stallions stay perfect with 30-26 win over st. louis battlehawks

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MAY 12, 2024 - BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA

By Steve Irvine

Adrian Martinez made plays with his right arm. Adrian Martinez made plays with his legs. And, on the play that provided what was ultimately the game-winning points in a 30-26 UFL showdown victory over the St. Louis Battlehawks, the Birmingham Stallions quarterback made plays with his mind.

To fully understand the game-winning throw and catch, though, you need to go back to previous series when he unsuccessfully tried to connect on a deep route. Stallions head coach Skip Holtz told him after the play that sometimes the right move is to throw the ball underneath and let his receiver make a play.

That was the approach that Martinez took on the game-winning throw. He delivered the ball quickly to outside receiver Kevin Austin Jr., who was running a slant pattern. The speedy Austin caught the ball about five yards past the line of scrimmage, took advantage of the aggressive St. Louis defense and turned a simple throw into an electric 40-yard touchdown pass that erased a 26-23 deficit.

“It was designed to be a high-low concept,” Holtz said. “(Austin) was the under part of the route. They over pursued it. I thought Adrian did a great job, in a long-distance situation, not trying to force the ball down the field. He hit the underneath guy who was coming back from the outside. They were going out to where he was throwing the ball. He crossed it. I thought it was a great job of the quarterback taking what the defense gave him and throw it underneath.”

That play was part of yet another spectacular performance by Martinez, who was 21 of 33 passing for 230 yards with three touchdowns and added 61 yards on seven carries. Some of his best plays came on third down, when he was 3 of 5 passing for 27 yards with touchdown passes to Deon Cain and Marlon Williams and moved the chains three more times with 35 yards rushing on three carries.

All of that made for a frustrating afternoon for St. Louis head coach Anthony Becht.

“Adrian Martinez was a problem today, on third down and with his legs,” said Becht, whose team fell to 5-2. “Trust me, we game planned and schemed and put ourselves in position where we felt like we had a good plan together. But, again, that kid’s good. The legs are a difference maker and it’s been evident every week.”

What continues to show, though, is Martinez is not just a runner. In fact, it’s becoming tougher to pinpoint whether he’s a runner who passes or a passer who runs. Holtz certainly wants him to be both.

“Adrian came here to be a quarterback and I think he’s done a phenomenal job,” Holtz said. “He does have great feet but he’s also got a great mind and a great arm. He’s displaying that. I don’t want him to be just a passer. I want him to continue to use his feet. But, I don’t want him to be just a runner. I want him to understand the difference.”

On Saturday, Martinez followed the script to help the Stallions remain the league’s lone unbeaten team after seven weeks. The Stallions also got some clutch plays late by the defense with Daniel Isom and Kyahva Tezino ending the final two St. Louis drives with pass breakups.

Afterward, Holtz said he wants his team to remain focused on what’s ahead in the final three weeks of the regular season.

“We got three games left in our regular season and any one of those teams can beat us if we don’t show up,” said Holtz, whose team is riding a 14-game winning streak dating back to last season. “For us, it’s just a matter of falling in love with the process and what it’s going to take to become great. When this season’s over, that’s when you look up and go ‘You know what we weren’t bad. You know what, we’re a pretty good football team.’ But it’s not going to be until then that I will start looking backward. Right now we’re going to enjoy this. I will throw up over some of the mistakes we made. I will get sick, I will be nauseous. And I will wake up tomorrow motivated to get them fixed and so will this team.”