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Birmingham Stallions Top Panthers to earn #1 seed in USFL

Photo of Vaseline VaselineJune 2, 2024
0 8 minutes read
Birmingham Stallions Top Panthers to earn #1 seed in USFL

Kicking off the final week of the UFL regular season is a preview of next week’s USFL conference championship game. The Michigan Panthers travel to Protective Stadium to take on the Birmingham Stallions in hopes of winning their first conference title. It’s important to note that if Michigan wins, the game will still be played at Protective Stadium next week due to the conflict at Ford Field. That being said, pride is on the line.

First quarter

Danny Etling and the Michigan Panthers would start the game with possession and a chance to take an early lead. Marcus Simms and Matthew Colburn are out today for Michigan and Bryce Perkins will take over at QB for the second half. Eitling took a quick three and put away, but it wasn’t without effort. On third down, Eitling found a gap and moved up the middle, reaching short.

The Birmingham Stallions attack now took to the field for the first time this afternoon. With Adrian Martinez at QB, he was able to make rapid progress. After moving the chains once, he connected with Jace Sternberger for a huge 53-yard reception that put the team right on the goal line.

The next play saw CJ Marable help for the Armasari’s first touchdown of the day. Coach Holtz went for two and Jordan Thomas delivered for his team. Birmingham now had an early 8-0 lead over the Panthers. During the commercial break, Dean Blandino reviewed the conversion and ruled it out because Thomas only had one foot on the crossbar. The score was now 6-0 in favor of the Stallions.

The Panthers have been fortunate, but they’ll need to produce some more yards on offense to keep up. The drive started a bit better for Etling, connecting with Hikutini for a first down on the first play.

Although they failed to get into the end zone, Jake Bates broke out for a 39-yard field goal attempt. He missed by the same distance last week, but this week was no challenge. The Panthers have now cut the lead in half, 6-3 with the Stallions on top.

CJ Marable continued to excel for the Stallions, coming up with a huge 19 yard run on 3rd down to move them past midfield and keep the drive alive. The next play didn’t go as well, the Panther defense came up with a big sack pushing them back 13. Martinez picked up another big sack on the next play, putting Birmingham on 3rd and 29.

It was too tall a task, and the stallions were forced to withdraw it.

Etling and the Panthers continued their momentum, after several attempts they found themselves at midfield.

He didn’t stop there either, Etling connected with Devin Gray to move it up to 30. After getting a holding call that pushed Michigan back by 10, they let time run out in the first quarter.

The second quarter

Etling started the second quarter hot with a big 23-yard run straight to the end zone to get the Panthers’ first touchdown of the day.

Nolan went for the 1 and Taua was able to move the ball and cover to give Michigan a 10-6 lead.

The Stallions returned to the field and it looked like they might stop again. CJ Marable came up big, moving the chains on third and short to keep the drive moving. But that didn’t stop the Panthers defense from playing as hard as they did all day. Martinez took another big sack, now putting the team in a 3rd and 16 situation. He couldn’t convert and had to punt it again.

The Stallions defense came out strong. He looked like he could stop the Panthers and force them to punt for the first time today. But things did not go according to plan. On 3rd and 8, Etling found a receiver to move the chains.

For a moment it looked like the Stallions had forced a turnover, but they got a holding call, giving Michigan the ball back and an extra five yards.

The Panthers were there to win and they weren’t letting up. Etling threw a bomb to Siaosi Mariner for a 46-yard touchdown. They couldn’t get the 1-point conversion, but they didn’t have a 16-6 lead over Birmingham.

Birmingham has yet to find its footing on offense, giving it back to Michigan. The Stallions defense came out with little urgency this time. Birmingham stopped the Panthers, forcing the punt for the first time this afternoon. The Stallions regained possession with 2 minutes left in the half.

Things went as they had all afternoon. The Panthers defense stood up, collecting their 4th sack of the day.

They also forced a punt with 27 seconds left in the second quarter. A Michigan penalty forced a punt again, giving them just 6 seconds left. They finally let the clock run out and went into the half with a 10-point lead.

Third trimester

Martinez and the Stallions had possession to start the second half and would hope to adjust while things were at hand. The one thing about Birmingham is that they never give up. This drive got them into the red zone again and they were out punted. On the next play, CJ Marable went 20 yards for the touchdown.

Adrian Martinez took the 1-point conversion himself to close the gap. They now trailed the Panthers by just three, 16-13.

Bryce Perkins was now in the Panthers spot at QB. That was the plan from the start of the game and you can expect them to come out and play for the win. When Michigan was stuck on 3rd down and Perkins came up with a big run, it unfortunately came up a yard short. The Panthers opted to move him rather than take home field advantage if they couldn’t convert.

Michigan’s defense held up their end of the bargain and kept the Stallions from scoring. After the kick, the Panthers drove past midfield and were looking to regain the lead.

On the Panthers’ next play, Bryce Perkins took a big hit that eventually knocked him out of the game. Etling returned, giving him a chance to pick up where he left off in the first inning. Devin Gray continued to impress, securing another touchdown for the team.

They found themselves in the red zone on 1st and goal from the 4. Michigan was in good scoring position, but two costly penalties pushed them back 10 yards to the 14.

The fourth quarter

Etling connected with Siaosi Mariner for a touchdown, but another penalty took it away and put the Panthers on 3rd-and-goal from the 24. Late in the drive, Michigan sacked Jake Bates for a 44-yard attempt. He’s been solid all season and this was no different. Michigan now held a 19-13 lead over the Stallions.

It could be the case that the Birmingham Stallions figured out what works against the Panthers and chose not to give it away. Regardless, this drive was a big part of what we saw in the first half. The offense stopped and returned it to Michigan.

Etling and company are playing the field again and looked like they did their best to use as much time as possible. They couldn’t get into the end zone, it was right on the edge of field goal range, so the team opted to punt it away.

Birmingham now had the ball with 7:04 left to tie or take the lead.

Martinez and company still couldn’t find their place. In fact, he almost threw a pick on 3rd and short, which forced them to give it away again.

The Panthers struggled to get anything going on this drive. This opens the door for an eventual last drive for Birmingham to come back and equalize or take the lead.

The offense looked like it was going to go for a quick three, but CJ Marable converted to keep the game going. This led the team to the 2-minute warning, keeping the hope of a comeback alive.

Marable was the best fit for Birmingham today and they kept feeding him. He was able to move the chains some more, moving them to 37 with 1:47 left. The Stallions were closing in on field goal range, but needed a touchdown to close it out.

Michigan’s defense picked it up and forced a 4th and 7 situation for Birmingham. They went for it and converted it on a low throw to Kevin Austin.

Just 15 yards and 1:16 stood between the Birmingham Stallions and a draw. A costly Michigan penalty pushed them 5 yards closer.

Martinez eventually connected with Jace Sternberger to tie the game with 59 seconds remaining. CJ Marable made the extra point, giving the Birmingham Warriors a 20-19 lead with 54 seconds left in the game.

The Panthers only needed a field goal to close it out and it turns out they have one of the best players in the league. Taco came up with a huge sack for Birmingham, forcing Michigan to miss one of its timeouts. With 32 seconds left, Michigan had one last shot on 4th and 4. Devin Gray was able to pull in the pass to move the chains. In addition, the stallions attracted the passerby’s call to bring them even closer.

With 3 seconds to go, Jake Bates came out and went wide, giving the Stallions the winner.

The Birmingham Gunners bounced back from the loss and officially earned the #1 seed in the USFL conference. Next week they will return to Protective Stadium in a rematch against the Michigan Panthers. They may have come out of this one with a win, but you know the team will be looking for any opportunity to gain an advantage next weekend. The last two seasons Birmingham always seems to find a way to win in the postseason, so it won’t be easy for either team to reach the UFL Championship.

Who do you think will win the USFL Conference Championship next week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or join the conversation on Discord.

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Photo of Vaseline VaselineJune 2, 2024
0 8 minutes read
Photo of Vaseline

Vaseline

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