The St. Louis Battlehawks were down 15-3 with about three minutes to go — and won thanks to an XFL-specific rule.
It was their first game of the season, and Anthony Becht was at risk of beginning his XFL career 0-1 in underwhelming fashion. Becht, the former Jets tight end, is the team’s head coach and general manager. But thanks to XFL having rules looking to add more excitement to the game, his Battlehawks rallied to score 15 points to defeat the San Antonio Bramas 18-15 on Sunday.
Battlehawks starting quarterback A.J. McCarron, the three-time national champion quarterback who played at Alabama from 2010-2013, marched the team down the field and found former Eagles receiver Hakeem Butler for an 18-yard touchdown with 1:25 remaining in the game. He then connected with Austin Proehl for a three-point conversion to cut the league to 15-12.
In the XFL, you have the option of going for one, two, or three following a touchdown. You get one point for a conversion from the two-yard line, two points from the five, and three points from the 10. So you could be trailing 18 points and it would be considered a two-score game as opposed to the NFL rules.
With another rule, the Battlehawks, while down 15-12, were presented the option to onside kick or run a play from their own 25 that would be considered 4th and 15. It’s essentially a sudden-death option that allows the team to retain possession if successfully converting a 15-yard play. The 4th and 15 rule only applies in the fourth quarter, per the XFL’s rulebook.
The league’s been looking to push boundaries in a multitude of ways this season.
The 4th and 15 was converted, and the Battlehawks subsequently went on to to win the game. McCarron connected with Proehl, whose father Ricky played in the NFL from 1990-2006 — including a stint with the Rams — for a game-winning 16-yard touchdown with 16 seconds to go. Ricky Proehl is is the Battlehawks’ wide receivers coach.
The younger Proehl was the second-to-last pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and has had NFL practice squad stints with the Titans, Rams, Bills and Chargers. He was signed by the Giants on February 15, 2022 but released in August during the preseason.
McCarron last played in the NFL in 2021, which he spent with the Atlanta Falcons on injured reserve after tearing his ACL in Week 2 of the preseason. McCarron’s NFL career began after being selected in round five of the 2014 draft and he spent time as a backup with the Bengals, Raiders and Texans.
Since Becht’s retirement from the NFL after the 2011 campaign, the former Jet was the tight ends coach for the Alliance of American Football League’s San Diego Fleet in 2019. Becht was the last of four Jets first-round picks in 2000, following Shaun Ellis, John Abraham and Chad Pennington.
