The St. Louis Battlehawks dropped a back-and-forth affair, 30-26, to the Birmingham Stallions on Saturday with 14,056 fans in attendance at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Ala.

The Battlehawks (5-2) and Stallions (7-0) traded the lead four times in the second half, with Birmingham scoring the game-winning touchdown on a 40-yard pass from QB Adrian Martinez to WR Kevin Austin Jr. with 5:23 to play. The Stallions then scored a 1-point conversion to run their winning margin to 4 points.

St. Louis had held a 26-23 lead after RB Jacob Saylors rushed 7 yards for his third touchdown (second rushing TD) of the game with 7:34 to play in the final quarter. The touchdown erased a 23-20 deficit after the Stallions had scored on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Martinez to WR Marlon Williams with 12:20 left in regulation.

St. Louis also moved ahead, 20-17, with 6:17 to play in the third quarter when McCarron connected with Saylors on an 8-yard touchdown pass. WR Jerome Kapp gave the Battlehawks field position to start the drive at the Birmingham 11 yard line when he recovered a muffed punt with 7:41 left in the quarter.

The Battlehawks took their first lead of the game when Saylors rushed 1 yard for his team-leading third rushing touchdown of the season. He also rushed 5 yards on the ensuing 2-point conversion to put St. Louis up, 11-9, with 2:06 remaining in the first half.

The lead was short lived, however. The Stallions scored on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Martinez to WR Deon Cain and a 5-yard pass to Williams for the 2-point conversion that put Birmingham back in front, 17-11, with 16 seconds left before halftime. St. Louis narrowed the lead to three points as time expired in the first half when K Andre Szmyt made a franchise-record, 61-yard field goal.