Ta’amu leads Battlehawks to another home victory
BY JEREMY HOUSEWRIGHT
Jordan Ta’amu showed why he is the face of the St. Louis Battlehawks franchise on Saturday.
Ta’amu used his arm and legs to carry St. Louis to a 23-16 win over the Seattle Dragons in an XFL contest that aired on FOX. St. Louis improved to 3-1 on the season, 2-0 at home, while Seattle dropped to 1-3.
Ta’amu credited the entire offense with the victory.
“Everybody on offense did their job. It was a team win,” Ta’amu said after the game. “We just need to go out there and execute.”
Ta’amu finished 20-of-27 passing for 264 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, Ta’amu led the team with 63 yards. He accounted for 327 total yards of offense, or 83 percent of the Battlehawks offense.
St. Louis jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Following a second-half quarterback change from starter Brandon Silvers to dual threat backup BJ Daniels, Seattle was able to pull close. Much like Ta’amu, Daniels used his legs and arms to bring the Dragons within striking distance.
With the Dragons driving late, the Battlehawks defense again came up huge in the fourth quarter as Will Hill III – who previously played in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens and New York Giants – grabbed his second interception of the season to put the game away for St. Louis.
De’Mornay Pierson-El led all receivers with five catches for 71 yards and a touchdown for the Battlehawks in the winning effort.
Battlehawks head coach Jonathan Hayes said his quarterback just keeps getting better every week. Several members of Ta’amu’s family, from Hawaii, were in attendance at The Dome at America’s Center to see his amazing performance. More than 27,500 attended Saturday’s win in all.
“As long as he keeps doing what he’s doing, he’ll be fine,” Hayes said. “He’s just so talented. It’s hard to defend just one thing. He can do it all.”
Ta’amu and the Battlehawks travel to Washington, D.C. next week for a Sunday clash with the Defenders. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. The Defenders (2-1) are led at quarterback by former Ohio State standout Cardale Jones.
