Luis Perez's head-scratching decision headlines UFL storylines from Week 8

With the Arlington Renegades trailing by three points and needing only a field goal to send the game into overtime, quarterback Luis Perez took matters into his own hands — with disastrous results.

Instead of spiking the ball to set up a long field goal, Perez faked the spike and tried to connect on a quick out route to get a couple yards closer. However, DC Defenders cornerback Deandre Baker picked off the fluttering pass to seal a 33-30 victory and a spot in the postseason. 

"I thought we were just spiking the football and were going to kick the field goal," Arlington head coach Bob Stoops said. "And Luis thought he had the out route, so he threw it. It didn’t work that way."

Despite Perez’s season-high 350 passing yards, the Renegades were eliminated from the playoffs for a second consecutive season after the critical turnover. Like last year, the Renegades struggled to get over the hump in close games. Now 3-5, all five losses for Arlington have been by a touchdown or less. The Renegades were 1-5 in one-score games last season. 

With the victory, the Defenders (6-2) were one of four teams to punch their ticket to the playoffs over the weekend, as the teams in the postseason have been decided with two weeks left in the regular season.

On Saturday, St. Louis Battlehawks linebacker Travis Feeney forced Birmingham Stallions running back C.J. Marable to fumble with his team driving and 16 seconds left. Cornerback Myles Jones recovered it, and St. Louis held on for a 29-28 victory in front of 30,114 fans at The Dome at America’s Center.

St. Louis (6-2) clinched a playoff berth with the victory and Arlington’s loss. Even with the setback, the Stallions (5-3) also clinched a postseason berth because the Michigan Panthers