HOUSTON, TX – May 24, 2026 – In his first season as head coach of the Battlehawks, Ricky Proehl has St. Louis back in the playoffs. Once again, their defense stole the spotlight and powered the Battlehawks to a playoff-clinching victory while eliminating Houston from postseason contention.
The Gamblers struck first in their regular season home finale. With their season on the line, Houston came out sharp on both sides of the ball.
After forcing St. Louis over on downs, Hunter Dekkers quickly capitalized. Following a 21-yard defensive pass interference penalty, Dekkers fired a laser to Jalen Cropper for 27 yards. Two plays later, after corralling a poor snap, Dekkers delivered a frozen rope to former Louisville King JaVonta Payton in the end zone.
Payton’s first touchdown of the season gave Houston an early 6-0 lead after the missed conversion.
The Battlehawks had an opportunity to answer but failed to capitalize in the opening quarter. Ramiz Ahmed missed a 43-yard field goal at the end of a ten-play drive.
John Rhys Plumlee later entered at quarterback for Houston, but it was the run game that marched the Gamblers down the field. Marcus Yarns found daylight for a 42-yard burst into the red zone. The drive stalled late, but John Hoyland connected on a short field goal to extend Houston’s lead to 9-0.
St. Louis looked ready to answer with its first points of the game, but another costly turnover halted the drive. Jahcour Pearson turned a short completion into a 22-yard gain before Eli Walker punched the ball loose with a perfect peanut punch. Kary Vincent recovered the fumble to preserve Houston’s momentum.
The Battlehawks defense responded with another quick stop and gave Manny Perez the ball back. Perez opened the drive with a 16-yard completion to Steven McBride, but St. Louis’ third down struggles continued as the offense stalled once again. After opening just 1-for-5 on third down, Ahmed finally put the Battlehawks on the board with a 36-yard field goal.
Houston continued rotating Dekkers and Plumlee throughout the first half.
Late in the second quarter, the Gamblers drove deep into St. Louis territory before the Battlehawks flipped momentum in one play. Michael Ojemudia intercepted Plumlee and kept Houston from adding to the lead.
Then came the turning point.
With just 26 seconds remaining before halftime, the Battlehawks pieced together an incredible scoring drive. After two quick completions, Jarveon Howard ripped off a 21-yard run, his longest of the night, to move St. Louis into scoring range.
But settling for three was never on Ricky Proehl’s mind.
Perez launched a prayer toward Hakeem Butler, who came down with the contested catch and battled into the end zone for the touchdown. Suddenly, the Battlehawks carried an improbable 10-9 lead into halftime.
Houston answered quickly coming out of the locker room behind two explosive plays.
Plumlee opened the half with a 17-yard completion to Yarns. Two plays later, he dropped a perfect 44-yard pass into the breadbasket for Jalen Cropper. Moments later, Kirk Merritt weaved into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown, his first score of the season. Houston failed the two-point attempt, but reclaimed a 15-10 lead.
The Battlehawks needed an answer and responded with a gritty, methodical drive. St. Louis marched 69 yards in 12 plays while chewing up 6:38 of the third quarter clock. After starting 1-for-5 on third down, the Battlehawks converted four of their next five attempts.
Kylin James sparked the drive with a 25-yard run into the red zone, then capped it with a two-yard touchdown on a wildcat handoff from Blake Jackson.
Jarveon Howard powered through the middle for the two-point conversion, giving St. Louis an 18-15 lead.
The Battlehawks opened the fourth quarter hoping to create separation, but Perez was intercepted by Major Burns on a poor throw downfield. Burns’ fourth interception of the season tied for the UFL lead and gave Houston new life.
But once again, the St. Louis defense answered the call.
Jordan Williams punched the ball free from Jontre Kirklin and recovered it himself in a tremendous individual effort.
The defensive slugfest continued as Houston’s defense answered back. Rashard Lawrence swatted down a pass on third down before Malik Fisher pressured Perez into an incompletion on fourth down to force another turnover.
And once again, St. Louis’ defense returned the favor. Demone Harris got home for the Battlehawks’ fourth sack of the game and helped keep Houston pinned deep.
The Battlehawks then drained 5:45 off the fourth quarter clock before Ahmed connected on a 34-yard field goal to extend the lead to 21-15 with under three minutes remaining.
Houston still had one final chance. Plumlee connected with Cropper on a huge third-and-12 conversion for 20 yards, but the Battlehawks defense came up with one last stop to officially clinch the victory, and a return to the playoffs.
St. Louis’ defense once again dominated the game. The Battlehawks held Houston under 300 total yards, limited the Gamblers to 0-for-3 on fourth down, and recorded four sacks. Trey Dean led the unit with seven tackles and a sack.
Cropper paced Houston with the franchise’s first 100-yard receiving game of the season. Defensively, Major Burns delivered a standout performance with a game-high eight tackles, two tackles for loss, and an interception.
Following the victory, the Battlehawks will close the regular season at home against Dallas on Friday at 8:00 PM ET on FOX.