Scott Adamson, Author at Adamsonmedia.com

Stallions, ‘Boats meet again

The distance between Birmingham and Memphis is 245 miles.

The distance between those cities’ United Football League teams seems much greater – five games into the circuit’s inaugural season, anyway.

**Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Threads @sladamson1960 and Adamsonmedia on Facebook.**

Entering Saturday’s rivalry rematch at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, the Birmingham Stallions are 5-0 (3-0, USFL Conference) while the Memphis Showboats are 1-4 (1-2). The Stallions defeated the ‘Boats 33-14 on April 13 at Protective Stadium.

A Birmingham win – coupled with a St. Louis victory over Houston later in the day – would secure a postseason berth for Skip Holtz’s crew.

“Memphis is a team we’ve already played, and it always gets a little bit tricky playing the same team twice,” Holtz said. “I think they’re a team that’s evolving. They are schematically really starting to figure out who they are. They’re scoring a lot so far.

“They’re creating a lot of yards, and what they’re doing offensively creates a number of big plays. I think they pose a different challenge this week than they did three weeks ago when we played them, and so we’ve just got to focus on us.”

The Showboats basically need to run the table to have any chance of playing past Week 10.

Memphis coach John DeFilippo isn’t looking at it that way, though.

“We take ‘em one at a time,” DeFillipo said. “It’s a game at home in the division … that’s the way we look at it. I’m never a fan of looking too far ahead because pro football has a way of knocking you on your butt.”

The Showboats are coming off a 35-18 loss to Michigan, the team’s fourth setback in a row.

With starting quarterback Case Cookus injured, Troy Williams got the call in Week 5 and threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns.

Daewood Davis was his main target, snagging six receptions for 101 yards and a score.

Cookus will be back in the No. 1 spot on Saturday but regardless of who is behind center, they’ll need time to throw against a Birmingham team that can often make that task rather difficult.

“We have to protect the passer … that’s the No. 1 thing we have to do,” DeFillipo said. “They won the battle of the line of scrimmage on both sides (in the first meeting), and that’s gonna be the key to the game. That’s the key to any game, usually, but it’s especially the key to this one.”

The Stallions continue to set the standard in the UFL, leading the way in several statistical categories.

They average a league-best 367.4 yards per game in total offense, and are No. 1 in all-purpose yards (512.2 per game), rushing yards per game (157), rushing yards per attempt (4.9), yards per catch (14.6), first downs (105), field goals (14), punt return average (12.5) sacks (18) and time of possession (165:40).

Both Adrian Martinez and Matt Corral have put up numbers impressive enough to show why they’ve split time as QB1. But from a purely statistical standpoint, Martinez – who’ll start on Saturday – has an edge. Martinez has amassed 302 rushing yards (best in the UFL) and a touchdown and 603 passing yards and three aerial TDs.

Corral counters with 494 passing yards and two touchdowns and 99 yards on the ground.

“Adrian and Matt both are doing an excellent job,” Holtz said. “In coaching the quarterbacks, all I’m trying to do is get them to play in the system in a way to be efficient.”

Ricky Person Jr. is second to Martinez in rushing with 180 yards and five touchdowns and C.J. Marable has racked up 175 yards and reached the end zone once.

Deon Cain and Jace Sternberger have both eclipsed the 200-yard mark in receiving yards. Cain has 297 and a touchdown and Sternberger is good for 201 and two TDs.

Kyahva Tezino has been a force on defense, managing 21 solo tackles and 35 in all.

“He was one of the leading tacklers in the league a year ago (playing for the Pittsburgh Maulers in the USFL),” Holtz said. “We played against him. He’s a great player, he’s a competitor, he’s a leader, he’s physical, he’s tough. He can run and he’s got a great nose for the ball. I can’t say enough positive things about him.

“And I think the old adage that you don’t want to play against them, so you’ve got to try and find a way to play with them, applies to Kyahva.”

Lorenzo Burns has been in on 24 tackles, Mark Gilbert, 21, and Demarquis Gates, 20.

Carlos Davis leads the league in sacks with six for 38 yards on losses.

JoJo Tillery will miss the game due to a left hamstring injury suffered in last weekend’s 32-9 victory over Houston.

Saturday’s showdown is set for 11 a.m. with ABC providing TV coverage.

“We’ve got to make sure that we keep tightening things up and keep getting better as a football team as far as execution,” Holtz said. “We’re really excited about getting into another division game this week after having the opportunity to win last week against Houston.”

Cain shows he’s able

Deon Cain has a national championship on his resume, a United States Football League title (as well as 2023 USFL Championship Game MVP honors), and is one of the main reasons the Birmingham Stallions are unbeaten in the inaugural season of the United Football League.

Yet for all the wide receiver has done, there’s still plenty left to do.

Certainly, Cain hopes to make it back to the NFL, but midway through the 2024 UFL season his focus is strictly on the business at hand. And for 5-0 Birmingham, that business is winning.

“The mentality for us is what (Stallions coach Skip Holtz) has been preaching, which is to go 1-0 every week,” Cain said on Wednesday. “We’ve got goals we’ve got to chase throughout the season. It’s a great spot to be in – to be undefeated and keep stacking up wins – but it’s something we have to keep on doing.”

This season Cain has snagged 19 catches for 297 yards and a touchdown, and averages 20.4 yards per kick return.

He got 144 of those yards in Birmingham’s 33-14 victory over Memphis in Week 3. The rematch with the Showboats (1-4) takes place this Saturday at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.

“They have NFL guys and experienced guys on their roster, and they’re deep,” Cain said. “The first time we played we had a great day execution-wise on offense, and the play calls were hitting.”

Cain says prepping for the second game against their rivals involves what he saw in the first contest as well as what has happened since.

“You have to study recent games and the game that you’ve played,” he said. “You’ve got to pick up on old tendencies as well as new tendencies, because they can show one thing but then do another.

“We have to study everything because they’ve played two more games since we played them the first time, so we have a lot more film to study, seeing some of the new stuff they’re trying.”

Cain helped the Clemson Tigers claim the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship, and finished that season – his junior year – with 724 yards and nine touchdowns on 38 receptions.

He decided to forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the 2018 NFL Draft, where he was a sixth-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts.

But his big-league dreams were dealt a blow when he suffered an ACL tear during training camp.

He did finally see action in 2019, but was ultimately waived by the Colts in November.

Since then, he has been in camp with the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles (twice), but the Stallions have been his best showcase to prove he can play on Sundays in the fall.

Cain has shown game-breaking ability during his entire tenure with Birmingham, with one of his best efforts coming in the 2023 USFL Championship Game.

In a 28-12 victory over the Pittsburgh Maulers, Cain had three touchdowns on four catches for 70 yards, and returned five kickoffs for a total of 101 yards.

He finished the season with 182 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and piled up 668 return yards.

“Really, I’m just a playmaker and a team guy,” Cain said. “If you want me to block, I’ll block. If you want me to run a vertical route, I’ll do that. When it comes to football, I just want to be part of a winning team.

“I’ll let the film speak for itself, but I put in a lot of work day in and day out to show I’m a great football player.”

The Moonbeam Monster

There was no quiet way to reach the cabin near Moonbeam Creek.

Dead leaves covered the makeshift path leading to it, so each step added a loud, crunching noise to the typical sounds of the woodlands. Of course, with windchimes hanging from the ceiling of the old, rickety porch, the resident of the cabin was surely used to plenty of noise.

Moonbean Creek – or at least the forest that it split – was thought to be the home of the “Moonbean Monster,” a tall, ape-like creature that had allegedly roamed these woods for decades.

Like the Yeti or Bigfoot, it was often seen only in shadows or quick glimpses; there was never any positive proof it existed, and no bones or bodies had ever been found. But tall tales? It had spawned its share.

What made the Moonbeam Monster different from the other creatures, though, is that amateur “monster hunters” Lexie Thornton and Dex Schneider had proof. They had long been fascinated by the folklore surrounding mythical beings, and a year or so earlier had taken a special interest in the Moonbean Monster.

The creek was a popular spot for anglers, and Lexie and Dex had spent hours upon hours talking with several of them – most all claiming they had had some kind of encounter with it.

Calling it a “monster,” however, didn’t square with what they heard from those who had experienced such close contact. Other than being startling in its hirsute form, the Moonbeam Monster seemed peaceful enough. It would often be spied grabbing elderberries or pawpaws, then quickly disappearing into the wild.

The pair of sleuths decided to place cameras on trees throughout the area, and even employed drones on occasion to cover more ground.

Over 12 months they had collected plenty of photos and videos, but the most compelling was a grainy, night vision clip that saw the Moonbean Monster walk up to the cabin, step on the porch, open the door, and then lean down and walk inside.

As they approached the domicile, they didn’t know who – or what – to expect after they knocked on the door.

“Hi, I’m Lexie Thornton and this is my partner, Dex Schneider,” Lexie said. “We were hoping you’d give us a few minutes of your time.”

The heavyset man who opened the door appeared to be in his late 60s or early 70s, his thinning white hair combed straight back and his flannel shirt bulging just above the beltline of baggy, faded blue jeans.

“I ain’t religious, I don’t need no magazines and I ain’t registered to vote,” he said. “Whatever y’all are sellin’, I ain’t interested.”

As he started to close the door, Dex piped up.

“Please, sir,” he said. “We’re not trying to sell you anything. We just want to talk to you about the Moonbean Monster.”

The man smiled, swung the door open and made a sweeping motion with his hand, gesturing the two to come in.

The inside of the cabin was spartan; a single bed, table with four chairs, and small kitchen area with a wood-burning stove.

There were no paintings and no “homey touches” of any kind.

“Pull up a chair,” said the man.

“May I ask your name?” Lexie said.

“Sure,” said the man. “But I ain’t telling ‘cause it don’t matter. You said you wanted to know about Moonie; nothin’ about me is interesting.”

He pulled a chair away from the table and situated it near the fireplace.

“I’m guessing y’all are the ones that put them cameras up everywhere and fly them little contraptions through here,” he said. “Why did you go and do something like that? Moonie ain’t botherin’ you – or nobody else. Never has.”

Dex produced a tablet, made a couple of quick swipes, and showed the man a photo of the monster entering his house.

“Sir, the Moonbean Monster – or Moonie as you call him – has been in your house,” he said. “Were you here when it happened?”

The man chuckled.

“Moonie has been comin’ and goin’ from here for as long as I’ve been here,” he said. “And I’ve been here since before you two was even born. Look here.”

The man walked over to a box near his sink and produced a handful of pawpaws.

“Moonie likes these a lot,” he said. “I always keep some on hand for when he visits.”

Lexie pulled a small recording device from her pocket.

“Do you mind?” she asked.

“I don’t care,” the man said. “But you ain’t gonna be here long and I ain’t got much to say other than Moonie lives in these parts just like I live in these parts … just like deer and turkeys and whatever else you can find in these woods live here.

“If you think I’m gonna do anything to put him in danger, well, that ain’t gonna happen. When people come sniffin’ around looking for somethin’ everybody thinks is different, it usually don’t end real well for the thing that’s different.”

Before Dex or Lexie could say anything, the man walked to the door and opened it.

“Moonie ain’t no monster,” he said. “He just wants to be left alone. Now y’all need to leave. Anybody else comes sniffin’ around, I’ll just tell ‘em y’all are pullin’ a hoax.”

Lexie and Dex got up, smiled politely, and walked out onto the porch. The man could hear them talking, and then listened as they crunched their way toward the creek.

It would be nightfall in a couple of hours … once again giving him the opportunity to venture out into the woods.

He could already tell a cool evening was in store, perfect for a fox – or maybe a hound dog or racoon.

Moonie was his natural form, but with all the unwanted attention it was time to give that shape a rest for a while – at least long enough for the monster hunters to lose interest, take down their cameras and move on to some other venture.

Once the sun sank and he saw the creekside clear of humans, he took off his clothes, opened the door, and darted out into the night.