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Jordan °Õ²¹â€™a³¾³Ü will serve as the default flag bearer for St. Louis in this weekend’s UFL championship game. That’s simultaneously ironic for °Õ²¹â€™a³¾³Ü and irksome for Battlehawks loyalists, who for a second consecutive year saw their team fall short of playing for a championship in St. Louis.

Even though quarterbacked the D.C. Defenders to the victory that ended the Battlehawks’ hopes of playing for the UFL championship in front of their home crowd, he’s now their strongest tie to the championship set to be decided at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Dome at America’s Center and airing nationally on ABC (KDNL, Channel 30 locally).

“It’s crazy, look how God works to put me back in this dome and this situation where I get to play for a championship again, not anywhere else but back where I started my professional career,â€� °Õ²¹â€™a³¾³Ü said after Sunday’s win over the Battlehawks.

“I just want the fans that are out here, that still believe in me, to come out and rally — not only for myself, but for the D.C. team.�

The 6-foot-2, 221-pound °Õ²¹â€™a³¾³Ü, 27, guided the Defenders to a 36-18 win over the Battlehawks, the highest point total against that defense all season. The Defenders had 10 offensive possessions. Seven ended with them scoring points (four touchdowns, three field goals).

°Õ²¹â€™a³¾³Ü completed 18 of 26 passes for 204 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He completed passes of 42 yards and 32 yards, was sacked only once, and completed 6 of 6 passes on third down and converted four of those passes into first downs.

His ability to pick up big chunks through the air, utilize play-action passes — the 42-yard touchdown pass came on a play fake that set up a deep post pattern over the middle — and sustain drives with third-down conversions made their offense virtually unstoppable when you add in the fact that the Defenders rushed for an average of 5.2 yards per carry.

“We weren’t really stopping the run,� Battlehawks coach Anthony Becht said. “Which hurts you with a guy like Jordan, who really came out and executed on all cylinders. He’s a veteran in this league. He’s still young. Just a hell of a performance by him.�

°Õ²¹â€™a³¾³Ü still holds the distinction of being the original Battlehawk, the first player allocated to the team in the resurrected XFL in October 2019.

At first glance, he seemed to fit the franchise like a glove.

The humble dual-threat quarterback who’d enjoyed success against the highest caliber of competition in college came to St. Louis to prove he deserved consideration at the highest level of professional football.

The city, having experienced the highest level of success as the home of an NFL team, embraced the chance to prove its ability to once again support a professional football team.

A strong-willed underdog from Hawaii, °Õ²¹â€™a³¾³Ü went from under-recruited high school quarterback to junior college standout to backup quarterback at Ole Miss at the start of his junior season.

While at Ole Miss, he earned his way into the starting job by the end of this junior season, then broke program records for 400-yard passing games (four) and tied the school record for 300-yard passing games (12) throwing to future NFL wide receivers A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf.

Despite one of the gaudiest statistical passing seasons in program history and a SEC-leading performance (passing yards per game and total offense) as a senior in 2018, he had just a brief stint win camp with the Houston Texans in 2019.

The COVID-19 pandemic cut short the 2020 season, and °Õ²¹â€™a³¾³Ü played just five games (five starts) in that first Battlehawks season under then-coach Jon Hayes. °Õ²¹â€™a³¾³Ü completed 72.4% of his passes, passed for 1,050 yards and logged a quarterback rating of 101.3.

Since then, °Õ²¹â€™a³¾³Ü’s football odyssey has included multiple stint with Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions as well as cups of coffee with the Washington Football Team, Carolina Panthers and Minnesota Vikings. None of those stints included regular season NFL game action.

Meanwhile, he reignited his spring league career with the USFL’s Tampa Bay Bandits in 2022, then joined the Defenders (then in the XFL) in 2023.

°Õ²¹â€™a³¾³Ü won XFL Offensive Player of the Year honors and led D.C. to the championship game in 2023. He started all 10 games for the Defenders last season in the UFL, and he started nine games this season.

For the past three seasons, Fred Kaiss served as Defenders offensive coordinator. served as quarterbacks coach in 2023 and 2024.

Harris stepped into the interim head coach role this spring when Reggie Barlow left to become head coach at Tennessee State, where Harris and the rest of the Defenders staff are .

“It came full circle, being a young player in 2020 and being able to grow,â€� °Õ²¹â€™a³¾³Ü said. “Coach Shannon and Coach Kaiss has a lot to do with that. I’ve been with them for three years now. They gave me the flexibility to do what I want in this offense.

“I trust them with my life, whatever we decide as a whole. They helped me grow to the person I am today, not just on the field but also off (the field).�

This season, °Õ²¹â€™a³¾³Ü led the UFL in passing touchdowns (17), and he ranked second in the league in total passing yards (2,155).

The Defenders offense ranked first in the UFL in total offense (3,454 yards) and passing yards (2,465). They set a UFL record with an average of 246.5 passing yards per game, and their 345 total yards per game were the second-highest average in league history.

With the Defenders seemingly headed for massive change in their coaching staff, this could be the best chance for °Õ²¹â€™a³¾³Ü to add a championship on his résumé as a starting quarterback.

That chance comes right where it all started for him.