It’s a great time to be alive if you’re a fan of spring football. The Michigan Panthers and St. Louis Battlehawks opened up their UFL seasons today, in a matchup that was bound to come down to the wire. Spoiler alert: it did.
The stage is being set.
Panthers. Battlehawks. Should be a good one. #UFL pic.twitter.com/E8HAvEX4Qm
— James Larsen (@JamesLarsenPFN) March 30, 2024
Heading into this affair, it was tough to fully assess what to expect. These teams had never played each other before, and the USFL-XFL merger led to quite a bit of roster turnover for each group. After a slow start, things picked up in the second half for what turned out to be an instant UFL classic.
First Quarter
Right off the bat, both offenses looked rough. This isn’t much of a surprise, given the fact that there are no preseason games in spring football. Michigan and St. Louis both punted on their opening drives, as the defenses were prepared for action out of the gate.
E.J. Perry struggled to start. He threw an errant pass on their second drive, which led to an interception from Mike Rose, one of the stars on defense for St. Louis a year ago.
that INT by Mike Rose tho 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZFyIIqqp9P
— St. Louis Battlehawks (@XFLBattlehawks) March 30, 2024
The rest of the first period was lackluster offensively, with both teams in a stalemate. Kai Nacua – who we will highlight later – was spectacular today, setting the tone early with a key sack.
NACUA TIME! ✨@KaiNacua gets the sack on McCarron! #UFL2024 pic.twitter.com/HuP7t2YUGw
— Michigan Panthers (@USFLPanthers) March 30, 2024
Second Quarter
Michigan shot themselves in the foot often in this first half. The team marched deep into Battlehawks territory, and were poised to score.
However, a deflected pass from Perry ended up in the hands of Qwynnterrio Cole, and St. Louis took over.
NO. FLY. ZONE.#kakaw pic.twitter.com/Cpp4Vavqqt
— St. Louis Battlehawks (@XFLBattlehawks) March 30,…