Month: May 2023

Canton, Ohio, has long been the city that gives fans a sneak peak of a new National Football League season.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game has been played there since 1962, which coincided with groundbreaking of the HoF itself. In 1970 it became the first exhibition game of each season, and has been the lid-lifter ever since (with notable exceptions being the game’s cancellations due to a lockout in 2011, unsafe playing conditions in 2016, and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020).

Last year it showcased the inaugural postseason of the new United States Football League, hosting two playoff contests and the USFL Championship Game.

This year Canton will again be site of the USFL title game, as well as the North Division playoff. But in 2023, it’s also the home away from home for both the Pittsburgh Maulers and New Jersey Generals. Canton, Birmingham, Michigan and Detroit are the four hubs being utilized in the league’s second season.

“The USFL is excited that the Pittsburgh Maulers and the New Jersey Generals will practice and play games in Canton during the 2023 regular season,” USFL president Daryl Johnson said when the announcement was made on January 25. “The outstanding regional support we received during our first postseason from football fans in Ohio and Pennsylvania, including the great city of Pittsburgh, coupled with our successful partnership with the Hall of Fame Village, led to this moment.”

I get it … the league is still in hub mode, and it has positive history with the city. It makes sense to add some dates to Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

What would really be cool, though, is for the Canton Bulldogs to join the USFL.

Why not?

The USFL has already built a bridge to its 1983-85 namesake, so linking to one of the iconic names in professional football history seems like a smart move, too.

The original Bulldogs were formed in 1903 and played in the Ohio League from 1903-06 and 1911-19.

In 1915, Jim Thorpe joined the Maroon and White and was a player/coach for five of the six seasons he was with the club. Having a man considered the world’s greatest athlete on the team helped turn the Bulldogs into a major box office draw, and that notoriety carried them into the American Professional Football Association, which later became the NFL.

Canton won NFL titles in 1922 and 1923 and went 22-0-3 between 1921 and 1923, still a league record for longest unbeaten streak.

The franchise folded in 1927, but there have been other manifestations of the Canton Bulldogs over the years.

The 1964 United Football League had a team that played under that identity, finishing 12-2 and winning the UFL championship.

And remember the American Football Association?

It didn’t have a strong financial foundation and franchises came and went. Still, it had a handful of pretty good football teams during its seven-year run and featured the Canton Bulldogs in its farewell season of 1983.

In fact, that version of Bulldogs was invited to jump to the International Football League and become one of the IFL’s flagship franchises in 1984.

Unfortunately for Canton football fans – and everyone associated with the planned league – it never got off the ground thanks to the successful launch of (spoiler alert) the United States Football League the year before.

Canton’s most recent pro football team was (is?) the Ohio Force, which is part of Major League Football and was supposed to begin play last year. However, MLFB – which has been around since 2014 but has yet to play a game – had to shut down its July, 2022, training camp due to unpaid bills.

Whether the team or league will take the field this or any year is a crapshoot, and has no bearing on my desire to see Canton have an even bigger role in the USFL someday.

Although the Maulers are considered the “home” team of the hub, Pittsburgh is still roughly 100 miles away. It’s asking a lot of local football fans to come out and cheer for teams that aren’t theirs.

But the Canton Bulldogs?

Although no one who remembers the original club is still among us, I bet there’d be an audience for a modern reimagining. I mean, if you want to honor pro football’s past, what better club to have for future expansion?

The second incarnation of the United States Football League launched in 2022, but this Sunday’s clash with the Pittsburgh Maulers in Canton, Ohio, will mark the first regular season game the Birmingham Stallions have played on the road.

Another first?

The defending USFL champions find themselves somewhere other than first place in their division.

With a 45-31 loss to New Orleans in Week Three, Birmingham now sits at 2-1 on the season while the Breakers move to the top of the South Division at 3-0.

“I’ve made this comment before … I don’t mind losing a football game if we can grow from it, as long as we can learn something from it,” Stallions coach Skip Holtz said following last week’s contest. “And hopefully there were many lessons to be learned from (the New Orleans game). I’m still proud of these players, proud of what they’ve done so far this year … we’ve just got to keep going. It’s a long season.

“You don’t get any points for being 3-0, you get points for being in the playoffs, and that’s the goal.”

To get back on track, his charges will have to beat a Maulers team that snapped a seven-game losing skid with a 21-13 victory over the Philadelphia Stars.

Pittsburgh is 1-2 on the season and in third place in the North Division.

“I think rhythm – whether it’s dance or music – you feel the rhythm, and to me we just had a different look throughout the week,” Maulers coach Ray Horton said after his club’s first “W” of 2023. “The players took ownership of what we’re doing.”

Special teams play was the headline for Pittsburgh, as kicker Chris Blewitt went five-for-five from field goal range, including a 50-yarder.

His performance came just three days after being signed by the team.

Former Alabama standout Reuben Foster (who was placed on the inactive roster Friday) led the Maulers’ defense with 11 tackles and an interception.

Blewitt earned USFL Special Teams Player of the Week honors while Foster was named Defensive Player of the Week.

QB Troy Williams was 10-18-0 for 96 yards and a touchdown.

“Defense has been lights out all year, and that gives the offense confidence,” Williams said. “We have to continue to progress and get better each week.”

The Maulers have a league-best 31 kicking points, and their punt return average of 21.3 yards is also No. 1 in the circuit.

Holtz said challenging Pittsburgh at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium instead of Protective Stadium isn’t his main concern.

“I’m more worried about what goes on in between the lines than playing on the road,” he said. “We played on the road in Canton last year … we played two games in that stadium a year ago. I know the fans won’t be on our side, but the field is still 53 and a third (wide) and 120 long, and I’m worried about what goes on inside those lines. You’re only as good as your last outing in this game.

“We scored points, but there is no moral victory. We’ll have to play better up front.”

A week after a 42-2 rout of Memphis, the Stallions allowed 483 yards against New Orleans, including 200 on the ground.

The team also took a step back in its rushing game, netting just 46 yards.

The bright spots in Week Three came in the passing game.

Alex McGough was 17-26-1 for 238 yards and two touchdowns, while Davion Davis caught five balls for 123 yards and a TD and Jace Sternberger added another receiving TD.

McGough leads the USFL in passing touchdowns (seven) and points (48).

Birmingham scored on the opening kickoff thanks to an 82-yard return by Deon Cain, who tops the league in kick return yards with 324.

But Sunday is a new day and a new opportunity for both teams. The Stallions are hoping to resume their winning ways, while Pittsburgh is aiming to make it two in a row for the first time since USFL 2.0 began play.

“I hope the guys trust and believe in the process of what we’re doing,” Horton said. “We’ll be playing Birmingham, and it offers a chance to do something different with what they bring to the table. It’s about trust and belief.”

The game kicks off at 5:30 p.m. CDT with FS1 providing TV coverage.

Player status (via Stallions Twitter)

Transferred player to active roster: WR Josh Johnson, LB Scooby Wright, DE Joe Ozougwu, TE Thaddeus Moss.

Transferred player to inactive roster: WR Michael Dereus, OLB Elijah Sullivan, WR Myron Mitchell.

Game status report: S JoJo Tillery: Out (b ankles), DL Joe Jackson: Out (r ankle), LB Scooby Wright: Probable (b calves), G Matt Kaskey: Probable (r thumb), OL O’Shea Dugas: Probable (r knee), TE La’Michael Pettway: Probable (l foot), S Christian McFarland: Full Go (r hamstring, r shoulder), OL Darius Harper: Full Go (l shoulder), S T.J. Carter: Full Go (l hamstring), CB Donnie Lewis II: Full Go (l hamstring).

Attach the word “journeyman” to Luis Perez, and it takes on added meaning. Because the question to ask the Arlington Renegades quarterback is not where he’s played professional football, but where he hasn’t.

And man, it’s been quite the journey.

Perez, 28, had two stints with the Los Angeles Rams and one with the Philadelphia Eagles, although his only NFL action came in a 2018 preseason game.

In 2019 it was off to the Alliance of American Football and the Birmingham Iron, which folded after the money ran out eight weeks into its only season.

When I talked with Perez last year, he said he enjoyed his time with the Iron – who had already qualified for the AAF playoffs with a 5-3 record before the plug was pulled.

“I remember back in 2019 being drafted by Birmingham and thinking, ‘Man, I’ve never been to Birmingham … this should be fun,” Perez said. “And it was. Being around all the guys who were excited to play, and then being able to beat Memphis (26-0) in that first game here … that’s a great memory.”

In 2020 he played with both the New York Guardians and Los Angeles Wildcats in XFL 2.0, which made it through half its schedule before it was shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021 he suited up for the Jousters of The Spring League, which didn’t pay players but I guess could’ve been considered “pro adjacent.” Plus, it was something of a proof of concept league that led to the modern United States Football League.

Speaking of which … in 2022 Perez helped lift the lid on the new USFL with the New Jersey Generals. (Fun fact: He played five home games in Birmingham while suiting up for the Iron, and 10 as a member of the Generals due to all regular season contests being held in the Birmingham hub).

And today?

Well, he’s on his second team in the XFL’s first season of its third incarnation.

Perez began the 2023 campaign with the Vegas Vipers but was traded to the Renegades on March 28. Since repping the club that plays in Texas’ Mid-Cities region, he’s helped engineer one of the most unlikely stories in the XFL’s comeback season.

And that story coincides with the fact that for the first time in his professional career, he has a chance to lead his team to a championship.

The eight team XFL features a North and South Division, and the playoff format is pretty simple; the top two teams in each division make the playoffs, with No. 1 facing No. 2 in the opening round.

The DC Defenders won the North with a 9-1 record, while the Seattle Sea Dragons finished second at 7-3 – edging the St. Louis Battlehawks, also 7-3, based on tiebreakers.

The Houston Roughnecks took top honors in the South with a 7-3 mark, followed by the 4-6 Renegades.

St. Louis fans were no doubt wishing the XFL had a modified version of the Canadian Football League crossover rule in which a team in one division can take the postseason spot of one in the other if it has a better record, but it doesn’t.

Thus, Arlington qualified despite having three more defeats and three less victories than the Battlehawks – as well as a 24-11 loss to St. Louis in Week Four.

The rules are what they are, however, and once the playoffs begin all participants get a reset.

Arlington made the most of its chance as the Renegades (5-6) upset the Roughnecks, 26-11, on Saturday to win the South crown and advance to the title game against DC (the 10-1 Defenders beat the Sea Dragons, 37-21, on Sunday).

Perez had one of his best games as a pro last weekend, connecting on 19 of 27 passes for 289 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

While the result was surprising – certainly to Houston – Perez said he knew he and his team belonged in the postseason.

“I think the biggest thing is that it’s about us,” he said. “We’re not really worried about who’s doubting us, who’s not, who’s this, who’s that. We believed, and that’s the most important thing. We believed in the locker room. We knew what we were capable of.”

His numbers with the Vipers weren’t bad at all – he was 79-121-5 for 900 yards and eight touchdowns. But entering the championship he has gone 88-129-2 for 1,019 yards and four touchdowns with Arlington.

It didn’t take long for him to get on the same page with his receivers.

“The biggest thing was having them trust me,” Perez said. “We’ve got to build that trust together, and I think you’ve seen that progression each and every week. Coach (Bob Stoops) does a great job putting us in a position to do that.”

In an alternative football league career that began just four years ago, Perez has already put up an impressive stat line … 649-1032-26 through the air for 6,994 yards and 42 TDs.

On May 13, he’ll try to make positive additions to those totals in the XFL title showdown – a game he hopes will prove to fans the Renegades’ appearance is not a fluke.

“If you go watch the first game in Orlando, I think you can see that we got better each and every week,” the QB said. “We had a little bit of a drop-off last week (a 25-9 Week 10 loss to Houston) but that was part of the plan … we didn’t really use all the plays we were getting ready to use (in the playoff rematch).

“Nobody lost confidence, nobody lost hope. We all knew the team we can be, and we believed it.”

Arlington vs. DC  might not be the matchup most people expected, but it fits right in with Perez’s remarkable alt-football odyssey.