Category: Alternative Football

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.

Notes, quotes and more from the New Orleans Breakers’ 45-31 victory over the Birmingham Stallions Saturday at Protective Stadium …

HOW THEY SCORED

Deon Cain took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown, racing 82-yards to paydirt. Brandon Aubrey kicked the extra point, and just like that the Stallions were up 7-0 at 14:49 of the first quarter.

New Orleans answered back quickly, with MacLeod Bethel-Thompson capping off a five play, 53-yard drive with a 40-yard TD pass to Lee Morris.
Matt Coghlin kicked true, tying the game at 7-7 at 12:17 of the first.

Back came the Stallions.

With Alex McGough throwing from the pocket and on the run, he helped move Birmingham inside the 10. The six play, 54-yard march stalled at the seven, however, but Aubrey’s 25-yard field goal at 8:48 of the frame put the home team back on top, 10-7.

A mixture of Bethel-Thompson passes and Wes Hills runs got New Orleans on the move after the kickoff, and Hills scooted across the goal line at 4:55 for his team’s second TD at 4:55 of the first. It capped off a seven play, 65-yard drive and the extra point made it 14-10, Breakers.

After a McGough pass was picked off by Jerod Fernandez in the second quarter, New Orleans took over at the Birmingham 25.

However, the Breakers got only six yards on three snaps, and settled for Coghlin’s 37-yard field goal at 7:52 to up their advantage to 17-10.

The Stallions “D” came up with an INT of their own – courtesy of Donnie Lewis II – and the offense took full advantage of the miscue.

Scrimmaging from the enemy 25, McGough hit Austin Watkins on a 24-yard gainer on first down. Three plays later CJ Marable bulled his way across the stripe for a one-yard TD 3:39 before halftime.

The kick knotted things up at 17-all.

It didn’t stay tied for long.

McLeod hit Dee Anderson on 42-yard jump ball on the first play of a four play, 75-yard scoring junket, and closed the deal with a 19-yard touchdown aerial to Anderson at 1:29 of the second.

The extra point was good, and the Breakers led, 24-17.

But McGough was up to the challenge, hitting three different receivers on a seven play, 66-yard march, and finishing with a 19-yard TD pass to Jace Sternberger.

The kick made it 24-24 at :31 of the second stanza, and that’s how the half ended.

New Orleans took the opening drive of the third quarter and traveled 54 yards in seven snaps. The big play came on a first-and-10 call from the Birmingham 34, with Bethel-Thompson finding Morris on a pitch-and-catch that saw Morris drag a defender into the end zone.

The PAT changed the score to 31-24 at 10:57 of the quarter.

With time winding down in the stanza, New Orleans took control of the game, moving ahead 38-24 thanks to an eight play, 75-yard drive.

The Breakers did an excellent job mixing the run and pass, and Hills got the TD on a one-yard dive with :40 remaining in the quarter.

The kick made it a 38-24 game, and the Stallions were in trouble.

McGough did his best to get his team out of it on the next series, engineering a six play, 70-yard march.

His most impressive play came following a sack when he made a great scramble and hit Davion Davis on a 49-yard toss that put the ball at the 11.

Two plays later he found Davis again for a six-yard touchdown, and the PAT cut the New Orleans lead to 38-31 with 12:32 to play.

But the Breakers scored again with 4:56 to go, with Hills capping off a 14 play, 65-yard drive with another one-yard run.

The extra point gave New Orleans a 45-31 lead, and that proved to be the final score.

The Breakers improve to 3-0 and move to the top of the South Division, while the Stallions fall to 2-1.

It was Birmingham’s second defeat since the league began play in 2022 and first since a 17-15 setback to the Houston Gamblers on June 11 of last year.

The loss snapped Birmingham’s five-game winning streak.

BREAKERS COACH JOHN DEFILIPPO SAID …

“Great team effort today. Huge credit to our football team … 27 first downs, 14 rushing the football, 200 yards rushing, 283 passing, we controlled the ball for nearly 37 minutes, we were 11-of-13 on third down. Defensively, we limited them to 14 first downs and 46 yards rushing. I thought it was a total team effort.”

STALLIONS COACH SKIP HOLTZ SAID …

“I told the team you wear that crown for a while and if you start believing it, it’s gonna eat you up. I thought they outplayed us, outcoached us … like I said last week, sometimes you’re the windshield and sometimes you’re the bug, and today we’re the bug. They lined up and beat us.”

STANDOUT STATS

It was quite a day for Hills, who amassed 191 yards on 34 carries and scored three touchdowns. He averaged 5.6 yards per carry with his longest run at 28 yards.

“The guys are doing a great job up front, man,” Hills said. “They’re blowing open holes and they make me look good. I’ve got the easy part of the job.”

Bethel-Thompson continued to shine, hitting 20 or 28 passes for 283 yards, three touchdowns and a pick.

Three different New Orleans receivers scored, and Jonathan Adams led the way with six catches for 75 yards and a TD.

For the Stallions it was Alex McGough performing very well for the second consecutive game. He was 17-26-1 passing for 238 yards and two touchdowns.

Davis led the receiving corps with 123 yards on five catches and a score, but didn’t seem too interested in his stats.

“Honestly, I flush it,” he said. “We didn’t get the win today. It’s a team thing and the stats don’t matter to me. I can’t do it without Coach, without any offensive or defensive player, so I just flush it and get ourselves ready for next week.”

Tyree Robinson and Nate Holley were in on 10 tackles each in a losing effort.

TODAY IN HISTORY

On, April 29, 1984, the original Stallions defeated the Denver Gold, 31-14, in front of 35,262 fans at Mile High Stadium. The victory improved Birmingham’s record to 9-1 in a USFL clash that saw running back Joe Cribbs rush for 110 yards and catch a 50-yard TD pass from quarterback Cliff Stoudt.

Stoudt finished with 231 passing yards and scrambled for 46 more.

On April 29, 1991, the Birmingham Fire of the World League of American Football defeated the San Antonio Riders, 16-12, before 8,114 fans at Legion Field in a nationally televised Monday night game played in a driving rain storm.

The Fire scored all of its points in a three and half minute stretch of the second quarter, getting a pair of touchdown connections from Brent Pease to Steve Avery as well as a safety.

The Riders were coached by current New Jersey Generals boss Mike Riley.

NEXT UP

The Stallions play their first-ever regular season game away from Protective Stadium next Sunday when they meet the Pittsburgh Maulers at 5:30 p.m. CDT at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.

The game will be televised on FS1.

Birmingham’s previous trip to Canton last season resulted in a playoff victory over New Orleans and a championship game conquest of the Philadelphia Stars.

The Breakers will also be in Canton, facing the New Jersey Generals on Sunday at 2 p.m. NBC/Peacock will provide coverage.