The Battlehawk Brief: Week 9

Quarterback Manny Wilkins will again be under center when the St. Louis Battlehawks (6-2) kickoff at the Arlington Renegades (1-7) at 11am CT (ABC) on Saturday. Anxious to see what Manny can do in his second start, especially after last week’s win and another week of starter reps in practice. 

“It’s a feel you have to get,” acknowledged Wilkins. “Game speed is tremendously different than practice speed. Ultimately, as a backup quarterback you have to do your best to just rise to the moment and rise to the occasion when it pops up. I think we did a good job last week preparing for that and like I said, I wish we had some plays back to make some things happen and make some good plays but I’m really excited for this upcoming week for whatever’s going to happen and to make the most of the moment.”

Wilkins rushed 12 times for 80-yards last week in the win over DC and his elusiveness could come in handy against an Arlington defense that has allowed the fewest pass completions in the league.

“I think they play sound football,” stated Wilkins. “They play really well together. You can tell the team cares. Their record is what their record is, but they’re out there fighting every single week. They’re out there battling, throwing the ball everywhere, the guys on defense are making plays. I see their defense gets to the ball and they have a pretty good d-line that gets to the quarterback. I think the most important thing is to just go out there and play our game. Really focus on us, focus on honing in on the little details and doing all the little things right and letting the game come to us.”

Besides using his legs, Wilkins completed 9 of 18 passes last week for 126 yards. AJ McCarron will be the #2 as he continues to recover from his ankle injury with Brandon Silvers ready at #3.

–Wide receivers Marcell Ateman and Jahcour Pearson return to action this weekend. Should be plenty of family and friends in the house for Ateman, who graduated from nearby Wylie East High School. Expect Kam Kelly (Wylie High School) to also have a large contingent on hand.

–Running backs Jacob Saylors and Wayne Gallman have combined for 9 rushing touchdowns this season. Saylors is also just 109 yards away from matching Brian Hill’s franchise season record of 416 yards.

–The St. Louis Battlehawks can clinch home-field advantage in the XFL Conference Championship with a win this weekend at Arlington AND the San Antonio Brahmas losing at Birmingham based on the following criteria:

1. Overall Record  (STL 6-2, SA 6-2)
2. Head to Head  (STL 1-0)
3. Best record in conference games  (STL 4-0, SA 3-2)

A win against Arlington would ensure that St. Louis would have a better conference record, even if the Battlehawks and Brahmas finish with the same overall record.

If both St. Louis and San Antonio win or lose this weekend, then it will come down to the last regular season game when they face each other on June 1st at The Dome at America's Center.

Details to purchase playoff tickets will be announced after home-field advantage has been decided. Tickets are available now for the UFL Championship, which will be played June 16th in the Dome at America’s Center.