Birmingham’s most decorated professional football team returned to Protective Stadium on Saturday in a new league.
The result?
Same as usual … another game, another victory.
The two-time defending United States Football League champions brought the United Football League to the Magic City for the first time and continued their winning ways, showing up the Memphis Showboats, 33-14, in front of 12,265 fans.
It was a game that was close for three quarters but one that always seemed just out of reach for John DeFilippo and his team.
Birmingham’s streak of Ws dating back to 2023 has reached 10 games, tying the Stallions with the 1974 World Football League champion Birmingham Americans for most consecutive victories by a city-branded team.
Skip Holtz’s charges improve to 3-0 and strengthen their hold atop the USFL Conference while the Showboats fall to 1-2.
“This process we talked about is just being as good as we can be,” Holtz said. “And I think there were an awful lot of positive things out there today on the field.”
Adrian Martinez showed fans the best version of his football self, finishing 18-28-0 through the air for 334 yards and two touchdowns. He also led his club’s ground attack with 44 yards and a score.
“I think he’s deserving of this opportunity,” Holtz said. “I think I’m in a very great situation as coach and I think we have two very good quarterbacks – three, and the other one (J’Mar Smith, third on the current depth chart) is 11-1 and won a championship.”
It was Martinez’ first start of 2024 and likely won’t be his last; Matt Corral, who was QB1 the first two weeks of the season, didn’t see action on Saturday.
“I’ve said the past two games whenever you can come out of the game and learn from a win instead of a loss, we’ll definitely take that,” Martinez said. “I’m fortunate to be around some great players, a great football coach, and there’s some mistakes I make, but we have a great team and so I have faith in what we do. What we preach is just keep going and I think I got stronger (as the game progressed) and just held the faith that we’d be able to continue to capitalize and put some more points on the board.”
Deon Cain had seven catches for 144 yards and Jace Sternberger had a touchdown to go with his four receptions and 73 yards.
“It was a team effort,” Cain said. “I just have to make sure I’m executing my job and the work speaks for itself.”
The defense turned in an outstanding performance for the third consecutive week. Aside from limiting Memphis to just one touchdown, the unit came through with eight sacks in holding the visitors to one TD on the night and 209 total yards – only 16 via the run.
Kyahva Tezino was in on 10 tackles with five solos while Carlton Davis, Jonathan Garvin and DaMarcus Mitchell each had two sacks.
“I think our defensive line has a chance to be pretty good … I’ve kind of come to that conclusion as we have to go against them every single day,” Holtz said. “I’ve been yelling at dudes every day at practice about our offensive line keeping our quarterback clean, so to speak, but when you have a chance to see them play other people, I think you see our D line can be really good.”
Case Cookus and Trey Williams split time at QB for the ‘Boats, with Cookus managing 139 yards and a TD.
Nine different receivers had catches but only Vinny Papale managed to find paydirt, that coming on a 23-yard scoring strike from Cookus in the first quarter.
“I’d like to congratulate Birmingham … they played a fantastic game,” DeFilippo said. “We had an overall hard time. They averaged 18 yards a completion and our red zone issues on offense continue to haunt us.”
Scoring plays: Birmingham, Jace Sternberger, 6-yard TD reception from Adrian Martinez, 5:36, first quarter, 2-point conversion failed, Stallions 6, Showboats 0; Memphis, Vinny Papale, 23-yard TD reception from Case Cookus, :56 first quarter, 1-point conversion failed, Showboats 6, Stallions 6; Birmingham, Marlon Williams, 41-yard TD reception from Martinez, :02 first quarter, 2-point conversion failed, Stallions 12, Showboats 6; Memphis, Matt Goghlin, 57-yard field goal, 9:07 second quarter, Stallions 12, Showboats 9; Birmingham, Chris Blewitt, 22-yard field goal, 1:56 first quarter, Stallions 15, Showboats 9; Memphis, Goghlin, 34-yard field goal, :14 second quarter, Stallions 15, Showboats 12; Birmingham, Blewitt, 46-yard field goal, :00 second quarter, Stallions 18, Showboats 12; Birmingham, Blewitt, 43-yard field goal, 3:23, third quarter, Stallions 21, Showboats 12; Birmingham, Ricky Person Jr., 5-yard rush, 14:23, fourth quarter, 1-point conversion failed, Stallions 27, Showboats 12; Birmingham, Martinez, 11-yard rush, 8:28 fourth quarter, 1-point conversion failed, Stallions 33, Showboats 12; Memphis,team safety, 1:49, fourth quarter, Stallions 33, Showboats 14.
Standout stat: 424. Number of yards the Stallions rolled up on the night.
Next up: Birmingham plays its second home game of the season next Saturday when the DC Defenders come to Protective Stadium.
Kickoff is 6 p.m. CDT on FOX.
Better late than never: Saturday’s game with Memphis marked the latest a Birmingham-branded team in alternative football has made its regular season home debut.
The Birmingham Americans (World Football League), Birmingham Vulcans (WFL), Birmingham Stallions (original USFL), Birmingham Fire (World League of American Football), Birmingham Thunderbolts (original XFL), Birmingham Iron (Alliance of American Football) and modern Stallions (USFL) all opened their seasons at home.
The Birmingham Barracudas of the Canadian Football League played on the road at Winnipeg to start their 1995 campaign but played their second game of the season at Legion Field just four days later.
The UFL Stallions spent the first two weeks of the 2024 season on the road before finally competing in the friendly confines.
Sportsman of the Year Award: The UFL on Thursday announced the establishment of the Sportsman of the Year Award, a “distinguished honor that celebrates UFL player’s service off the field and excellence on the field.”
The Sportsman of the Year Award will be presented each season to one deserving player who exemplifies the “highest standards of athletic excellence and community engagement.” Nominees will be announced throughout the season and their work will be highlighted across the UFL’s content and social media platforms.
“We are proud to continue with a tradition we started in the USFL,” Daryl Johnston, UFL executive vice president of football operations, said. “The Sportsman of the Year Award is a testament to the incredible athletes within our league who go above and beyond to make a difference in their communities. This award not only recognizes excellence on the field but also celebrates the profound impact that our players have off the field as role models and community leaders.”
The winner of the inaugural UFL Sportsman of the Year Award will be announced the week of the UFL Championship game in St. Louis.
OTD in 1985: The Birmingham Stallions of the original USFL defeated the Oakland Invaders, 20-17, in front of 44,500 fans at Legion Field.
The defense registered five sacks and picked off two passes. On offense, Joe Cribbs rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown and quarterback Cliff Stoudt added another score on the ground before exiting the game with an injured elbow.