Stallions defeat panthers behind strong second half in prelude to ufl playoff rematch

JUNE 2, 2024 - BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA

By Steve Irvine

Saturday’s game between the Birmingham Stallions and Michigan Panthers at Protective Stadium had no meaning in terms of the quest for a UFL championship ring. That scenario is still seven days away.

But the Stallions and Panthers set the tone for the UFL Divisional playoffs with a down-to-the wire finish on the same field they will play on next Saturday. The Stallions scored the go-ahead points with just under a minute left and emerged with a 20-19 win over Michigan when Panther kicker Jake Bates pushed a 53-yard field goal attempt wide right.   

“What a game, huh,” Stallions head coach Skip Holtz said afterward. “What a prelude to next week.”

The tying touchdown came with just under a minute left when a wide open Jace Sternberger caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Adrian Martinez. The Stallions followed with a 1-point conversion pass from Martinez to Marcus Baugh, who fell down while making the catch and reached the ball over the goal line before a defender touched him.

Needless to say, there was nothing easy for the Stallions, who improved to 9-1 and finished with the league’s best regular season record for the third consecutive year.

“We certainly didn’t execute very well today, as an offense,” Holtz said. “I thought our defense made some great adjustments in the second half, held them to three points in the second half. Offensively, a lot like last week, we really have to take a hard look at just being consistent with what we do, throwing it, catching it, blocking it.”

Martinez was sacked a season-high five times and that was just part of an uneven day for the Stallions quarterback and the offense. Martinez was 14 of 28 for 163 yards and had five rushes for 41 yards. He sailed several throws over a receiver’s head and never looked fully comfortable.

He had company in his struggles.

“I don’t know how many three-and-outs we had today, but it was a bunch of them,” Holtz said. “It was like, okay, the left guard missed or a receiver was open, Adrian missed him and we ended up taking a sack. Or it was third down, a receiver was open, he sees, we protect and we drop (the pass). It was almost like you want to say on the first play of the game, everybody just mess up. Let’s get it out of the way, so we can go execute as an offense.”

Running back CJ Marable did have a solid day with 10 carries for 56 yards and two rushing touchdowns. He also had three catches for 29 yards. And the offense, as a whole, was able to piece together a 12-play, 56-yard drive that took two minutes and 19 seconds and ended with the winning points. Perhaps the key play of the drive came on Kevin Austin Jr. went down to grab a low throw from Martinez to gain 18 yards on 4th-and-7.

Holtz said the final drive was a good example of what Saturday’s game meant to both teams despite it meaning nothing in the playoff quest.

“I can’t tell you, wait until you see what we saved for next week,” Holtz said. “I didn’t feel like saving anything on that last drive. I would have called the kitchen sink if it would have gotten us into the end zone. I was like, ‘Put the ball in the end zone.’ It wasn’t, ‘I don’t want to show that this week.’ We ran our offense.”

Sternberger, who had a 49-yard catch-and-run to set up the game’s first touchdown said there was never a thought of holding anything back for next week.

“We were never going to take a week off, go light this week or rest anybody,” Sternberger said. “You can’t take football for granted. You’re one play away from your season being over. Any time you get a chance to go play 60 minutes and be with your guys you go do that.”