Football is alive and well in the nation’s capital. The XFL’s D.C. Defenders were 4-0 and headed to The Dome at America’s Center Saturday to play the St. Louis Battlehawks in a game to determine first place in the XFL’s North division standings.
After a sluggish start in the first quarter, the Defenders picked things up in the second quarter to go on to defeat the Battlehawks 28-20 and move to 5-0 on the season. D.C. is the XFL’s lone remaining undefeated team. The Houston Roughnecks were 4-0 until Thursday’s loss to the Seattle Sea Dragons.
St. Louis jumped on the scoreboard first when kicker Donny Hageman connected on a 36-yard field goal around six minutes into the second quarter.
That apparently caused the D.C. offense to wake up.
D.C. running back Abram Smith took the handoff and went 62 yards for the touchdown to give the Defenders a 6-3. lead. Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu found Josh Hammond on the 2-point conversion to extend the lead to 8-3.
AYYYYEEEEE @abramsmith_28 😤
— D.C. Defenders (@XFLDefenders) March 19, 2023
Just before halftime, Smith again found paydirt, scoring from five yards out to extend the lead to 14-3, where it stood at halftime.
The third quarter began much like the second when Hageman made another field goal to make it a one-score game. How did D.C. answer? With Smith, of course. Smith takes the D’Eriq King handoff and goes untouched for a 70-yard touchdown.
HAVING HIMSELF A DAY ‼️#DefendDC | #XFL2023pic.twitter.com/JTXuHf6EL3
— D.C. Defenders (@XFLDefenders) March 19, 2023
The 2-point conversion was again no good, and the Defenders held a 20-6 lead.
The Battlehawks finally found the end zone when quarterback A.J. McCarron found wide receiver George Campbell for a five-yard touchdown. The Battlehawks failed to convert on the 2-pointer.
With it a one-score game, how would the Defenders answer?
King would score from 10 yards out, and Ta’amu would be successful on the 2-point conversion to give D.C. a 28-12 lead. McCarron led St. Louis on another touchdown drive, but it wasn’t enough, giving the Defenders a season sweep of the Battlehawks.
Next up for the Defenders are the aforementioned Roughnecks in what should be an outstanding game.
Smith had arguably the best individual performance in the XFL this season, rushing for 218 yards and three touchdowns.
