Stallions overcome panthers behind dominant defensive effort in second half of usfl championship

JUNE 9, 2024 - BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA

By Steve Irvine

Matt Corral got the opportunity he waited for during Saturday’s UFL Divisional Playoff at Protective Stadium. The Birmingham Stallions backup quarterback took full advantage of that opportunity.

However, on a day when the Stallions stamped their ticket to the UFL Championship Game, Corral had to share the spotlight with a Birmingham defense that pitched a second half shutout in the come-from-behind 31-18 victory over the Michigan Panthers.

The win propels Birmingham into the UFL Championship Game on June 16 in St. Louis against the winner of Sunday’s divisional playoff game between the St. Louis Battlehawks and San Antonio Brahmas.

“For our players, the resolve, the determination is absolutely special,” said Birmingham Stallions head coach Skip Holtz. “I think there’s a lot talent on this team, but there’s a lot of talent on every team in the USFL. I just want to take a minute to commend the team, their attitudes, their mindset, their togetherness, their passion. They refused to lose. We have a saying we talk about, ‘Don’t flinch, we’re going to find a way to win this game.’ Even with the offense sputtering the way it was a little bit. The defense kept creating turnover after turnover and then they said ‘If you can’t score we will.’”

That defensive score came on a 48-yard interception return by Daniel Isom and then Corral took over.

“I felt like we needed a spark offensively,” Holtz said. “I said all along, I feel like we have two starting quarterbacks. I feel like we have two players who are very capable of leading this team to a championship. I think Matt is a very talented individual, but I think, more than anything, it’s a lesson in resolve, but it’s two months of resolve.”

Adrian Martinez will probably soon be announced as the UFL MVP after leading the Stallions to a league-best 9-1 record in the regular season. On Saturday, however, the Panthers not only kept him one-dimensional but also forced him into a couple of uncharacteristic turnovers early in the second half.  

Corral came into the game with 4:04 left in the third quarter. It was the first time he was called on to win a game since throwing for 240 yards and a touchdown in a 20-18 win over the DC Defenders on April 20. And, two plays into his return to the field, his short pass caromed off receiver Marlon Williams hands into the hands of Michigan linebacker Javin White.

Not exactly what he wanted on his first series but that mistake was erased quickly. Isom made his big play on the second play of the ensuing series and the Stallions, who trailed by as much as 15 points in the first half, had pulled into a tie at 18.

Then it was up to Corral, who finished 9 of 11 for 120 yards with touchdown passes of 7 yards to Amari Rodgers and 15 yards to Ricky Person Jr. in the fourth quarter.

“My thoughts going into this, just like every other day, we practice the same scenarios, the same plays every day, day in and day out,” Corral said. “And we get a lot of reps out of it. Coach does a good job of putting us into a  place to get done what we got to get done. And, you know, can't say it enough that guys up front and the people in that offense or in that in that receiving room and offensively alone just gave us a shot today to win.”

It also came with a healthy dose of defense.

“I will say this, the defense did a good job of coming to us and letting us know they got our backs,” Corral said. “They made plays to get us in position to be successful.”

The defensive contribution began in a frustrating first half that would have been a ton more frustrating if the defense hadn’t turned five promising Michigan drives into field goal attempts instead of allowing the Panthers to score touchdowns. Because of that, the Panthers led by just six points at halftime despite dominating the first 30 minutes.

In the second half, it was the Stallions defense dominating. Michigan had 124 yards on 31 second half snaps. The Stallions had three interceptions – two of them by cornerback Ike Brown – and added another turnover when Dondrae Tillman forced a fumble that was recovered by Damon Lloyd. Michigan was 1 of 7 on conversion downs, including 0 of 5 on third down, in the second half and four of the Stallions’ five sacks came after halftime.

“Just coming out we just kind of had like a little slow start,” Brown said. “We just kind of had to figure them out at first. But, you know, once we made those halftime adjustments and Coach came in and told us we need some more turnovers, we went out there and got the job done. It wasn't really nothing that changed, it was just a mentality that we had to get ball back to offense and we got the job done.”

Because of that, the Stallions are heading back to the championship game.