Category: Alternative Football

Whether you hold a championship game in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton or The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, you can bet the Birmingham Stallions are gonna be there.

Skip Holtz’s spring football kings, winners of back-to-back United States Football League titles, earned a shot at the United Football League crown on Saturday with a wild 31-18 victory over Michigan in front of 10,287 fans at Protective Stadium.

Birmingham beat the Philadelphia Stars, 33-30, in 2022 and the Pittsburgh Maulers, 28-12, in 2023, winning both USFL title games in Canton.

The UFL Championship will be in St. Louis on June 16, and the Stallions will face the winner of Sunday’s contest between the St. Louis Battlehawks and San Antonio Brahmas.

A pick-six by Daniel Isom in the third quarter allowed the Stallions to erase an 18-12 deficit against the Panthers in the USFL Conference Championship Game, while Matt Corral came on in relief of Adrian Martinez and threw a pair of fourth quarter TDs to seal the deal.

“We have a little saying that we always talk about … don’t flinch,” Holtz said. “No matter what happens, we’re gonna find a way to win this game. And even with the offense sputtering the way it was, the defense kept creating turnover after turnover, and then they said, ‘Hell, if you can’t score, we will.’”

All’s well that ends well but, good grief, did the eventual winners ever make it hard on themselves for much of the hot afternoon.

Birmingham (10-1) trailed 18-3 at one point, turned the ball over four times, was slapped with 11 penalties for 111 yards and committed enough mental mistakes to last a season.

Errors were not the sole domain of the hosts, though; the teams combined for eight turnovers, and six were committed in the third quarter alone.

But champions find a way, and the Stallions scored the final 28 points of the game – good enough to get another chance at another trophy – while Michigan’s season ends at 7-4. Three of those losses came against the Stallions.

Martinez exited the game with decent numbers (10-19-1 for 164 yards and a touchdown) but Corral finished 9-11-1 for 120 yards and two scores, giving Birmingham much-needed momentum down the stretch.

Amari Rodgers, Jordan Thomas and Ricky Person Jr. had receiving TDs for the Stallions.

“We needed a spark offensively,” Holtz said. “I’ve said all along. I feel like we have two starting quarterbacks. I feel like we have two players that are very capable of leading this football team to a championship, and I felt like we needed a spark. I think Matt is a very talented individual, but more than anything, I think today is an unbelievable lesson in resolve – not four quarters of resolve, but in two months of resolve – as he has had to stand on the sideline. Yet, he has taken reps every week in practice.”

Corral said he was fully prepared to step in and take charge.

“Like every other day, we practice the same scenarios, same place, each and every day, day in and day out, and we get a lot of reps at it,” Corral said. “And coach does a good job of putting us in place to get done what we’ve got to get done.”

The defense was “bend but don’t break” throughout the day, forcing the Panthers to settle for four field goals.

Ike Brown had a pair of key interceptions, Damon Lloyd recovered a fumble, and Armani Taylor-Prioleau blocked a field goal. The unit had five sacks and Kyahva Tezino led Stallions tacklers with seven takedowns.

And it was Isom’s defensive score that flipped the game in favor of Birmingham.

Panthers QB Danny Etling was intercepted three times, although he did rack up 182 yards and throw for a score.

Siaosi Mariner was on the money end of Etling’s touchdown pass.

“I thought that first half we played well, other than the fact that I wish we had turned a lot of field goals into six points,” Michigan coach Mike Nolan said. “Touchdowns would have made a difference for us.”

Scoring plays: Michigan, Siaosi Mariner, 35-yard reception from Danny Etling, 12:17 first quarter, 1-point conversion failed, Panthers 6, Stallions 0; Michigan, Jake Bates, 53-yard field goal, 8:43 first quarter, Panthers 9, Stallions 0; Michigan, Bates, 42-yard field goal, :40 first quarter, Panthers 12, Stallions 0; Birmingham, Chris Blewitt, 23-yard field goal, 10:30 second quarter, Panthers 12, Stallions 3; Michigan, Bates, 34-yard field goal, 7:10 second quarter, Panthers 15, Stallions 3; Michigan, Bates, 25-yard field goal, 3:59 second quarter, Panthers 18, Stallions 3; Birmingham, Jordan Thomas, 50-yard reception from Adrian Martinez, 3:53 second quarter, 2-point conversion failed, Panthers 18, Stallions 9; Birmingham, Blewitt, 43-yard field goal, :12 second quarter, Panthers 18, Stallions 12; Birmingham, Daniel Isom, 48-yard interception return, 2:37 third quarter, 1-point conversion failed, Stallions 18, Panthers 18; Birmingham, Amari Rodgers, 7-yard reception from Matt Corral, 13:42 fourth quarter, 1-point conversion failed, Stallions 24, Panthers 18; Birmingham, Ricky Person, 15-yard reception from Corral, 4:04 fourth quarter, 1-point conversion reception by Thomas from Corral, Stallions 31, Panthers 18.

Standout stat: 28. The number of unanswered points the Stallions scored in Saturday’s victory.

Next up: Birmingham plays Sunday’s winner between the San Antonio Brahmas and St. Louis Battlehawks on June 16 in St. Louis in the UFL Championship Game. The contest is set for 4 p.m. CDT and can be seen on FOX and listened to on FOX Sports on SiriusXM.

OTD in 1974: Several hundred fans got their first look at the Birmingham Americans as the team in the fledgling World Football League held their first scrimmage at Robinson Memorial Stadium at Marion Institute.

George Mira, who would earn the starting job at QB, completed five passes for 45 yards including two to former Alabama receiver Dennis Homan for 16 and 14 yards, respectively.

OTD in 1985: The Birmingham Stallions of the original United States Football League defeated the Baltimore Stars, 14-7, in front of 24,300 fans at Byrd Stadium.

Cliff Stoudt hit Jim Smith on a pair of touchdown passes and helped the playoff-bound Stallions improve to 12-4 and win their fifth consecutive game.

The Stars – defending USFL champions – slipped to 8-7-1.

The Birmingham Stallions have been the most dominant football team of the current spring era.

They won back-to-back United States Football League championships, have been victorious in 30 of the 34 games they’ve played, and have never had a losing streak.

But all dynasties eventually fall, and Saturday at Protective Stadium the Michigan Panthers get their chance to topple an empire in the United Football League’s first playoff game.

Michigan (7-3) matched Birmingham (9-1) almost blow-for-blow last Saturday, losing 20-19 when All-UFL kicker Jake Bates’ 53-yard field goal missed the mark on the game’s final play.

“It’s always nice to win,” Birmingham coach Skip Holtz said. “It sure beats the heck out of the alternative. When you go back and you look at this game, there were a lot of things that were very positive but, obviously, a lot of things we need to clean up.”

The USFL Conference Championship Game could be – and should be – another clash that goes down to the wire. This time, though, it’s all or nothing.

“I see a difference, just in the building,” Holtz said. “I see a difference in the attitude, the tempo at practice … it’s playoff time. There’s an excitement, there’s an energy, there’s an enthusiasm right now. I think these guys are really ready to go play and hopefully we can execute much better as an offense and a defense than we did a week ago.”

Quarterback Adrian Martinez – named All-UFL quarterback on Wednesday – has rushed for 530 yards this season, 288 more than the next closest Stallion (running back Rickey Person Jr. with 342). Although he split playing time with Matt Corral earlier in the season, his legs – and arm – helped him become the clear No. 1.

Martinez is 134-229-3 passing for 1,749 yards and 15 touchdowns, and his 2,277 yards of total offense makes him a leading candidate for player of the year.

Last week, however, he was sacked five times.

Holtz doesn’t anticipate a repeat of that on Saturday, saying it was more a case of poor execution that the Stallions being bullied by the Panthers’ “D.”

“Two of (the sacks) were poor decisions by the quarterback where we should have thrown the ball away,” Holtz said. “(Martinez) will be the first one to tell you. I’m not trying to throw stones at Adrian … he’s been unbelievable and made good decisions all year. But on those two, he just needs to throw the ball across the line of scrimmage and we’re good.

“So, when you go back and look at it, it’s not like we’ve got to find a way to double-team this guy or that guy. We’re not going to change schematically. We’re just going to have to make smarter decisions and execute our offense better.”

Michigan coach Mike Nolan, who was named UFL Coach of the Year on Thursday, said Martinez will likely be unleashed in the conference championship game.

“Well, I believe he’ll probably run more this week,” Nolan said. “I think there was a little bit of protecting him from that standpoint, which is very understandable. You want to keep him healthy, and he is a huge part of their offense and a huge part of their success.”

All-UFL tight end Jace Sternberger has 454 receiving yards and four touchdowns for Birmingham; Deon Cain has scored three times and accounted for 436 yards; and Marlon Williams has four touchdowns to go along with 313 yards.

Defensively, Kyahva Tezino leads the way with 70 tackles (38 solo), while Damon Lloyd has been in on 44 and DeMarquis Gates, 37. Gates also has three tackles for 21 yards in losses.

All-UFL safety A.J. Thomas has snagged three of Birmingham’s eight interceptions this season.

Nose tackle Carlos Davis – also on the All-UFL Team – paces the sack crew with seven, and hopes to add to that total against an offense that has trended upward week by week.

“I thought they got a lot better throughout the year, and I think they do a good job with their quarterbacks,” Davis said. “The quarterbacks are mobile, and that’s something that we’re gonna have to stop this week, just keeping them in the pocket and not letting them get out to make plays or run down the field. And, they’ve got some great wide receivers, as well.”

Michigan’s QB room features Danny Etling, Bryce Perkins and Brian Lewerke.

In seven games, Etling is 69-114-2 for 787 yards and three TDs, while Perkins has played in four games and gone 30-38-1 for 664 yards and two touchdown passes.

Both signal callers are effective runners, although the ground game is currently led by RB Matthew Colburn II with 423 yards and four touchdowns.

Nolan said earlier in the week Etling will get the start, but Perkins was likely to play. On the depth chart released on Friday, however, Perkins was inactive and Lewerke was listed as the backup.

“Our quarterbacks all kind of run the same show,” Nolan said. “We don’t have one that’s a runner and one that’s not, it’s both guys.

“All of our quarterbacks, as matter of fact, are capable of using their legs when they need to and being in the pocket as well.”

All-UFL wideout Marcus Simms has caught 23 balls for 426 yards and three touchdowns, while Siaosi Mariner has two TDs and 346 yards.

In last week’s game against Birmingham, Mariner had 110 yards and a touchdown on seven receptions.

Michigan has three players with at least 40 tackles; Kai Nacua (47), Bryce Torneden (42) and Javin White (41).

UFL Defensive Player of the Year Breeland Speaks has 9.5 of the Panthers’ 30 sacks.

Nacua, Speaks, Daniel Wise and Nate Brooks are All-UFL selections.

Nolan suggests both teams will stick to their normal game plan, although there could be a few more “trick” plays.

“I think they’ll take their chances with maybe some kind of exotic play, whether it be a reverse pass or something you have in your pocket,” Nolan said. “You don’t use it in the game like the other day … you usually use plays like that when the game has a little bit more on the line. So, if there’s anything in the way of an exotic play, it would probably come this week.”

Game time is set for 2 p.m. with ABC televising and ESPN Xtra on SiriusXM providing audio coverage.

“Bring a friend,” Holtz said. “We need people and that home field advantage. Let’s light that place up. We’ve got a great crowd, they’re loud, they’re into it, they’re vocal – they make a difference.

“And I just think about if we could try and fill that lower bowl, oh, my gosh. I mean, it would be absolutely awesome.”

Twin brothers are almost always close, and that’s certainly the case with Carlos Davis and Khalil Davis.

Both were standout athletes at Blue Springs High School in Missouri, and both earned football scholarships at the University of Nebraska.

Khalil Davis was the Cornhuskers’ defensive player of the year in both 2018 and 2019, and the defensive tackle had eight sacks as a senior and was team leader in tackles with 45. He had 116 takedowns during his playing days in Lincoln.

Carlos Davis, meanwhile, finished his Nebraska career with 125 tackles and nine and half sacks from his defensive end spot, but also became an All-American in track and field.

Today, both are professional football players.

Khalil Davis helped parlay a standout 2023 season with the United States Football League’s Birmingham Stallions into a roster spot with the Houston Texans, and now it’s Carlos Davis – a member of the United Football League Stallions – who hopes to use Birmingham as a springboard back to the NFL.

Thing is, they were almost teammates on the 2023 squad.

Carlos Davis was signed by Birmingham in October, 2023, but released from his contract two months later when the Atlanta Falcons came calling.

Khalil Davis stayed in the Magic City, ending his lone USFL season with 29 tackles and a sack.

So, did Carlos Davis ask for any brotherly advice when he was re-signed by the Stallions in January?

“Heck, yeah,” the All-UFL nose tackle said on Wednesday. “I mean, that was my whole decision. I really wanted to play with Khalil when he first did it, but I didn’t know too much about (the league). So, I kind of watched him go through it and then I was sold about halfway through the season.

“I went to about five games, so I knew some of the players and I had met some of the guys, and it was just the best fit for me, to be honest.”

Carlos Davis has seven sacks this season, putting him in a tie for second most in the UFL. He has 13 solo tackles and 10 assists, including four tackles for 29 yards in losses.

He has also forced and recovered a fumble, and helped the Birmingham defense become one of the stingiest in the circuit.

“There’s multiple things we can do to disrupt the game, but it starts with us up front,” he said. “We take pride in being that group that just kind of gets the defense going and just stepping up. We’ll disrupt the game any way we can, batting balls down – I mean, to me that’s more demoralizing when a quarterback’s trying to throw and we swat one down.

“So, any way we can disrupt the game, we’re going to do it.”

One off-the-field disruption came with the change at defensive coordinator. In late May, John Chavis and the Stallions parted ways. That moved Corey Chamblin to the DC role and Dr. Anthony Blevins – originally tapped to be head coach of the XFL Vegas Vipers before that team was dissolved in the XFL/UFL merger – was added to the staff.

“Both of them just have a couple of different styles of coaching,” Carlos Davis said. “With Coach Chavis, we were limited a little bit and could only run certain things. But after he stepped away, we just were able to open up the playbook a little bit more, and just do a little bit more things.”

Carlos Davis hopes a winning game plan is in place for his team’s third meeting with the Michigan Panthers. The teams clash in the USFL Conference Championship Game at Protective Stadium on Saturday, and Birmingham is looking for a sweep of their rivals after topping them 20-13 on April 7 and 20-19 last Saturday.

“It really just comes down to the coaching and everybody buying in,” he said. “I feel like every group is bought in and you know, we trust the coaches and we listen to them and they give us a great game plan to go out and execute.

“It’s really on us to go out there and do what they ask.”

Once this season is over, Carlos Davis wants to get back to the big league. He was on the active roster for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2020-22, and has 12 NFL tackles on his resume. And while he’ll listen to all offers, he really hopes a club running a 4-3 defense will give him a look.

“I’ve seen the production coming from a 4-3,” Carlos Davis said. “I’ve had a little bit of production on the 3-4, but honestly, I’m trying to go to where I can create the most plays, and that’s a 4-3 defense.”