ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Battlehawks trounced the Orlando Guardians Saturday afternoon, and set several league and season records in the team's final regular season game.
The Battlehawks (7-3) scored an XFL-record 53 points with a season-high 493 yards of total offense against the Guardians (1-9), who finished the game with 28 points, in front of 33,034 fans at The Dome at America's Center.
Quarterback A.J. McCarron threw for a season-high 420 yards with a season-high six touchdown passes and no interceptions. Two of McCarron’s touchdown passes went to wide receiver Hakeem Butler. Butler had 164 receiving yards, the most by a Battlehawks receiver this season.
For their part, the Guardians scored the first touchdown of the game, but the Battlehawks responded with a 35-yard field goal by kicker Donny Hageman with 2:25 to play in the first quarter to cut the lead in half, 6-3.
With 12:27 left in the second quarter, running back Kareem Walker scored on a 1-yard rush to put the Battlehawks ahead, 9-6, after defensive back Brandon Sebastian made his first of two interceptions.
But a touchdown on a fake punt gave the Guardians back the lead, 12-9, with 9:35 left before halftime.
The Battlehawks then moved back in front, 17-12, when McCarron connected with Butler on a 7-yard touchdown pass and wide receiver Marcell Ateman for a 5-yard, two-point conversion.
The Guardians scored another touchdown and two-point conversion to take a three-point lead with 6:19 left in the first half.
McCarron then connected with tight end Jake Sutherland for a 5-yard touchdown pass and Butler scored a two-point conversion to send the Battlehawks into halftime with a 25-20 lead. The Battlehawks had their highest-scoring quarter of the season with 22 points.
In the second half, the Battlehawks scored a touchdown on each of their first four possessions for another 25 points.
McCarron found wide receiver Steven Mitchell Jr. for two touchdowns and a two-point conversion. McCarron's second touchdown pass to Butler was a 66-yard bomb—the team’s longest play from scrimmage this season.
A 4-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Darrius Shepherd with 10:55 left in the game gave the Battlehawks a 45-20 lead. Both teams scored eight points in the game's final six minutes.
The outcome of Sunday's Vegas Vipers-Seattle Sea Dragons game will determine the Battlehawks playoff fate.