Jake Bates hits 64-yard FG to give Michigan Panthers stunning 18-16 win in UFL opener

Story by

Story by
Jake Bates hits 64-yard FG to give Michigan Panthers stunning 18-16 win in UFL opener

Jared Ramsey, Detroit Free Press · Detroit Free Press

Sat, Mar 30, 2024 ·

4 min read

Jake Bates is Panthers' hero

The Panthers trailed 16-15 with less than a minute left after a late St. Louis touchdown. Michigan moved the ball to midfield in their last drive, with no timeouts remaining. They sent the kicking team out with three seconds left and Bates lined up at the Panthers' 46-yard line and drilled a line drive through the uprights for a 64-yard field goal and the win. It was the first made field goal for Bates since high school, according to the Fox broadcast

Panthers' defense causes fits early, falters late

The Panthers held a 15-9 lead with 5:01 left after Perry's late touchdown, but couldn't keep St. Louis out of the endzone when it mattered most. The Battlehawks put together an 11-play drive that spanned 44 yards after a long kickoff return to reach the end zone. McCarron completed four passes on the drive, including a 5-yard touchdown to Marcell Ateman in the corner of the endzone to go up 16-15.

Thankfully for them, Bates has a cannon for a right leg and came up with a mile-long answer at the buzzer.

The defense started the second half strong with a forced punt then a turnover on downs, but things started to fall apart in the fourth. St. Louis scored on their next drive when McCarron found Jake Sutherland for a short TD to briefly go up 9-7. The Battlehawks only gained 32 more yards in the second half compared to the first (155-123), but avoided sacks and converted on 50% of third downs (4-of-8) to put together the two scoring drives.

St. Louis had one field goal drive at the end of the first half to go up 3-0 at the break in an uneventful first half.

Perry settles in at QB in second half

Perry was named the starting quarterback over Danny Etling , and showed why in the second half after a shaky start. Perry threw two interceptions in the first half but rallied to score both of Michigan's touchdowns with his legs to carry them to victory. Perry finished completing 12 of 24 passes for 176 yards and two interceptions, while adding 17 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

The second half started much better than the first for Michigan after a scoreless first 30 minutes. After forcing a quick punt defensively, the offense put together the first touchdown drive of the game, ending with a Perry touchdown run on a QB draw to go up 7-3.

Perry had an answer after St. Louis went up 9-7 with eight minutes left. RB Wes Hills , who finished with 85 yards, got things started with 42 yards on two carries to start the drive to reach the red zone. Perry scrambled on an 8-yard keeper to find the end zone for the second time after juking out a crowd of defenders to put Michigan up 15-9 with 5:01 left.

Panthers' home opener draws small but enthusiastic crowd

The official attendance for the Panthers' home opener was 9,444, according to the team. Fans started arriving at their seats an hour before kickoff and filtered into the closest rows in the sections behind both benches. Plenty of people rocked the Panthers' maroon and gold and a sizable contingent of Battlehawks fans were in attendance behind the St. Louis bench.

On top of the XFL enthusiasts in gear, plenty of local sports fans were in attendance. There were Michigan, Michigan State and Lions jerseys visible throughout the crowd. Like any other sports outing, it was an outing for families and friend groups, who cheered loudly throughout the game and participated in each chant and attempt to fire up the crowd during timeouts and kids in the audience donned maroon and gold signs with messages such as "Michigan Panthers have Detroit grit".

Loud moments included: A 'Let's go Panthers' chant that started in one section and spread throughout the stadium, Jared Goff chants , loud cheers and getting to their feet after a Michigan 42-yard completion, a collective gasp after a muffed punt, applause for finally scoring, howls on third and fourth down, standing applause for the Detroit Fire Department and oohs and aahs after Hills hurdled a defender.