Stallions, Breakers meet again

Skip Holtz and the Stallions meet the Breakers for the fourth time on Saturday.

From a competition standpoint, the United States Football League is entering its 15th week of competition. However, the Birmingham Stallions and New Orleans Breakers are already making a habit of clashing in big games.

In the new USFL’s debut last year, the two teams were undefeated heading into their Week Three showdown at Protective Stadium.

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The Stallions won that one, 22-13, leaving them as the lone unbeaten team left in the USFL.

The eventual champions completed a regular season sweep of the Breakers with a 10-9 victory in Week Eight, but the South Division rivals met once more in the first round of the playoffs in Canton, Ohio.

Skip Holtz’s charges made it three-for-three thanks to a 31-17 victory, one that gave them the chance to play – and beat – the Philadelphia Stars in the USFL title game.

This Saturday’s skirmish at Protective Stadium also features a pair of 2-0 teams, and the fourth overall meeting marks a renewal of what is, so far, the league’s most frequent rivalry.

Holtz thought last year’s Breakers team was good, but suggests this one is different – and maybe even better.

“Offensively, all you have to do is look at (head coach) John DeFilippo, where he’s been and what he’s done, with all the quarterbacks he’s been around and all the places he’s been in the NFL,” Holtz said. “They’re a two or three base tight end set, so they give you a lot of different sets with those guys. They just give you a lot of different looks and they’re very flexible, meaning they’re very hard to get a bead on. They run a lot of different plays out of a lot of different formations. It makes it hard to cover everybody with what they do. They do a great job.

“They’ve got really good players, their quarterback is playing really good for them right now, and I think they’ve got a really good football team. There’s a reason we’re both 2-0.”

The QB matchup features two league leaders. Stallions signal caller Alex McGough tops the USFL in touchdown passes with five (he’s also rushed for one) as well as points produced (36), while Breakers QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson is the air yardage leader with 554.

The Stallions pace the eight-team circuit with 386.5 yards per game as well as 257 passing yards each time out.

New Orleans holds down the top spot in individual receiving yards (Sage Surratt, 206) and kicking points (Matt Coghlin, 24).

“I’ve only played two plays against them due to my injuries, but they do a lot of the same schemes as far as defense,” McGough said. “They have some new players on the D-line, but they’re great players. They have a lot of speed. athleticism, and the linebackers are really, really good sideline to sideline guys.

“So, we’re just trying to go out there and execute our plays against their coverage and run really good routes. I have to make sure I’m very accurate with the football and just execute.”

McGough is coming off a magnificent showing in last Saturday’s 42-2 beatdown of Memphis, hitting 21 of 28 passes for 301 yards and four touchdowns. He played wire-to-wire due to the loss of J’Mar Smith, one of several Stallions taken off the board due to injuries.

“I couldn’t do it alone,” McGough said. “But I think as far as me playing, I thought I played very well. I thought my reads were great. But 10 other guys were doing their jobs and that made it all happen.

“We all fight for each other. Like, I know I’m not playing for myself.”

Wideout Austin Watkins, who caught three balls for 42 yards against the Showboats, agrees.

“We just play together as a team,” he said. “There’s unselfishness with all these guys. We know we need to be just having fun.”

CJ Marable rushed for 68 yards on 16  carries for Birmingham last week but it was ZaQuandre White who made the biggest splash in his first appearance as a Stallion, racking up 72 yards on eight totes and scoring twice. The 6-1, 215-pound University of South Carolina product was on the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad in 2022.

“He’s an incredibly talented individual,” Holtz said. “’Sizzle’ is a word that comes to mind. You know when you watch him run it’s like, ‘Wow, he’s different.’ You don’t have to be a football coach to figure out he’s pretty good. He’s just got to get more comfortable in the offense and be more consistent with what he does.

“So, I’m excited to watch his growth after watching him rush for 1,000 yards in the SEC. You saw what we saw the other night, and last week was the first time he was activated.”

While Birmingham has shown it can score points, its defense has proven it can prevent them. Under defensive coordinator John Chavis, the unit allowed just 10 points in a 27-10 season opening win over New Jersey and kept the Memphis offense off the scoreboard in a 42-2 blowout – losing the shutout on a safety.

Holtz knows Saturday’s opponent also has a formidable resistance.

“(New Orleans) has always had one of the best defenses in this league,” Holtz said. “When you look at the job (defensive coordinator) Jon Tenuta does, it makes you operate under pressure. He tries to dictate the tempo of the game and I’d say these two defenses are very similar. These are two of the better defenses in the league, but they’re also two very pressure-oriented defenses.”

Saturday’s kick-off is set for 11:30 a.m. and the game will be televised on the USA Network.

“The whole battle cry and the challenge we had last week was to try to win a football game with a lot of new faces – with seven starters out after week one,” Holtz said. “That’s a lot. Replacing a large percentage of your football team after week one, that’s tough. But I also think it speaks volumes to the depth that’s been required in the offseason and the great job (general manager) Zach Potter has done and continues to do.

“I’ve made this comment earlier … I think our team is deeper than we were last year as far as talent.”

Another spring football milestone

St. Louis Battlehawks coach Anthony Becht celebrates a TD. /© Scott Rovak/XFL

When the United States Football League ended its 2022 campaign, it became the first professional outdoor spring league to complete a full season since the 2001 XFL. Its return in 2023 means not since the 1991-92 World League of American Football has a springtime play-for-pay circuit featuring North American franchises made it to year two.

Both of those achievements are significant – historically and businesswise.

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And now, the third version of the XFL gets to do a bit of bragging, too.

Its 2023 regular season is in the books, and the circuit is two playoff contests and a championship game away from matching its prototype in longevity.

And if it comes back in 2024 – and there’s no reason at the moment to think it won’t – perhaps it’s time we start believing that spring football might actually have a future.

After feeling last year like I was aging out of alternative football, I find myself happily drawn back in. And I think part of it is because the people behind the USFL and XFL stand behind their products.

To make a bridge league (or leagues) between college football and the NFL successful, you have to have money, vision and patience. Both FOX Sports (USFL) and Dany Garcia, Dwayne Johnson and RedBird Capital Partners (XFL) appear to have all three.

Paying bills is a really solid business practice, and their ability to do it gives them more credibility than many leagues that have come before. Teams aren’t folding in the middle of the week, and players don’t worry about their checks bouncing.

And speaking of players, these guys are good. There are those who put some sort of imaginary cap on how much talent is available to stock pro football teams in any given year, but there’s plenty.

“If you’re telling me we don’t have guys who can play (in the NFL), you’re crazy,” St. Louis Battlehawks coach Anthony Becht said following his team’s final game of the season last weekend. “Some of these guys deserve to get another shot. I’ll continue to grind and continue to build this thing, and I hope I lose a lot of players to the next level to be quite frank, because they deserve it.”

Daryl Johnston, president of the USFL, seconds that emotion.

“We had (2022 USFL MVP) KaVontae Turpin sign a three-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys, and multiple players got on 53-man NFL rosters last season,” he said. “And some got to stay on those rosters. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish for these young men, is to change the trajectory of their life by giving them the opportunity to be on one of those 53-man NFL rosters.”

Giving more players and more coaches opportunities to ply their trade is a win-win situation for all involved. You can pick any XFL or USFL contest and see real enthusiasm among the competitors.

In many ways, it’s like watching a college game (and most of these guys aren’t that far removed from college).

Ultimately, though, it comes downs to entertainment.

Do these leagues give fans reasons to watch – and keep watching?

I think they do.

There will always be people who feel compelled to compare non-NFL leagues with the NFL, but to me, that’s a waste of time (and kinda misses the point).

For example, just a few years ago a typical weekend for me involved covering a South Carolina High School League game on Friday, Georgia, Clemson or South Carolina game on Saturday, and Carolina Panthers game on Sunday.

Obviously, you had three vastly different tiers. So, from a talent standpoint, Sunday games topped Saturday games, and Saturday games bested Friday games.

But there were many times the most fun game to watch came on a Friday night in a tiny stadium with rickety bleachers.

Point being, the sustained entertainment value of these leagues is what will ultimately keep them in business or push them out. A big enough audience to get networks the ratings they desire and advertisers the most bang for their buck is key, along with the continuing desire of people to bet on games.

St. Louis is a unicorn in that it drew an average of 35,104 fans to its building this season; attendance for the rest of the teams in both leagues tops out in the teens. I’m guessing that’s the new normal.

But all XFL and USFL games are on television – every single one. And while fans aren’t packing stadiums, they’re becoming quite comfortable plopping on their couches and tuning in. And it’s good that they do, because football is an expensive game to produce. TV viewers have to be convinced the spring version of their favorite sport is more than a novelty because novelties wear off.

(The 2001 XFL averaged more than 23,000 fans per game, but TV ratings on NBC slipped to record lows as the 10-week regular season wound down. Thus, the network decided to bail once the contract was up, so the league folded).

Look, if you have a favorite team in the USFL, you probably think that league is better than the XFL, and vice versa. And there’s nothing wrong with a little trash talk.

Still, more leagues and more teams mean more jobs – not just for the people on the field but those working concessions, maintenance, security, etc.

You can hope your league succeeds without wishing the other fails (which is the equivalent of hoping people lose their jobs). Instead, enjoy all the choices you have.

Do that, and who knows? Maybe – just maybe – professional spring football can become a true success story.

Stallions dominate Showboats

Notes, quotes and more from a full day at Protective Stadium, capped off by Birmingham’s 42-2 blitz of Memphis…

HOW THEY SCORED

Birmingham (2-0) initiated what would become a rout on its first offensive drive, one that culminated in Alex McGough’s 16-yard scoring pass to Davion Davis. McGough was three-for-three on a march that covered 87 yards in 13 plays.

Brandon Aubrey kicked the score to 7-0 at 9:45 of the first quarter.

Birmingham mixed and matched running and passing on their next trip to paydirt, with Zaquandre White scoring a 2-yard TD on his first carry as a Stallion at 1:53 of the first.

That culminated an 11 play, 81-yard drive, and Aubrey’s PAT made it 14-0.

Memphis (0-2) had a chance to get on the board 2:17 before halftime when Alex Kessman came on to try a 48-yard field goal, but the attempt sailed wide right.

The Stallions responded by quickly working their way into Showboats territory and ending a five play, 63-yard junket with a 25-yard scoring toss from McGough to Jace Sternberger at 1:34 of the second stanza.

The PAT made it 21-0.

With time running down in the half Todd Haley’s team got as deep as the Birmingham 30, but a pass to the end zone was picked off by T.J. Carter, and after 30 minutes the 21-0 score stood.

Birmingham removed all doubt about this one at 9:38 of the third quarter when White broke loose on a second, third and fourth effort TD scamper covering 35 yards. Aubrey’s PAT made it 28-0.

The march covered 77 yards and eight plays, and was kept alive by an illegal participation penalty on Memphis when the Stallions were set to punt.

Skip Holtz’s charges added insult to injury at 3:48 of the third frame when McGough found Thaddeus Moss on a 7-yard touchdown connection to end a six play, 47-yard drive.

Aubrey made it five-for-five on extra points, and the Stallions were way out front, 35-0.

The Showboats’ defense got the first score of the night for the visitors with just 51 seconds remaining in the third, sacking McGough in the end zone to cut the deficit to 35-2.

Memphis’ offense had a chance to return the favor following the kickoff, advancing all the way to the home team’s five. But the Birmingham defense held for four downs, and the tally remained 35-2.

The Stallions added an exclamation point 1:57 from the finish when McGough threw his fourth touchdown pass of the night, this one a 2-yard toss to Myron Mitchell. Aubrey made the PAT, and the 15 play, 95-yard mega-march closed this one out at 42-2.

STANDOUT STATS

McGough was simply magnificent in a wire-to-wire performance, going 21-28-0 passing for 301 yards and four touchdowns.

“I’m just trying to get the ball (in the receivers’ hands) as fast as I can and just follow my reads,” he said. And the (offensive line was amazing) All the sacks and the safety were my fault … the sacks were me holding the ball too long.”

White and CJ Marable proved to be quite the rushing combo, combining for 140 yards (White had 72 plus two touchdowns).

And Sternberger stepped up in a big way, hauling in five catches for 127 yards and a TD.

“I heard all week about who we didn’t have, who we lost,” Holtz said. “Starting quarterback, starting tailback, starting wide receiver … but let’s talk about what we do have. We have a quarterback (McGough) whose played a lot of football and has an awful lot of talent. He was the first pick of this football team. He was the first Birmingham Stallion.

“And we have a young running back who I think the world of (White) who nobody’s seen yet because he’d been sitting in third place. We’ve got talent on this team, everybody’s been working and it was a matter of how we’d perform under the lights, and I was impressed with what I saw tonight.”

The entire Birmingham defensive unit shared the glory, limiting the Showboats to 202 yards of total offense.

Memphis QB Brady White was 15-25-1 through the air for just 141 yards.

“Defensively, I thought we played an outstanding football game,” Holtz said. “They played awesome … swarming, flying around. We lost a lot of guys on offense but everybody’s still here on defense. We had two guys out, but everybody else was back, and they stepped up.”

The 40-point margin of victory is the largest since the league began play in 2022.

POINTS APLENTY

The New Orleans Breakers (2-0) and Houston Gamblers (0-2) started things off Saturday USFL action with an early showdown at Protective Stadium, and it was one of the more entertaining games in the league’s young history.

The Breakers won, 38-31, in a contest that saw the teams combine for 667 total yards.

For the second week in a row McLeod Bethel-Thompson shined behind center, throwing for 251 yards and two TDs. But it was a breakout performance from running back Wes Hills, who finished with 110 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries, that stole the show.

Hills seemed surprised when Breakers boss John DeFilippo told him he had hit triple digits.

“I got over 100 yards … 110? All right,” he said. “The O-line did a really good job. They opened up everything for me, otherwise I obviously wouldn’t have gotten 110 yards, so big shout out to them.”

DeFilippo then said the actual rushing total for his RB was 113 yards.

“Cool!” Hills said. “I’ll take that.”

The New Orleans team is spending its second season in the Birmingham hub, and it already feels like “home” for DeFilippo, who is in his first season at the helm.

“We’ve talked about how important it is to win at home, and win your divisional games at home, and that was a good football team we played today,” he said. “It was a great team effort. We made plays of defense when we needed to.”

REFS MOVE UP

The USFL isn’t just a league designed to help players get a shot at the NFL. It has – and continues to be – a springboard for officials.

On Thursday  it was announced that nine USFL game day officials have been selected to be part of work crews during the 2023 NFL season.

James Carter (referee), Scott Campbell (umpire), Walter Flowers (line judge), Brett Bergman (line judge), Jason Ledet (field judge), Frank Steratore (side judge), Martin Hankins (back judge), Tyree Walton (back judge) and Brian Sakowski (down judge) earned the promotions after being part of the NFL Officiating Development Program.

“Nine of 12 new NFL officials coming from the USFL shows that our leagues share the same exacting standards of officiating,” USFL Head of Officiating Mike Pereira said in a statement. “We’re proud that in just two years, the NFL has selected 17 of its 22 new officials from the USFL. It demonstrates that our close relationship benefits everyone, especially for football fans.”

Incidentally, former NFL official Ronnie Baynes, the USFL Game Supervisor, has strong Alabama ties. A member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, Baynes is a Talladega native who was a three-year starter on the Auburn University football team and two-year starter for the Tigers’ baseball squad.

NEXT UP

The battle of the Birmingham hub takes place next Saturday when Birmingham and New Orleans meet  at Protective with an 11:30 a.m. CDT start. The game will be televised on USA and Peacock.