Stallions rally to beat Panthers in USFL championship game

The dream of three-peat stallions is still alive. Two-time USFL champion Birmingham came back from an 18-3 deficit against the Michigan Panthers at Protective Stadium to earn a spot in the inaugural UFL Championship Game with a 31-18 victory.

Presumptive MVP Adrian Martinez was benched after turning the ball over twice to start the second half, and after a pick of his own, backup quarterback Matt Corral settled in to lead the comeback.

Now, three keys to the stallions winning.

UFL Coach of the Year Mike Nolan’s strategy of taking the points worked early as Jake Bates booted his first four field goals. After the fifth shot was missed and the sixth was blocked? Not so much. Michigan’s offense just didn’t have enough firepower to keep up with Birmingham once the Stallions found a groove.

Okay, technically the change started right before the break. Martinez connected with Jordan Thomas for a 50-yard touchdown, and DeMarquis Gates overthrew Panthers quarterback Danny Etling on the ensuing drive to set up Bates’ missed 51-yard field goal.

That sack opened the floodgates for the Birmingham defense, which added four more in the second half — two from Dondrea Tillman and one each from Jonathan Garvin and Daniel Isom. Etling turned the ball over four times in the final two frames, first fumbling on a sack (recovered by Damon Lloyd) before throwing a pair of interceptions to Ike Brown and a game-tying pick-6 to Isom.

Corral may have officially lost the quarterback battle to Martinez midway through the season, but Stallions coach Skip Holtz continued to insist he has two starting quarterbacks.

It’s hard to argue that after Corral went 9-of-11 in one and a half quarters for 120 yards and a pair of touchdown passes to Amari Rodgers and Ricky Person, Jr.

Martinez has looked shaky the past two weeks, setting up a potentially tough decision for Holtz ahead of the title game.

It follows: The stallions will travel to St. Louis for the 2024 UFL Championship Game, which will air Sunday, June 16 at 4:00 PM CT on FOX. They will face the winner of Sunday’s XFL Conference Championship game between the St. Louis Battlehawks and the San Antonio Brahmas.

You can find Kacy Sager on X (Twitter) at @THESagerbomb.

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