The St. Louis Battlehawks were down 15-3 with about three minutes left – and won thanks to an XFL-specific rule.
It was their first game of the season, and Anthony Becht was in danger of starting his XFL career 0-1 in disappointing fashion. Becht, the former Jets tight end, is the team’s head coach and general manager. But thanks to the XFL having rules aimed at adding more excitement to the game, its Battlehawks rallied to score 15 points to defeat the San Antonio Bramas 18-15 on Sunday.
Battlehawks starting quarterback AJ McCarron, the three-time national champion quarterback who played at Alabama from 2010-13, paraded the team onto the field and found former Eagles receiver Hakeem Butler for a touchdown from 18 yards with 1:25 remaining in the game. He then connected with Austin Proehl for a three-point conversion to reduce the league to 15-12.
In the XFL, you have the option of making one, two or three after a touchdown. You get one point for a conversion from the two-yard line, two-of-five, and three-of-10. So you could be trailing 18 points and that would be considered a two-point game versus to NFL rules. .
With another rule, the Battlehawks, although down 15-12, were offered the option to kick or run a play from their own 25 which would be considered 4th and 15. It’s basically a sudden death option that allows the team to retain possession. on a successful conversion from a 15-yard play. The 4th and 15th rule only applies in the fourth quarter, per the XFL rulebook.
The league has looked to push the envelope in multiple ways this season.
4th and 15 were converted, and the Battlehawks went on to win the game. McCarron connected with Proehl, whose father Ricky played in the NFL from 1990 to 2006 — including a stint with the Rams — for a game-winning 16-yard touchdown with 16 seconds left. Ricky Proehl is the Battlehawks’ wide receivers coach.
Young Proehl was the second-to-last pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and had coaching stints in the NFL 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 the fifth round 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 picks from first round of the Jets in 2000, after Shaun Ellis, John Abraham and Chad Pennington.
New York Post
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