XFL Week 10 roundup: Fifth tiebreaker goes to Seattle

XFL Week 10 roundup: Fifth tiebreaker goes to Seattle

The Seattle Sea Dragons filled the final spot in the XFL playoff field with a 28-9 victory over the Vegas Vipers in the league’s last regular-season game on Sunday night. But the Sea Dragons had to go to the fifth tiebreaker with the St. Louis Battlehawks to get the No. 2 spot in the XFL North Division.

In the XFL semifinals, the Arlington Renegades visit the Houston Roughnecks at 6 p.m. CDT Saturday in the South Division championship game. ESPN2 will televise the game.

Former Alabama State star and coach Reggie Barlow will lead the D.C. Defenders into the North Division championship game against Seattle at 2 p.m. Sunday in Washington. ESPN will televise the game.

In the Week 10 games:

· St. Louis quarterback AJ McCarron threw for 420 yards and six touchdowns in the Battlehawks’ 53-28 victory over the Orlando Guardians on Saturday.

RELATED: AJ MCCARRON THROWS FOR 6 TDS, 420 YARDS FOR BATTLEHAWKS

· San Antonio kicker John Parker Romo missed a 53-yard field-goal attempt with 32 seconds to play in the Brahmas’ 29-28 loss to the D.C. Defenders on Saturday night. It turned out a victory would have sent San Antonio to the XFL playoffs.

· Running back Jeremy Cox picked up 120 of Houston’s 196 rushing yards in the Roughnecks’ 25-9 victory over the Arlington Renegades.

· Seattle quarterback Ben DiNucci threw for 339 yards and three touchdowns and Vegas quarterback Jalan McClendon completed 6-of-21 passes (although the completions went for 201 yards) in the Sea Dragons’ 28-9 victory over the Vipers.

Seattle and St. Louis finished with 7-3 records behind 9-1 D.C. in the North Division.

The Sea Dragons and Battlehawks split their two games with each other, had the same record in division games and possessed the same strength of victory, since they defeated and lost to the same teams.

The fourth tiebreaker is combined ranking among division teams in points scored and points allowed.

In the North Division, St. Louis finished second to the Defenders in points scored with 249 and second to Seattle in points allowed with 202. Seattle, which yielded 177 points, finished third in the division in points scored with 243. That left each team had a combined ranking of four.

The fifth tiebreaker is combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed. Seattle finished fourth in points scored and first in points allowed while St. Louis finished second in points scored and fifth in points allowed, giving the Sea Dragons the playoff spot.

Seattle gave up five fewer points than Houston and six fewer than San Antonio during the 2023 season.

The Battlehawks’ season is over even though St. Louis won three more games than Arlington. The Renegades made the playoffs as the South’s No. 2 team with a 4-6 record as they finished last in the league with 146 points scored. St. Louis had the same record as No. 1 South team Houston and beat the Roughnecks 24-15 on April 2. The Battlehawks beat the Renegades 24-11 on March 12.

The XFL Championship Game will be played at 7 p.m. May 13 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. ABC will televise the game.

Players from Alabama high schools and colleges who played in Week 10 included:

St. Louis Battlehawks 53, Orlando Guardians 28

· Guardians defensive lineman Nick Coe (Auburn) recorded one tackle for loss.

· Quarterback AJ McCarron (St. Paul’s Episcopal, Alabama) started for the Battlehawks. McCarron completed 28-of-35 passes for 420 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions and ran three times for 9 yards.

· Guardians nose tackle Trevon Sanders (Troy) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Guardians linebacker Erroll Thompson (Florence) did not record any stats.

· Guardians cornerback Dee Virgin (West Alabama) is on the injured list and not eligible to play.

· Battlehawks running back Kareem Walker (South Alabama) ran for 33 yards and one touchdown on seven carries. Walker scored St. Louis’ first touchdown on a 1-yard plunge on a fourth-and-goal snap with 12:27 left in the first half. The touchdown gave the Battlehawks a 9-6 lead.

· Battlehawks offensive lineman Dallas Warmack (Alabama) did not record any stats.

D.C. Defenders 29, San Antonio Brahmas 28

· Defenders long snapper/tight end Trae Barry (Spanish Fort, Jacksonville State) handled the snaps on two field goals and one punt.

· Defenders linebacker Jamal Brooks (Bessemer City, South Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Brahmas linebacker Ben Davis (Gordo, Alabama) did not record any stats.

· Brahmas cornerback Marco Domio (Auburn) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Defenders quarterback Geremy Hickbottom (Williamson) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Defenders defensive tackle Gabe Wright (Auburn) made three tackles and recorded one tackle for loss.

Houston Roughnecks 25, Arlington Renegades 9

· Roughnecks offensive lineman Ja’Chai Baker (South Alabama) did not record any stats.

· Renegades defensive lineman T.J. Barnes (Enterprise) made three tackles.

· Renegades tight end Sal Cannella (Auburn) had three receptions for 41 yards, including a 22-yarder.

· Renegades cornerback Javaris Davis (Auburn) did not record any stats.

· Mike Horton (Auburn) started at right guard for the Renegades.

· Renegades defensive lineman Davonte Lambert (Auburn) did not record any stats.

· Roughnecks quarterback Brandon Silvers (Gulf Shores, Troy) did not play.

· Roughnecks offensive tackle John Yarbrough (Homewood) did not record any stats.

Seattle Sea Dragons 28, Vegas Vipers 9

· Vipers offensive tackle Quinterrius Eatmon (Vigor) did not record any stats.

· Sea Dragons long snapper Thomas Fletcher (Alabama) handled the snaps on three punts and two field-goal attempts.

· Sea Dragons wide receiver Kelvin McKnight (Samford) returned six punts for 39 yards and three kickoffs for 50 yards.

· Offensive lineman Chris Owens (Alabama) started at left guard for the Sea Dragons.

· Vipers defensive back Stephen Roberts (Auburn) did not record any stats.

· Vipers safety Maurice Smith (Alabama) made seven tackles and recorded one tackle for loss.

· Sea Dragons wide receiver Jordan Veasy (Gadsden City) caught two passes for 25 yards and one touchdown. Veasy caught a 3-yard touchdown pass with 14:25 to play. He also had a reception for a 2-point conversion.

· Seattle wide receiver Damion Willis (Troy) caught a 4-yard pass. Willis left the game in the first half with an injury.

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