Stallions overwhelm Gamblers

Notes, quotes and numbers from Birmingham’s playoff-clinching 38-15 rout of Houston on Sunday at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis …

HOW THEY SCORED

The teams swapped turnovers in the first quarter, and Houston was the first to capitalize on a miscue. After taking over at the Birmingham 30 following an Alex McGough fumble, Houston’s offense could muster only a yard of forward progress.

UAB product Nick Vogel still put points on the board, kicking a 47-yard field goal at 3:07 of the first to move the Gamblers in front, 3-0.

Houston was back in business after Deon Cain fumbled the ensuing kickoff return, setting the Gamblers up at the Stallions’ 26.

Again, the defense held and again, Vogel was called upon to salvage points. His 24-yard effort split the pipes, and it was 6-0 at 14:17 of the second quarter.

A botched punt by Houston’s Hunter Niswander resulted in a fumble, giving the Stallions first-and-10 at the Houston 20.

However, they couldn’t find paydirt, either, so Brandon Aubrey did the scoring honors with a 24-yard field goal 6:36 before halftime.

The 3-point trend continued in the waning moments of the second when Vogel was good from 36 yards at the :57 mark, and the Gamblers were up, 9-3.

A 41-yard McGough to Jace Sternberger connection put Birmingham in scoring range, and a 26-yard toss to C.J. Marable moved the markers down to the one.

A sack pushed the ball back to the six with 18 seconds left but McGough hit Sternberger on a 4-yard scoring play at :13 of the frame to account for the day’s first TD.

Aubrey kicked the extra point and a five play, 68-yard drive ended with the Stallions in the lead, 10-9.

Birmingham opened the second half in style, moving 67 yards in just four plays. McGough threw a perfect strike to Cain for a 38-yard touchdown at 13:03 of the third quarter, and Aubrey kicked the score to 17-9.

Houston answered with a methodical march but it fizzled short of the goal line. Vogel made it four-for-four with a 34-yard field goal at 5:56 of the third to cut the deficit to 17-12.

The Gamblers were on offense again quickly after McGough was picked off, scrimmaging from the Stallions 41.

They got as close at the four before it was time for Vogel, and the sidewinder’s 29-yard kick was right down the alley.

With 3:16 remaining in the third, Birmingham’s lead was down to 17-15.

Early in the fourth quarter, it was up to 24-15.

Marable cashed in an eight play, 47-yard march with a two-yard rush, and the kick had the Stallions ahead by nine with 14:19 to play.

The defending champions wrapped things up with 8:53 left.

Gamblers QB Kenji Bahar was scrambling for extra yardage when he lost the ball and it was snagged mid-air by recent free agent signee Matt Hankins, who rambled 32 yards for a touchdown.

The kick made it 31-15, and Birmingham (7-2) was playoff-bound while the Houston (5-4) needs a win over New Orleans next week to stay alive.  

The winners added insurance 4:12 from the finish when McGough called his own number and scored on a 16-yard scamper to cap off a five play, 43-yard journey to paydirt.

Aubrey kicked the final to 38-15.

BIRMINGHAM COACH SKIP HOLTZ SAID …

“I’m just really proud to get to seven (wins). And the goal at the beginning was, let’s be as good as we can be. And I think we can be pretty good.”

HOUSTON COACH CURTIS JOHNSON SAID …

“I think when you play in this game, you’ve got to know who you’re playing against. That’s a great football team and they were the champs last year. You know, if you don’t score a touchdown to put them away pretty early, it’s gonna come back to haunt you.”

STANDOUT STATS

McGough finished 13-21-1 for 208 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 34 yards and another score to lead the team.

“I just think we kind of got into our rhythm after that two-minute drive (late in the first half) where we stopped thinking so much,” McGough said. “I think we stopped trying to do everything perfectly, and we just started playing football like we know how to play.”

Sternberger paced the Stallions’ receiving corps with three catches for 58 yards and a TD.

Quentin Poling had 10 tackles – eight solo – as well as an interception, half sack and two tackles for loss.

The defense limited Houston to 232 yards of total offense, and the Gamblers converted just four of 16 third down conversions.

“The real winner today is the way that defense played,” Holtz said. “I mean, the job they did with the poor field position, the job they did in the red zone. Five field goals, I mean, they did an unbelievable job in the red zone. I’m just really proud of the way the defense played.”

NOW THEY’RE EVEN

Heading into Sunday’s game, Houston was the only team in the USFL with a winning record against Birmingham. The teams split their two 2022 meetings, and the Gamblers won back in Week 5 of 2023.

The Week 9 outcome now puts the modern USFL series mark at 2-2, with the possibility they could also meet in the playoffs on June 25.

TODAY IN HISTORY

On this day in 1983, the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League defeated the Boston Breakers, 31-19, in front of 20,500 fans at Legion Field.

Birmingham quarterback Bob Lane ran for a TD and hit Gary Anderson on a TD pass, while Lonnie Johnson rushed for two more Birmingham touchdowns.

The Stallions improved to 8-7 with the victory.

NEXT UP

Birmingham returns to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium next Saturday to face the Memphis Showboats. TV coverage begins at 3 p.m. on FOX.