Panthers Defeat Battlehawks with Record Breaking Kick

The Ford Field faithful were sent home happy after the Michigan Panthers defeated the heavily favored St. Louis Battlehawks Saturday night, 18-16. 

9,444 people were on hand to watch Panthers kicker Jake Bates nail a 64 yard field goal, the longest successful kick in spring football history, and only two yards shy of tying the all-time NFL record. 

UFL Battlehawks QB A.J. McCarron Media Scrum - Coverage by BCP+ Senior Editor Mike Mueller

Not only did Bates make the kick, he actually made it twice, as his first successful attempt was called off due to a St. Louis time out. Attempting to ice the kicker is a long held strategy in football, but that doesn't work when the kicker already has ice water in his veins. The fans erupted as Bates made his first field goal attempt since high school, and the Panthers are officially off to a 1-0 start in the first ever UFL season.

Of course, a lot led up to this point. 

They say football is a game of two halves, and that was on full display throughout the course of the game. The first half was dominated by the defenses. The Battlehawks picked off Panthers QB E.J. Perry twice in the first half, including one from inside of the St. Louis 5 yard line, preventing Michigan from taking an early lead. The Panthers were not to be outdone on the defensive side of the ball, however, as SS Kai Nacua had a league leading 11 tackles, and the Panthers’ defensive line constantly pressured, sacked, and knocked down passes from star QB A.J. McCarron. 

McCarron, who was the 2023 XFL leader in throwing touchdowns, single game touchdowns, and single game throwing yards, is considered by many to be an early favorite for UFL Offensive MVP this year, but the Panthers certainly had his number in the first half. 

The Battlehawks offense finally started to get into rhythm at the end of the first half, as they drove the ball down the field and were able to successfully convert a 36-yard field goal attempt to take a 3-0 lead at the half.

It looked like this would be an extremely low scoring affair, far lower than the 42.5 over/under laid by ESPN Bet, but the second half saw both offenses wake up and deliver some spectacular moments. 

Michigan wasted no time, stopping the Battlehawks’ opening 3rd quarter drive, and scoring a touchdown on their own first drive of the second half. On a first and 10 from their own 23, E.J. Perry connected with WR Marcus Simms for a beautiful 30 yard reception, which was followed up two plays later by a short pass to TE Cole Hikutini, who managed to find a gap in the secondary and get all the way down to the 4 yard line. Two plays later, Perry used his legs (something he’ll be expected to do regularly) to run up the middle for a touchdown. The one point attempt was successful as RB Wes Hills punched the ball in from two yards out, and the Panthers took a 7-3 lead. 

This set the stage for a wild fourth quarter, as the teams alternated scoring drives on the final 4 possessions of the game. 

The Battlehawks scored quickly, driving the field in just 2:47 to reclaim the lead after AJ McCarron completed a pass to TE Jake Sutherland. However, the two point attempt was unsuccessful and the Battlehawks lead stood at 9-7.

With just under 8 minutes left in the game, the Panthers leaned on their run game, as a now gassed St. Louis defensive line couldn’t stop Wes Hills, as he ran for 43 yards on three plays, with the drive being capped off by another QB scramble from Perry. This one wasn’t as simple as his first TD run, as he had to make some nifty moves to get past defenders and into the end zone. This time, the Panthers decided to go for a two point attempt (from the five yard line) and which also was successful, and the Panthers held a 15-9 lead with 4:53 left in the game.

A long and drama-filled drive by the Battlehawks followed, in which St. Louis converted an early third down attempt, and two fourth down attempts, with the second 4th down attempt resulting in a touchdown with only 49 seconds remaining. This time, the Battlehawks were able to convert their extra point attempt, a one pointer, which saw them retake the lead, 16-15.

The Panthers had 49 seconds and no time outs to get into field goal range. Fortunately for Michigan, Bates was routinely making 55+ yard attempts in the pregame warmups. His accuracy was a little erratic, but every single kick from that distance had plenty of room to spare. 

Taking over at their own 35 yard line, the Panthers were only able to move the ball 19 yards, to the STL 46, leaving Kicker Jake Bates with a daunting task. However, Bates never had a doubt he could make the kick from that far.

“He came up to me and said [get it to] the 45.” said EJ Perry. 

“I went over to the O-Line and started doing the math in my head and I said ‘we gotta get to the 35’ I did not believe that [he actually meant the 45].”

Perry fell one yard short of that goal, but Bates proved that he knew what he was talking about all along. The kick had plenty of leg (twice), the Panthers won the game 18-16, and a brand new star in the city of Detroit was born. Jake Bates will not be paying for Faygo or Coney Dogs any time soon. 

After the game, we had the opportunity to speak to Battlehawks QB AJ McCarron. He talked about the adjustments the team made from the beginning of the game until when they started to find their rhythm at the end of the first half. 

“They played us a lot more zone than what they had shown in the past. That’s the toughest thing about week one: you don’t have any film on them. All you could go off of was their previous games from last year.” McCarron said.

He continued, “They played us a little different, I thought we made good adjustments, late in the game especially. I was proud of the guys, whenever we needed plays, we made them…we just gotta be better next week.”

Next, Panthers Head Coach Mike Nolan took the podium, and we got to follow up on a question from last February’s town hall meeting. In that meeting, Coach Nolan mentioned that an area of the team he wanted to see immediate improvement on from last season was the secondary. When asked how he felt the team did against a very potent passing offense, Nolan responded,

“I think they did a good job. As you all know, that game came down [to] the fourth quarter, and that's when the offense started to move the ball a little better. They have some very big, talented receivers. It is a very explosive offense. I was very pleased with what we got done for most of the game at the end there.” 

Nolan went on to explain that, while not perfect, he was proud of his secondary. 

“I think we still could’ve done a better job, but nonetheless, we’re playing a good team with good players [...] and they're gonna make plays. I felt fortunate it was just at the end of the game they were making plays and not throughout the entire game, and that’s a credit also to our defensive backs. I thought they did a really good job.”

Next week, the Panthers (1-0) host the Birmingham Stallions (1-0). That game will air on Sun. April 7 at 12:00 PM EST on ESPN/ESPN+.

Next week, The Battlehawks (0-1) will host the Arlington Renegades (0-1). That game will air on Sat. April 6 at 8:00 PM EST on ABC/ESPN+.