Pa Eric D. Williams
FOX sports writer
Birmingham Stallions coach Skip Holtz wanted to attract a USFL championship home to the fans in the Magic City.
Well, Holtz got his wish.
As they have done all season, the Stallions came away with a 33-30 victory over the Philadelphia Stars at Hall of Fame Tom Benson Stadium in Canton, Ohio on Sunday night. Seven of Birmingham’s nine wins during the regular season were comeback wins.
The Birmingham Stallions win the USFL Championship
Led by J’Mar Smith, backup quarterback Alex McGough and game MVP Victor Bolden Jr., the Stallions fell short of the Stars for the USFL title.
Starting quarterback J’Mar Smith left the game with just over two minutes left in the third quarter with a leg cramp, Birmingham backup quarterback Alex McGough led the Stallions on the decisive play.
However, McGough had to overcome the first interception of the game on a clipped pass to CJ Marable by Stars linebacker Jordan Moore. After the reversal, McGough returned to the sideline for a lively back-and-forth with Holtz.
“Things got a little risky,” McGough said afterward. “He just brought me in, walked me through the play and what he thought. I told him what I thought. And then he just said we’re going to win this game. in terms of, “Hey, next game.”
Holtz said he told his defense attorney to focus on the present and not worry about what happened in the past.
“I told him to just take it easy and play within the system and you’ll be fine,” Holtz said. – And that’s what he did.
Alex McGough talks about the Stallions win
Alex McGough stops by to talk about leading the way to victory in Birmingham.
With his team trailing by three points, McGough led the Stallions on a 64-yard scoring drive that ended with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Victor Bolden Jr. on the back of his shoulder for a 27-23 lead the Stallions never relinquished. .
Bolden finished with six receptions for 64 yards. He also kicked a 43-yard field goal, earning the game’s MVP award.
“This is probably the biggest award I’ve ever received and it means everything to me,” Bolden said.
The Stars double-covered Bolden for most of the game, allowing fellow receiver Marlon Williams to have a big game as well, finishing with seven catches for 105 receiving yards and a score.
McGough, who was the opening day starter for the Stallions, finished 7-for-10 for 77 yards with a touchdown pass and an interception. Smith completed 10 of 18 passes for 131 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions.
Case Cookus throws an acrobatic TD
Case Cookus continues to be electric as his TD toss to Jordan Sowell moves Philadelphia closer to USFL Championship
Case Cookus played well for the Stars, completing 17 of 29 passes for 222 yards and 3 scores. However, Kukus suffered a broken fibula midway through the fourth quarter, giving way to backup KJ Costello.
Costello promptly threw an interception that Philadelphia quarterback Scooby Wright returned 46 yards for a score to give Birmingham a 10-point lead.
On the next drive, Costello found Chris Rowland for a 12-yard touchdown, cutting Birmingham’s lead to three points. However, Birmingham quarterback Christian McFarland sealed the game with an interception with 16 seconds left.
Receiver Jordan Suell led Philadelphia with five catches for 66 yards and two scores.
Bo Scarbrough roles from Birmingham
University of Alabama product Bo Scarborough gave the Stallions pain early on.
Bo Scarborough scores the game’s first TD
Beau Scarbrough’s 36-yard TD gave Birmingham the lead.
Scarbrough finished with 135 yards on 13 carries, including a long 69-yard run that led to Brandon Aubrey’s 28-yard field goal that gave Birmingham a 20-9 halftime lead.
The mid-season addition of Scarbrough has strengthened Birmingham’s running game, helping them control time and rely on their defense to close out games.
“Bo brings a strong presence,” Holtz said. “And it was the type of play the safeties were going down and the way they were trying to pick Victor over the top and they started trying to pick Marlon. And that left a huge hole in the midfield. All he had to do was make one person miss and there was green grass in front of him. And Bo did it tonight.
Dexter Williams is effective as a late addition at RB
With top running back Matt Colburn II unavailable for the game due to injury, Dexter Williams, a recent addition to the Stars, played on offense for Philadelphia.
Celebration in Birmingham
The Birmingham Stallions raise the cup after winning their first USFL title.
The Notre Dame product just joined the team this week, but quickly picked up the offense and had 102 yards in a loss.
“I thought he played really well because he didn’t have a lot of time to learn the offense,” Stars coach Bart Andrus said. – We had to find something that he could learn quickly, but he played well. a few more weeks.”
Eric D. Williams has covered the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.
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