Last minute drama results in Birmingham Stallions victory

Saturday’s game between the Birmingham Stallions and the Michigan Panthers meant nothing. Regardless of the outcome of the regular season finale, the teams will meet again next week at Birmingham’s Protective Stadium in a United Football League play-off match.

But the way the teams tried to win on Saturday made Birmingham’s 20-19 decision look like nothing more than a hollow victory.

“Two teams that have nothing to play for,” Stallions coach Skip Holtz said. “You wouldn’t have known it in the fourth quarter of that football game.”

The Stallions had their 15-game winning streak snapped last week in an 18-9 loss to the San Antonio Brahmas and have never been on a losing streak since the franchise’s 2022 revival.

But Birmingham trailed Michigan 19-13 when it started its final possession at the 39-yard line with 3:18 to play. The Stallions had a mulligan in the pocket, but still drove 61 yards in 13 plays for the game-tying touchdown.

An 18-yard completion from receiver Kevin Austin Jr. to quarterback Adrian Martinez on fourth-and-7 at the Michigan 33 kept the lead going, and a 5-yard pass from Martinez to tight end Jace Sternberger tied the game with 59 seconds left. play.

Birmingham chose the 1-point conversion and took the lead when tight end Marcus Baugh jumped over the goal line on a pass from Martinez.

Birmingham defensive end Taco Charlton hurt Michigan’s comeback chances with a sack of quarterback Danny Etling on the first snap after the Stallions took the lead.

But Etling came through with an 8-yard completion to wide receiver Devin Gray on fourth-and-4. The play also had a passer penalty against Stallions defensive end Dondrea Tillman, but that call was overturned by video review.

Etling added a 9-yard completion and a 5-yard run to put the game on the feet of kicker Jake Bates. Seventeen-of-21 on field goal attempts and with a 64-yard winner among his long-range bombs this season, Bates was tipped as a United Football League MVP candidate.

But this time, Bates’ kick faded wide from 53 yards out in the final moments of the game. Bates had connected from 39 and 44 yards earlier Saturday.

Running back CJ Marable scored Brimingham’s first two touchdowns. He capped the Bears’ first possession with a 1-yard run and ran 20 yards on the first possession of the second half as Birmingham cut Michigan’s lead to 16-13.

Marable’s first touchdown came after Sternberger caught a long pass and recovered the fumble at the Michigan 1-yard line for a 48-yard gain.

Marable ran for 56 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries and had three receptions for 29 yards.

“CJ’s CJ,” Holtz said. “He shows up every week. He’s the most versatile defender we have, running the ball and receiving the ball.”

Martinez completed 14 of 28 passes for 163 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions and ran for 41 yards on five carries.

Etling ran 23 yards for a touchdown and connected with wide receiver Siaosi Mariner on a 46-yard touchdown pass on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter.

Etling played most of the game because the Panthers’ second-half spark of the past three games, quarterback Bryce Perkins, was injured on the first drive of the third quarter.

Etling completed 16 of 31 passes for 195 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions and ran for 36 yards and a touchdown on four carries.

Down to No. 3 due to injuries, the Panthers ran for 135 more yards and outgained the Stallions 324-223 in yards.

“What a prelude to next week,” Holtz said. “It’s going to be another good one. These two teams have now met twice. The first time was a 20-13 game with them having the ball in the fourth quarter and our defense shut down. The same thing happened in this one.”

Birmingham (9-1) and Michigan (7-3) will play again in the USFL Conference Championship Game at 2:00 PM CDT on Saturday at Protective Stadium. ABC will televise the match.

The winner will advance to the United Football League championship game, set for June 16 at 4 p.m. at the America’s Center Dome in St. Louis.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.