The United Football League (UFL) is in full swing this weekend with three games starting on Friday night and concluded on Sunday night. The Week 2 slate of games will be April 3, 4, 5, and 7.
During the opening weekend in a Saturday contest, the reigning
league champs DC Defenders, were on the road at the St. Louis Battlehawks, the only club to have an indoor stadium. There are several new rules this year, with one being that all field goal conversions from 60+ will become a four-point play instead of three. Defenders’ kicker Matt McCrane booted a 60-yarder in the opening period for a 4-0 lead.
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McCrane was in the Arizona Cardinals training camp in 2018 after a very good career at Kansas State. Like most specialists, he went undrafted in the 2018 NFL draft. He competed against veteran Phil Dawson, and a lot of media folks believed that McCrane had the better camp. However, head coach Steve Wilks went with the seasoned veteran in lieu of the rookie.
He was signed to the practice squad and was brought up to the active roster before the Week 11 contest versus the Oakland Raiders when Dawson suffered an injury. McCrane went 3-3 on PATs but did not attempt any field goals as the Raiders won 23-21. That year, the Cardinals finished 3-13-0, and Wilks was fired in his only season.
The UFL is a place for professional football players to continue their dream of playing the game while getting additional film so that one day they can compete in an NFL training camp. A lot of UFL players have been on the roster or practice squad of an NFL team in the past.
In the Defenders-Battlehawks game, the DC offense stalled out with 9:08 remaining in the first quarter after a sack on a third-and-10 downed the ball exactly at midfield. Another new rule the league is testing out this year is that the offense cannot punt the ball if at any point they have entered the other side of the field. This meant facing a fourth-and-14 at the 50-yard line; the Defenders’ options were to go for it or attempt a long field goal. Head coach Shannon Harris knew that McCrane had a strong leg and trotted him out.
The stadium was indoors, so the elements and wind weren’t an issue. There is a YouTube video of McCrane nailing 70-yarders. The new rule is that any successful field goal of 60+ yards is worth four points.
As McCrane came out to assess the distance, the home crowd suddenly had a mix of excitement and astonishment that a team would attempt such a long kick. Any miss would give the Battlehawks a first down on the midfield stripe, which would guarantee them some kind of points.
McCrane appeared calm as his holder, Paxton Brooks, who is the team’s punter, readied himself in place. The announced crowd of 31,191 wasn’t sure the kick would be made, and perhaps a fake attempt might be ordered. But suddenly, the pass came from long snapper Trae Barry, was perfect to Brooks, who made a good placement as McCrane approached the ball while his plant foot remained true on the artificial surface.
The ball went up, and everyone instantly saw it was on target. The only question was whether the flight would be long enough. With no wind to deal with, the ball went through the uprights a bit left, but cleared the crossbar with plenty to spare as both referees stationed underneath the uprights signaled the kick was good.
This meant McCrane became the first player to convert a four-point field goal in the UFL.
In the replay, as soon as the ball was sent to its peak before it began to descend, you can see McCrane walking towards his own sideline, arms out, because he knew it was a good strike and long enough. Mic drop. The Battlehawks didn’t play nice as they secured the win with a narrow 16-10 victory.
McCrane has been with DC for three years and has had stints with the Cardinals, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers. He also kicked for the New York Guardians of the second version of the XFL in 2020 before the pandemic shut down that league.
Despite McCrane making the UFL’s first four-point field goal, it is not the first four-point kick in the history of American Football. Originally, field goals were worth five points and were altered to four points in 1904. Then, in 1909, this was changed again to three points for any successful field goal. None of these kicks had any restrictions on yardage, as the UFL does.
Here is a link to the UFL home page with rosters, coaches, schedule, stats, and ticket information:
The 8-team UFL is operating in its third season with four games this weekend. Each team plays a 10-game schedule with the championship game slated for June 13. The league relocated three teams from last year’s format and moved them to Louisville, Orlando, and Columbus.
