With 40 seconds to play on Saturday, St. Louis outside linebacker Chris Garrett blocked a punt by Birmingham’s Drue Chrisman to give the Battlehawks the football at the Stallions 47-yard line trailing by four points.
That set the stage for the kind of comeback victory that St. Louis quarterback AJ McCarron has become accustomed to delivering since joining the Battlehawks last season.
And adding electricity to the storyline was the United Football League game’s location – Protective Stadium in Birmingham. A former All-American and national-championship quarterback at Alabama, McCarron also was a prep star at St. Paul’s Episcopal in Mobile, and Saturday’s United Football League game was his first action in his home state since the Kick Six Iron Bowl in 2013.
But about seven minutes of game time before the blocked punt, McCarron had walked to the sideline and told the St. Louis coaches: “Hey, my ankle’s broken.”
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Despite his injury proclamation, McCarron did not miss a snap. But he couldn’t deliver the dramatic game-winning drive either as Birmingham stayed undefeated 30-26 victory.
McCarron did not speak at St. Louis’ postgame press conference, as he usually does, as the Battlehawks said he was receiving treatment. Coach Anthony Becht did not provide an update on the quarterback during his postgame remarks.
“I know he wanted to deliver today,” Becht said, “and we just came up short. …
“He’s been doing it his whole life. He’s played in front of 100-plus thousand fans. He can deal with 10 or 12 (thousand), and most of them were cheering for him. That’s good, you know? I know he wanted this one. I know he wanted to bring this one home.”
McCarron’s return to Alabama was used as a marketing tool by the UFL, and with a reported attendance of 14,056, Birmingham had its biggest crowd of the season.
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About two hours after the game ended, a statement from St. Louis said McCarron had sustained a left ankle injury and would undergo further evaluation.
McCarron had just completed a third-and-8 pass to wide receiver Hakeem Butler for a 15-yard gain to the Birmingham 22-yard line when he was taken down by Stallions nose tackle Carlos Davis on an incompletion.
Davis hit McCarron in the shins, then rolled the QB over holding his legs and got a roughing-the-passer penalty. St. Louis running back Jacob Saylors scored on a 7-yard run on the next snap to give the Battlehawks a 26-23 lead with 7:43 to play.
McCarron made his ankle announcement after the conversion try and went into the sideline medical tent.
After a 40-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Adrian Martinez to wide receiver Kelvin Austin Jr. allowed Birmingham to take a 4-point lead with 5:23 remaining, an 8-yard loss on a sack, an 8-yard run by Saylors and an incompletion on a long pass gave the Battlehawks their first three-and-out since the opening possession. St. Louis punted with 3:10 remaining.
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But Garrett’s blocked punt gave the Battlehawks an opportunity to pin the first loss of the season on Birmingham. A 7-yard completion to Saylors was followed by a run for 1 gain by McCarron as the quarterback somehow eluded a sack. But with St. Louis out of timeouts, the next snap had to be a spike to stop the clock.
A fourth-down throw to wide receiver Jahcour Person was broken up by linebacker Kyahva Tezino with 11 seconds left to seal the Stallions’ victory.
McCarron finished the game 19-of-32 passing for 161 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He ran for 24 yards on two carries, and his scrambling allowed him to throw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Saylors as the Battlehawks took a 20-17 lead with 6:17 left in the third quarter.
The Battlehawks face the D.C. Defenders at 11 a.m. May 19 at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. ABC will televise the game.
At 5-2, St. Louis will be at least tied for the XFL Conference lead after the United Football League’s Week 7 games are completed. But it remains to be seen if the Battlehawks will have their starting quarterback against D.C.
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A fan cheers for quarterback AJ McCarron and the St. Louis Battlehawks during a United Football League game against the Birmingham Stallions on May 11, 2024, at Protective Stadium in Birmingham.(Photo by Butch Dill/UFL/Getty Images)
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
Alabama football hosted a hometown kid for an official visit last weekend when it got Jeremiah Beverley on campus for an official visit.
Beverley attends Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and ESPN currently has him rated as a four-star recruit. He is considering Alabama, Cincinnati, Wake Forest and others.
The Crimson Tide offered Beverley earlier this month and got him on campus for an official visit last weekend. The Alabama target told Touchdown Alabama he used the visit to learn what the Tide has planned for him if he commits.
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“I’m truly happy that I went on that official visit,” Beverley said. “Blessed for that. All I was talking about was the next step, what I got to do? So, just knowing what they have planned for me, knowing what they have set for me.”
At 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds, Beverley makes plays for Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa as a defensive end. Alabama has plans to use him similarly at the next level.
“They’re going to have me at wolf mostly,” Beverley said. “I know coach (Kane) Wommack and coach (Christian) Robinson, I think they see me at other positions, but I know it is guaranteed they’re going to see me at Wolf and me working my way up on special teams, and they expect that out of me.”
Beverley is expected to announce a commitment decision on Friday.
Watch Jeremiah Beverley’s Highlights Below:
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Justin Smith is the Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with over 10 years of writing experience & expertise. Smith has consistently delivered high quality, extensively researched information on the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team that fans can trust. Smith is official credentialed media with the University of Alabama under Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He is also the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Enterprises, specializing in scouting and analyzing high school recruits around the nation, specifically focusing on recruits within the state of Alabama.
Alabama football is hiring Noah Fisher to be its assistant tight ends coach, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz.
Fisher spent two seasons as a graduate assistant working with the offensive line and tight ends at Louisville before joining the Tide’s staff. He played three years on the offensive line at South Alabama and spent one season with Tulane. The Jaguars started Fisher along its offensive line when he was a player for multiple games.
The Crimson Tide appear to want to use their tight ends in multiple ways in the future including as extra blockers along the line of scrimmage. Fisher looks as if he can assist the Tide with this mission.
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Justin Smith is the Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with over 10 years of writing experience & expertise. Smith has consistently delivered high quality, extensively researched information on the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team that fans can trust. Smith is official credentialed media with the University of Alabama under Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He is also the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Enterprises, specializing in scouting and analyzing high school recruits around the nation, specifically focusing on recruits within the state of Alabama.
PRICHARD, Ala. (NBC 15) — Sewage overflows during storms in Prichard are sending wastewater into local waterways that feed Mobile Bay, prompting an environmental group to push for state funding to upgrade aging infrastructure.
Mobile Baykeeper says sewage overflows during storms flow into Three Mile Creek, then into the Mobile River, and ultimately end up in Mobile Bay. The group said that last week, during heavy rain, more than 256,000 gallons of sewage spilled into Gum Tree Branch and Three Mile Creek.
Mobile Baykeeper has launched a petition seeking funding from the state of Alabama to fix Prichard’s old water infrastructure.
