu has broken the previous team record of 5.0 sacks in a season, which he shared with Travis Feeney. Look forward to seeing what the final tally is for both players at the end of the season.
–Speaking of team records, Jahcour Pearson’s 226 punt return yards this season is a new high mark for the Battlehawks. Peezy leads the UFL in that category this season and is only three yards away from setting a new league record.
–Who would have thought that Chase Allen and Jason Bourne could’ve grown up together?? According to the storyline, that’s a possibility. While speaking on KMOX radio this week, Allen shared that the rumor around town is that fellow southwest Missouri native Brad Pitt is responsible for suggesting the town to his friend Matt Damon.
–Wishes for a full and speedy recovery to Abdul Beecham, who was placed on Injured Reserve this week.
“Beech was playing with one hand the last two games,” noted Becht. “It was extremely hard for him to go out and battle, but he’s so tough and got a lot of respect for him doing that.”
As he did when Beecham was out earlier this season, Dohnovan West will step in at right guard.
“Dohnovan has a lot of experience,” said Becht. “He’s a very quick, elusive kind of guy who has a little finesse, but can attack as well.”
Right tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty and linebacker Carson Wells are also expected to be back for Sunday’s game. Tackle Teton Saltes was also re-signed to the roster this week.
–Only two regular season games remain, so if you’ve never made a visit to “The Battledome” this is the perfect chance to experience a Battlehawks game. All tickets and promotions are available at UFLBattlehawks.com.