St. Louis quarterback AJ McCarron’s third touchdown pass on Sunday gave the Battlehawks fourth-quarter breathing room as they held off the Houston Roughnecks 24-15.

The Roughnecks pulled within two points of St. Louis in the XFL contest when Battlehawks running back Brian Hill’s fumble landed in the hands of William Likely, and the Houston cornerback ran 35 yards for a touchdown with 10:44 to play.

The Roughnecks went for 2 in an attempt to tie the game, but the St. Louis defense sacked quarterback Cole McDonald.

On their next possession, the Battlehawks moved 74 yards in 11 plays, took 6:49 off the clock and converted three third downs on the way to the end zone.

McCarron and Hill connected for a 16-yard gain on third-and-14, McCarron found wide receiver Marcell Ateman for a 9-yard gain on third-and-4 and McCarron hit wide receiver Darrius Shepherd with a 10-yard touchdown pass on third-and-1 with 3:54 remaining.

Hill’s 1-point conversion run gave St. Louis a nine-point lead, and Houston’s final possession ended on an incomplete pass on a fourth-and-9 snap at the Battlehawks 42-yard line with 1:44 to play.

Entering the game with a league-leading 14 touchdown passes, McCarron completed 26-of-34 passes for 222 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions against the Roughnecks.

After Hill lost a fumble on the first snap of the game, St. Louis scored touchdowns on its next two possessions.

McCarron threw a 14-yard TD pass to wide receiver Gary Jennings with 4:18 left in the first quarter to complete a 13-play, 96-yard drive and a 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Hakeem Butler with 8:22 left in the first half to cap an eight-play, 45-yard drive.

After the second touchdown, McCarron hit Butler again for 2 points.

The quarterback matchup between McCarron from St. Paul’s Episcopal in Mobile and Brandon Silvers from Gulf Shores didn’t happen. The former Troy standout missed Sunday’s game because of a triceps injury.

In Silvers’ place, McDonald completed 15-of-32 passes for 106 yards with one touchdown and one interception and ran for 40 yards on eight carries. The interception came on the Roughnecks’ first possession, which started at the St. Louis 27-yard line.

McCarron left Sunday’s game for three snaps for a visit to the sideline medical tent. The former Alabama All-American came off the field after being tackled by safety Jordan Mosely on an 8-yard scramble.

Despite its third consecutive loss, Houston remains in first place in the XFL South with three weeks remaining in the regular season. At 4-3, the Roughnecks are a game ahead of the Arlington Renegades.

Sunday’s victory allowed St. Louis to improve to 5-2 and remain tied with the Seattle Sea Dragons for second place in the XFL North. The two teams are one game closer to the division lead after the D.C. Defenders dropped to 6-1 with a 37-36 loss to the previously winless Orlando Guardians on Saturday night.

The top two teams in each division advance to the postseason.

The Battlehawks play the Vegas Vipers at noon CDT Saturday at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. ESPN will televise the game.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.