Week six in the UFL kicks off Thursday night. The Louisville Kings (2-3) will host the St. Louis Battlehawks (3-2), as two teams clash in a crucial matchup that could end up determining their playoff fates.
On one hand, the Louisville Kings are on a hot stretch. They’ve won two in a row, starting to put the pieces together of what this team is capable of. Chandler Rogers took over for Jason Bean last week, and looked very sharp against the Renegades in a 47-26 shellacking.
Meanwhile, the St. Louis Battlehawks just knocked off the previously undefeated Orlando Storm. Ricky Proehl has the guys bought into the system, even if it’s a little questionable at times. The Battlehawks are looking to win two in a row for the first time this season.
Let’s take a look at what we can expect in this matchup at Lynn Family Stadium.
Quarterback Play
The St. Louis Battlehawks are riding with Harrison Frost. Even with Luis Perez on the roster, A.J. Smith and Ricky Proehl both love what Harrison brings to the table with his mobility. He’s a unique signal caller, as he can make some difficult throws look easy – but then will chuck the ball down the field to a defender for reasons that will make you scratch your head. The key here for Harrison: development. With more reps, will come more success.
Louisville made the right move for the culture. Chandler Rogers is a guy that the entire team loves, and he’s brought some extra juice to the Kings. He’s calm, collected, and makes the right decisions – with only one turnover-worthy play through two games. Chandler might not kill defenses with his down the field attempts, but his short-intermediate game is stellar; and he’s got mobility to extend plays/drives.
“We saw Chandler through all of camp, the efficiency he had…he’s just got that quarterback DNA. He was having walkthroughs at the hotel, with the offensive linemen at some of the receivers, by himself. Coaches didn’t say anything. And he wasn’t even starting at that point, he was just doing that on his own. He’s just got the DNA to be a professional quarterback. He loves the game, he’s like another coach out on the field, honestly. I feel like we can definitely trust him. He’s the perfect quarterback for Louisville. I’m fired up for his future here.” – HC Chris Redman
Standout Playmakers
Hakeem Butler is averaging 27.5 yards per reception this year. You heard that right. The “Megatron” of the UFL is putting on an absolute clinic to begin the year, with more downfield receptions than just about anyone in the league right now.
On the ground, Jarveon Howard and Kevon Latulas have been an excellent duo. They feed off of each other well, both having slightly different skill-sets. Kevon’s shiftiness will be incredibly important against a Kings defensive front that has been playing great football lately.
The Kings saw Ian Wheeler emerge this past week, fully healthy and behind a revised O-Line unit. The Kings rushed for almost 150 yards, as Wheeler scored four touchdowns – and James Robinson is no slouch either. These two should continue to see quality touches.
Lucky Jackson and Tarik Black have seen a lot of targets, but TE Zach Davidson is a name to watch this week. He’ll have opportunities against linebackers that he has size advantages over, or corner slots.
The Injury Report
For St. Louis, they are mostly healthy. Outside of missing Tucker McCann (they signed Ramiz Ahmed as his replacement), WR Frank Darby and CB Luq Barcoo are back in action, which is big news.
The Louisville Kings will be missing a couple of their weapons. TE Tre’ McKitty remains out with an ankle injury, and WR Isaiah Winstead is also out due to a tweaked quad. With Winstead out, look for Javonta Payton to be elevated again.
Notably, OT James Tunstall is questionable. He has started in a couple of games, and is listed as a current starter.
Depth Chart Notes
The Kings have changed up their O-Line, and it looked excellent this past weekend (at least, compared to the first four weeks). James Tunstall, J.D. DiRenzo, Mike McAllister, Jaylon Thomas, and Chim Okorafor should all be starting once again. Look for John Campbell Jr., the former Gambler, to see some snaps as well.
St. Louis is running it back with largely the same lineup we saw a week ago. With Barcoo back in action, he should see a fair share of snaps at DB. Trey Dean, who got ejected last week, is still listed as a backup.
Louisville’s Improved O-Line
For the first time all year, the Louisville Kings’ Offensive Line unit played cohesive football. This was evident all afternoon long, as they capitalized on every single takeaway, scoring 27 points off of four turnovers (granted, two pick sixes, but still).
With the O-Line playing better football, and the replacement of Benny Snell, this offense finally started to click. Chandler Rogers just needed to make the right reads without forcing the issue, and that’s exactly what he did.
The entire offense was super-charged by a ground attack that amassed nearly 150 yards. Louisville, heading into week five, averaged a putrid 45 rushing yards per game. Teams haven’t run the ball incredibly well against St. Louis’ defensive front seven, but it’s worth noting that the Kings are a much more complete unit now, then they were to begin the season in that department.
“Realistically, Louisville could have won three in a row. That rule change, in overtime, they played really well that night. They have really come on, playing good football. Playing inspired football. Our team sees that, there’s a lot of parity in this league. A play here, a play there can change the outcome. The hardest thing, is it being a short week, trying to play this football team. We have to be smart as coaches, and right now it’s more mental reps than it is physical reps. This is a good football team, they’re well coached – and they’re on the rise. I love it.” – Battlehawks HC Ricky Proehl
Harrison Frost vs. Louisville’s Defense
Quite possibly the biggest storyline in this game: how will Harrison Frost perform? He’s been a bit hap-hazard and sporadic to begin his season. For example, he completed just 29% of his pass attempts in a loss to DC in week four. We also fondly remember his first two pass attempts in the UFL were interceptions, before he led a three-touchdown fourth quarter to beat the Stallions in week three.
Louisville’s defense is beginning to really feel themselves. That confidence is oozing, as they came away with four interceptions against arguably the league’s top quarterback in Austin Reed. That type of performance can sometimes be an anomaly; or, it could be the spark to continue playing at that level the rest of the year.
“I think we just have to play within ourselves. Play within the ofense. That’s been our message, every game. Frosty gets another opportunity to learn, and gain experience. We’re just trying to get him to make the reads, play within himself, eliminate mistakes, don’t try to do too much. There’s times where he scrambles and then throws against his body. We need to eliminate that. If there’s nothing he likes, he has to get rid of it. That’s what we’re trying to do.” – Battlehawks HC Ricky Proehl
Frost, plain and simple, has to protect the football. The Kings’ entire secondary is full of opportunistic corners and safeties who will jump on every chance they get to touch the football.
Coaching Matchup
“I’m a big Ricky Proehl fan, I think he’s a great guy and perfect for that organization. We got our hands full, this is arguably the hottest team out there.” – Kings HC Chris Redman
St. Louis Battlehawks, Ricky Proehl: Proehl has done an outstanding job through five weeks. He’s manned up to his mistakes quickly (i.e. the punting debacle vs. Orlando), and his accountability/attitude has trickled down to the rest of this organization. St. Louis is a scrappy, efficient team with Proehl at the helm.
Louisville Kings, Chris Redman: Just when you thought the Kings might be trending towards a losing season, Chris Redman has turned this thing around. His calm, focused approach to the UFL has been very impressive, given his lack of experience as a coach at any level. Redman’s Kings are well on their way to bringing success to Louisville – even if it isn’t a Championship this year.
“After the game, the guys were like, ‘man, this is a great team’. Everything is right here, laid out in front of us. Obviously, a huge game in front of us, but I’m really excited to see where this team goes in our first year. Not a lot of people gave us opportunity to do anything this year. Everything is still right there for the taking, the league is set up that way. You’re never really out of it.” – Chris Redman
Final Thoughts
This is one of the few matchups of the year, at this point in the season, that feels like a 50-50 ball game. Both St. Louis and Louisville have been playing quality football as of late. With the Kings on such a hot streak, though, plus having home field advantage – it may give them the slight edge they need to improve to 3-3 on the year.
The action will all kick off at 8pm ET on FOX. You can secure your tickets for the game here.
Full Roster Breakdowns: Louisville, St. Louis
What are your thoughts on this upcoming matchup between the Louisville Kings and St. Louis Battlehawks? Who do you think will win? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!
