Category: Alternative Football

The Birmingham Stallions (5-2) began last weekend sitting third in the USFL South Division. By the close of the football business day on Sunday, they had taken over first place.

That’s how things work in a league that – in 2023, at least – has very little separation among its eight teams.

This Saturday Birmingham plays its final regular season home game of 2023 when the Philadelphia Stars (4-3) come to Protective Stadium for a 2 p.m. kickoff. NBC/Peacock will provide TV coverage.

Philly is riding a three-game winning streak, good enough for first place in the North Division. It’ll be the first time the teams have played since meeting in the 2022 USFL championship game – a 33-30 Birmingham victory.

“What I’ve learned after a year and a half in this league is they’re all challenges,” Stallions coach Skip Holtz said. “I mean, every game … there is no top and there is no bottom. Everybody’s just fighting to compete, to win the game. A lot of these games are going to come down to one play, so we understand it’s gonna be a challenge. They’re a really good football team and I think (Philadelphia head coach) Bart Andrus does a really good job.”

After stumbling early, the Stars have found their footing on both sides of the ball.

“We’re opportunistic, so when a situation presents itself, we take advantage of it, and that’s important,” Andrus said following his team’s 37-31 victory over Pittsburgh last Saturday. “The other thing is, we’re playing better as a group. There’s a lot of trust that’s involved in that. And we’ve made improvements on our offensive line in personnel moves. This was the best group we were able to put on the field (Saturday) and we’re optimistic we can keep more guys healthy.

“When you start out the season you have issues and you have injuries and you fight through them, and the most important thing is these guys have never not thought they could do it. Right now, they’re showing they can.”

Quarterback Case Cookus has thrown for 1,520 yards and seven touchdowns, while Corey Coleman is his favorite target. Coleman has two TD receptions and 409 receiving yards.

And Luis Aguilar has done a phenomenal job kicking.

He’s 18 of 21 from field goal range, including three-of-four from beyond 50 yards. He had a USFL-record eight field goals to account for all his team’s points in a 24-21 victory over New Jersey that snapped a three-game losing skid and started the current string of victories.

“Case Cookus is very experienced,” Holtz said. “They’re scoring a lot of points, they’re very explosive, and have a lot of speed at all points. But I think the biggest trouble you’ll have with this football team is they’re playing really good defense right now. They’re holding opponents to 20 or less points and they’re scoring a lot. So, it’s an explosive team that’s the No. 1 team in the North (Division), and we know it’s gonna be a great challenge.”

Quarterback Alex McGough continues to shine for Birmingham, topping the circuit with 13 passing touchdowns and 102 points.

He’s thrown for 1,281 yards and rushed for four TDs.

His preparation this week is the same as it’s been every week.

“Well, every team has their own personality, and I just try to look at them as a fresh face,” McGough said. “They’ve just got a lot of good players, and we’ve got to find a way to win our one-on-ones and make plays.”

C.J. Marable has come on strong of late and leads the Stallions rushing corps with 380 yards, while Davion Davis has the most pass-catching yardage (317). Jace Sternberger has a team-high four touchdowns among receivers.

Safety Christian McFarland has played in all seven games and leads the bruise crew with 42 tackles (25 solo); safety Nate Holley is credited with 37 tackles (24 unassisted); and safety Tyree Robinson has contributed 32 tackles (23 solo).

“I told the players with this game we’re playing this week, there’s good news and bad news,” Holtz said. “The good news is right now we’re in first place and have earned the opportunity to be the top team in the South. The bad news is, we have three games left and if we lose all three, we finish last.

“So, every game matters.”

The coach is also hoping a big crowd will give his charges a significant homefield advantage.

“I’m glad it’s a home game and I encourage everybody to come out,” he said. “We need the support. The fans have been absolutely awesome, and I know this is Fan Appreciation Day this week. It comes at a great time, because we need everybody out here to help us.”

PLAYER STATUS (via Stallions Twitter)

Transferred Player to Active Roster: WR Michael Dereus, DE Joe Ozougwu, OT Darius Harper.

Transferred Player to Inactive Roster: WR Josh Johnson, OT Derwin Gray, DE Darrion Daniels.

Game status: CB Donnie Lewis: Out (R Hand, R Leg), S Christian McFarland: Probable (R Hamstring, R Shoulder, L Thumb), LB Rashad Smith: Probable (L Ankle), DE Jordan Thompson: Questionable (L Hamstring), WR Deon Cain: Probable (L Hamstring), DE Joe Jackson: Probable (R Ankle), LB Elijah Sullivan: Probable (R Foot), OL Matt Kaskey: Full Go (R Thumb), OL Jahmir Johnson: Full Go (L Groin).

PLAYER STATUS (via Stars Twitter)

Transferred Player to Active Roster: QB Kevin Thomson, S Joshua Moon, DE Ali Fayad.

Transferred Player to Inactive Roster: QB Vad Lee, S Devin Taylor, DE Carson Taylor.

Game status: WR Terry Wright: Full Go (L Flank), TE Pro Wells: Full Go (L Ankle), RB Dexter Williams: Full Go (R Shoulder), CB Channing Stribling: Full Go (L Hamstring), OL Tristen Taylor: Full Go (L Knee), DB Josh Moon: Full Go (L Ankle), DB Amani Dennis: Full Go (R Hip), LB Joey Alfieri: Full Go (R Knee), LB BJ Bello: Full Go (R Hamstring), DB Ladarius Wiley: Full Go (L Thumb), S Cody Brown: Full Go (L Foot), WR Diondre Overton: Full Go (R Shoulder), WR Corey Coleman: Full Go (L Hand), WR Devin Gray: Full Go (Neck), DL Chris Nelson: Full Go (R Calf), DL Ralph Holley: Full Go (L Elbow).

The second United States Football League championship game is a month away, and USFL president Daryl Johnston and head of officiating Mike Pereira marked the occasion by giving something of a “state of the league” address on Thursday afternoon.

With three weekends remaining in the regular season and the playoff race wide open in both divisions, Johnston is well-pleased with the parity of the circuit’s eight teams in year two.

“I love the fact that we’re all jumbled up in both of our divisions, especially down in the (South Division),” said Johnston, who saw the Birmingham Stallions (5-2) jump from third place to first in one weekend. “I love the way that we stacked our schedule where we have meaningful games in weeks nine and weeks 10. I know it stresses our marketing and  ticket sales people, but for the football ops people, it’s fantastic.

“Last year our playoff teams were kind of set early and we probably knew week six what the playoff picture was. This year in the South, we’re not going to know until we have that final play in week 10.”

From an operational standpoint the most significant change from year one involves hub expansion. In 2022 all the teams were housed in Birmingham.

This year, Birmingham is home to the Stallions and New Orleans Breakers; the Memphis Showboats (replacing the Tampa Bay Bandits) and Houston Gamblers play in Memphis; the Michigan Panthers and Philadelphia Stars both call Detroit home this spring; and the New Jersey Generals and Pittsburgh Maulers host their home games in Canton.

Canton will showcase the North Division playoff on June 24 as well as the championship game on July 1, while the South Division playoff will be in either Birmingham or Memphis on June 25.

The second year of the USFL has also seen half the teams get new coaches: Mike Nolan (Michigan), Ray Horton (Pittsburgh), John DeFilippo (New Orleans), and Curtis Johnson (Houston).

“I think one of the big things that happened with us coming into year two – and I mean this with no disrespect to the four coaches who were with us in year one, they will always have a special place in my heart – was bringing on four new head coaches. To have available the guys that we were able to bring on board this year … we’ve got over 120 years of added experience in our coaching staffs this year, with five Super Bowl championships between the four of them. It was really, really a testament to what we’re trying to do.

“When you have somebody like Mike Nolan call you and say ‘Hey, I hear there’s a potential for an opening with the Michigan Panthers, and I’d be very interested in that,’ that speaks volumes when you have people of that caliber wanting to join your journey in year two.”

But TV viewers – and fans in the stands – aren’t watching coaches, they’re watching players. And Johnston is confident the league features plenty of next-level talent.

“We had a number of guys get into workouts, a ton of guys get into training camps … actually got down to a point where we had, when it was all said and done, I think 24 players on either the active or practice squads during the course of last year in the NFL,” he said. “Obviously, KaVontae Turpin (who played with the Generals in 2022) is our greatest ambassador with everything that he accomplished with the Dallas Cowboys and all the accolades that he received. And I think that shows the necessity for a league like the USFL when we can have a player not only become discovered but change the narrative.”

Last season USFL kick returners caught the NFL’s eye. This year, Johnston thinks it might be linebackers.

“For me one of the interesting spots – and it’s kind of an overlooked and undervalued position in the NFL right now – is the stack linebacker, and I think some of our players have had a really, really good season,” he explained. “You look at a guy like Gabriel Sewell up in Philadelphia, Frank Ginda in Michigan, Quentin Poling here in Birmingham and Kyahva Tezino (Pittsburgh)  … I don’t know why he didn’t get an opportunity last year.”

Like any league there have been some snoozers to go with high-scoring clashes, and Johnston says he’d like to see more consistency across the board. Overall, however, the quality of play has been solid.

From a rules standpoint, Pereira thinks the tweak to kickoffs has had the greatest impact.

“Last year we wanted 90 percent of our kickoffs returned, and we ended up with 81 percent, which is much better than the 38 percent in the NFL,” he said. “But I wanted to push it to 90, so what did we do? We just backed up the kickoff line from the 25 to the 20.”

There was also an alteration to improve safety.

“We moved the receiving team in a box 10 yards from where the kickers kick off from, and they had to hold in that box until the ball was kicked at a minimum of eight or maximum of nine,” Pereira said. “That meant everybody was running downfield together, and you didn’t have as many as the high impact collisions, and that’s worked well.”

Pereira also has weekly calls with each of the eight coaches. As one might expect, conversations can be spirited.

“The one thing that has been proved to me is how passionate they are about this league, and how competitive they are, and how much they want to win, and how much they sometimes dislike each other, and the rivalries that are brewed, whether it’s Intra-hub or whatever,” he said. “It’s just been the coolest experience. Not the easiest because of their passion, because I’ve had to deal with some frustrations and that type of thing. But it’s been a breath of fresh air.”

With year two winding down, Johnston says the goal for the USFL is to make marked progress each year.

“When you come back for year two we don’t want you to be in the same spot as you were when year one ended,” he said. “And the same for year three. We want you to be much further down the road, and whether that’s Zoom installs, quarterbacks getting together with skill position players at some point during the offseason, whatever.

“We just need you to be further down the road.”

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.