stallions and coach skip holtz looking forward to challenge against st. louis battlehawks
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MAY 7, 2024 - BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
By Steve Irvine
The top two teams in the UFL will play each other on Saturday at Protective Stadium. The visiting team – the St. Louis Battlehawks – feature former Alabama national championship quarterback AJ McCarron. The home team – the Birmigham Stallions – are the only unbeaten team in the UFL and carry an overall winning streak of 13 games, dating back to last season, into Saturday’s matchup.
“I’d be lying if I was said there wasn’t more excitement, energy and enthusiasm in the building right now,” said Stallions head coach Skip Holtz. “The players mindset, the questions being asked, the attention to detail, everybody is zoned in, everybody is focused in on what they need to do. We know we’re playing a very talented team.”
Tempering that enthusiasm is not necessarily the top objective for Holtz and his coaching staff right now. But sticking to the process is what needs to take place this week for the Stallions, according to their head coach. And a big part of that is avoiding outside distractions before and after the football is kicked off on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Protective Stadium.
“We call it the circus,” Holtz said. “It is the buzz that goes on with the media, it is social media, it’s on Twitter, it’s on television. Players can’t get away from it. Two weeks ago, I’m watching the St. Louis game and all the announcers are talking about is the game on May 11 with the Birmingham Stallions. How do they compete with them? How do they match up? That’s all part of the noise that we don’t have the luxury to listen to, enjoy, get into the weeds with.”
While the Stallions are the league’s only unbeaten team, the Battlehawks aren’t far behind. St. Louis’ lone loss came in the season opener when Jake Bates’ 64-yard field goal with three seconds left provided the game-winning points in the Michigan Panthers’ 18-16 win over the visiting Battlehawks. St. Louis had taken a 16-15 lead with 49 seconds left on a 5-yard scoring pass from McCarron to Marcell Ateman and a 1-point conversion pass from McCarron to Jake Sutherland.
Birmingham leads the UFL in total offense, passing offense, rushing offense, first downs, rush defense, first down defense and scoring defense. St. Louis leads the leagued in scoring offense, total defense and pass defense. McCarron and Stallions quarterback Adrian Martinez could be the top two Player of the Year candidates in the UFL. Birmingham running back Ricky Person Jr. leads the UFL in scoring with six touchdowns and 38 total points while St. Louis receiver Hakeem Butler is third in that category with five touchdowns and 31 total points.
All of that is fun to talk about – at least from the outside – heading into the game.
“It’s part of what makes the pageantry, the excitement,” Holtz said “We all want to play in the games that have a big circus around it. We always talk about the more people that can come out and support the game this weekend, support the Stallions, support the UFL, support Birmingham being one of the select eight teams in the country that has a football team, the more fun everybody is going to have, the more electric the atmosphere, which is what we all want. I’m looking forward to seeing that on Saturday at 3 o’clock.”