Notes, numbers and quotes from Birmingham’s 24-20 victory over New Orleans on Saturday at Protective Stadium.
HOW THEY SCORED
New Orleans (4-3) took the opening kickoff and methodically moved the markers, driving all the way to the Birmingham (5-2) two-yard line before being pushed backward. Matt Coghlin was called on to salvage some points, and his 25-yard field goal at 5:53 of the first quarter made it 3-0.
The drive covered 54 yards on 16 plays and chewed 9:07 of the clock.
The Alex McGough-to-C.J. Marable combo (three passes for 37 yards) sparked the Stallions’ first turn with the ball, which ended with McGough scoring a five-yard TD at the 1:59 mark.
They traveled 60 yards on seven snaps, and Brandon Aubrey’s PAT made it 7-3.
Bryan Mills recovered a fumble via a muffed punt return in the second quarter, putting Birmingham in business at the New Orleans 22. The Stallions got to the enemy four, but had to settle for a 22-yard Aubrey field goal and 10-3 lead 7:58 before halftime.
The Breakers’ offense answered with a march all the way to the Stallions’ three but were denied a trip into the end zone, instead getting a 21-yard field goal at 2:40 of the second.
Coghlin’s kick cut his team’s deficit to 10-6.
That’s how things stood at the half.
Birmingham extended its lead on the opening series of the third quarter. Marable had a 27-yard run and McGough scrambled for 12 to provide the highlights, but Ricky Person got the six points on a two-yard blast (his first run) at 10:36 of the frame.
The march was seven plays, 59 yards, and Aubrey kicked the lead to 17-6.
New Orleans, however, benefitted from a Birmingham fumble midway through the third, putting the Breakers in the red zone at the Stallions’ 19.
However, their offense still couldn’t cross the stripe, so Coghlin kicked a 34-yard field with 5:40 remaining in the third to make it a one score game, 17-9.
It was a two-score game quickly enough.
McGough hit Jace Sternberger on 20-yard TD pass at 1:07 of the third to put the Breakers in a bigger hole. Sternberger made a terrific, falling-backward grab on the aerial to put an exclamation point on an eight play, 65-yard drive.
Aubrey’s PAT increased the advantage to 24-9.
New Orleans had one quarter to get back in it, and took the first step at 12:10 of the fourth frame when McLeod Bethel-Thompson found Lee Morris on a 10-yard touchdown pass at the end of a seven play, 80-yard junket.
Bethel-Thompson threw to Sage Surratt for the two-point conversion, and Birmingham’s lead was down to 24-17.
The second step came on a 55-yard field goal from Coghlin with 5:54 remaining in regulation, deflating the Stallions’ cushion to 24-20.
Suddenly, it was anybody’s ballgame.
New Orleans got the ball back with :55 remaining following a punt, but had to go 80 yards with no timeouts.
The Breakers couldn’t do it, and the defending USFL champions moved back atop the South Division – at least for a night.
BIRMINGHAM COACH SKIP HOLTZ SAID …
“What I was most proud of today was the way our team played. I thought they played really smart football. We’ve talked about following a plan, and I think this game was won on being plus one on the turnover battle and I thought it was won in the red zone. We were three out of four and they were one out of four. And I think that was the difference in this football game.”
NEW ORLEANS COACH JOHN DEFILIPPO SAID …
“We’re disappointed. We’ve lost three in a row. It is what it is. Our record is what it says we are.”
STANDOUT STATS
McGough was his usual reliable self, going 16-23-0 for 176 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 22 yards and a score.
Marable had 86 yards on 17 rushes and caught six balls for 52 yards.
“C.J. just continues to be a staple for us on offense,” Holtz said. “We felt good about C.J. going one on one with the linebacker, and that’s where we got a lot of our yards with C.J. coming out of the backfield.”
Linebacker Quentin Poling was a tour de force on defense for Birmingham, finishing with 10 tackles (six solo), two sacks and three tackles for loss.
“I didn’t do anything superhuman,” Poling said. “Coach talked about how you don’t have to be a hero, just come out and do your job. Football really is a game of inches and just some small issues we’re making week by week, we’re getting better and cleaning things up and doing better as a unit.”
Bethel-Thompson was 24-42-1 for 279 yards and a touchdown in a losing effort, with Jonathan Adams leading the receiving corps with 88 yards on six catches.
Wes Hills gathered up 77 rushing yards on 20 carries.
Defensively, Vontae Diggs had 11 takedowns for New Orleans.
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
With time winding down and the Breakers hoping to put together a game-winning drive, Bethel-Thompson completed a 32-yard pass to Adams at the Birmingham 48 and then lined up and spiked the ball.
However, officials decided to review the previous play and ruled it an incomplete pass and put the ball back at the New Orleans 20.
But … officials then started walking back to the spot of the overruled catch, only to ultimately go back to the 20.
DeFilippo, as one might expect, was not happy.
“At the end of the game, I don’t know what the hell was going on there,” he said. “I look forward to hearing an explanation of that. From my understanding when he got up and clocked the ball, that last play should be over. They move the ball here and move the ball here and move the ball here …”
It was more confusing than infuriating for Holtz.
“It certainly made things interesting with all the officials’ reviews there at the end,” he said. “Wasn’t sure where the ball was going … forwards, backwards, then it went back, then halfway. I didn’t know what was going on.”
TODAY IN HISTORY
When it comes to pro football in Birmingham, May 27 has been a busy day.
On this date in 1979 the Alabama Vulcans improved to 2-0 with an 18-0 victory over the Tulsa Mustangs in an American Football Association game at Skelly Stadium in Tulsa.
Myron Smith had two touchdown runs for the Vulcans and Chris Vacarella connected with Jerome Coleman on a three-yard TD pass to pace the winners.
Defensive back Tyrone King had two interceptions and Tulsa was held to 73 yards of total offense.
On May 27, 1983 the Birmingham Stallions lost to the Denver Gold, 21-19, in a USFL game at Denver. The result gave the Gold a sweep of the Stallions, who fell to 7-6 and saw their five-game winning streak snapped before 38,829 spectators.
It was also the first game that former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Craig Morten served as head coach of Denver; he was named to the post three days earlier after Red Miller was fired.
On May 27, 1984, the Stallions defeated the New Orleans Breakers, 31-14, at the Superdome in New Orleans. With the win, Birmingham improved to 12-2.
Cliff Stoudt threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Birmingham secured a playoff berth in front of 23,748 fans.
On May 27, 1985, the Stallions routed the Orlando Renegades, 41-17, at Legion Field with 24,500 fans looking on.
Stoudt threw three touchdown passes and Paul Ott Carruth scored his first TD as a pro and racked up 95 yards on just 10 carries.
It was Birmingham’s tenth win of the season against four losses.
NEXT UP
Birmingham plays its final regular season home game next Saturday when the Philadelphia Stars come to Protective Stadium.
Game time is set for 2 p.m. CDT with Peacock televising.