UFL playoffs highlights: Brahmas upset Battlehawks, win XFL Conference title
The inaugural UFL playoffs featured an upset in the XFL Conference championship as the San Antonio Brahmas stunned the St. Louis Battlehawks, 25-15, on the road on Sunday to earn a spot in the UFL Championship Game on June 16.
Wade Phillips’ and Chase Garbers’ squad will face the Birmingham Stallions, who came from behind to defeat the Michigan Panthers and win the USFL Conference crown on Saturday, in next week’s championship tilt.
Wade Phillips, the longtime NFL head coach and coordinator, is headed for another championship game. In his first year leading the San Antonio Brahmas, Phillips has his squad in the inaugural UFL Championship Game, where they will face the three-time defending USFL champion Birmingham Stallions for a shot at the ultimate prize. His squad celebrated with him as the St. Louis Battlehawks’ last-gasp fourth-down try failed.
Phillips also told Battlehawks wide receiver Hakeem Butler that he would try to get the St. Louis star some NFL opportunities.
After a rare Battlehawks field goal miss, Brahmas kicker Ryan Santoso responded with his second straight clutch field goal make to bring San Antonio’s lead back to two scores.
San Antonio kicker Ryan Santoso snapped a drought to give the Brahmas some key breathing room just before the end of the third quarter on a 31-yard attempt.
Donald “Deestroying” De La Haye, who opened this season as the Brahmas’s starting kicker before a season-ending neck injury, is also supporting his team from afar.
McCarron returned from the locker room after halftime and, while dealing with his injured ankle, led the Battlehawks on their first touchdown drive of the day to get the deficit back down to 10.
Running back Anthony McFarland sliced right through the Battlehawks’ defense to extend San Antonio’s lead and further quiet the St. Louis home crowd on a 69-yard touchdown run, the longest of the UFL season.
