The Roughnecks Hold Off the BattleHawks Comeback, 28-24.

In a game where St. Louis outgained Houston 390 to 238, the BattleHawks did turn the ball over twice and had four times as many penalty yards as the Roughnecks.

First Half

After Houston struck first with a Sergio Castillo 44-yard field goal, St. Louis would drive 71 yards on nine plays for a touchdown. Quarterback Jordan Ta’Amu hit running back Matt Jones on a 25-yard screen.

“Coach called a good play,” Jones exclaimed after the touchdown, “We just executed the plan”.

Trailing 6-3 Houston would clap back. P.J. Walker, while escaping the pressure, would roll out to his right and sidearm a beautiful throw to wideout Cam Phillips. Walker’s feet and the offensive line holding the St. Louis pressure enabled Phillips to break out of his original route and give Walker a chance to make a throw.

The early second quarter was a barrage of punts and defensive struggles between the two teams. That was until Ta’Amu, who started 7/7 passing threw an interception to Houston’s Cody Brown. Brown took it all the way down to St. Louis’ one-yard line. From there, James Butler would tunnel his way in from a yard out to give Houston a 15-6 lead.

St. Louis played the gambler and would fail on a fourth-and-two. Houston’s defense was clamping down in short-yardage situations during the first half.

Six plays later Walker yet again would find Phillips for a touchdown in corner-post route from nine-yards out to give the Roughnecks a 21-6 lead going into halftime.

Ta’Amu would only have two incompletions in the first half, but St. Louis would only muster 2.2 yards a carry in that half.

Second Half

As Houston dominated in the first half, St. Louis would reverse roles and become the paramount.

The Battlehawks were in absolute control of the third quarter. Holding Houston to only three plays and six yards in the period, St. Louis would reel off two 13-play drives for touchdowns.

Ta’Amu would go a perfect 6/6 culminating in a De’Mornay Pierson-El one-yard touchdown grab. The two-point conversion failed but cut the Roughneck lead to nine. Pierson-El would snag three catches on the drive for 29 yards, including the score.

St. Louis, on their next drive, would take a different approach and run the ball. Nine of the 13 plays on the drive were rushing plays. Jordan Ta’Amu would scramble in from four yards out to now make it a 21-18 Roughneck lead. The Roughnecks cover two was concerned about the pass, and the leverage couldn’t account for Ta’Amu’s feet.

Houston would have to punt on their next drive, and with the BattleHawks driving, the tides seemed to have turned. Alas, on the tenth play of the St. Louis drive Ta’Amu, while trying to find Alonzo Russell on a comeback route, would get picked off again. This time Jeremiah “JJ” Johnson jumped the route and would return it to the St. Louis six-yard line. Three plays later, Walker would hit Phillips yet again for the third time.

Trailing 28-18 late in the fourth, the BattleHawks would drive nine plays and take three minutes off the clock. La’Damian Washington would take a short dump-off pass and race 36 yards for the score making it, 28-24.

The Roughnecks would get a first down, and it was all she wrote.

Houston Holds On

Roughnecks quarterback P.J. Walker would throw only 170 yards but tossed three touchdowns. The touchdowns bring his season total to seven touchdowns and only one pick. His feet were the real star of the game. Multiple times the St. Louis defenders had him down, but he would escape with the ease of a magician. The lone sack of the game was initially even called a no-sack until replay showed his elbow down.

Cam Phillips shined for Houston. The wideout led all receivers with eight catches for 63 yards and three touchdowns. He cemented his status as the go-to for Walker. Phillips follows up last week’s performance of four catches for 67 yards and the Roughneck’s first-ever touchdown.

Houston’s defense was an oppressive force recording seven tackles-for-loss, three sacks, and two interceptions. Beniquez Brown led Houston with ten tackles. Five additional defenders had five or more tackles.

Running back and hybrid slot receiver Nick Holley has been the guy running the tough routes and has proved to be the slot route expert. Holley, a Kent State graduate, caught three passes for 41 yards and had 11 yards rushing. All three of his catches were on first down. In college, he played running back/wide receiver/quarterback just like another Kent State star, Julian Edelman.

BattleHawks Battle Back

Jordan Ta’Amu was just as elusive as P.J. Walker giving Roughneck defenders and coordinators fits. The Ole Miss product went an efficient 30/37 284 yards and a trio of touchdowns. He also rushed for 32 yards and a touchdown.

The St. Louis defense deserves a lot of credit for holding Houston in check for most of the second half. Houston could only muster 67 yards of offense in the second half with 35 coming in the last 1:41 while they were trying to kill the clock. Dexter McCoil led the team with six tackles and a tackle for a loss.

Former Raider and punter Marquette King average 49.8 yards a punt on four kicks and helped pin Houston down a few times.

Next Up

Houston (2-0) takes their Run-and-Shoot to Tampa to take on the Vipers next Saturday on ABC and St. Louis (1-1) will look to rebound hosting the New York Guardians Sunday on ESPN.

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