Morgan Ellison #27 of the San Antonio Brahmas crosses the goal line for a touchdown during the second quarter of the game against the Birmingham Stallions at the Alamodome on May 25, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/UFL/Getty Images)
Birmingham Stallions (8-0) at San Antonio Brahmas (6-2)
This was the first ever matchup between the two franchises, both of which were leading their respective conferences with two games remaining in the 2024 UFL season. The Stallions were 8-0 and had not lost a game since the 2023 USFL season, while the Brahmas were 6-2, with the opportunity to go ahead of the Battlehawks for the top spot in the XFL Conference.
For the Brahmas, this game was billed as their “Hats Off to Heroes” game, which was meant to show appreciation for all military and first responders. The Brahmas wore their road Alamo Yellow Jerseys which helped pay homage to yellow ribbons which have been displayed and worn to signify support for military troops and their safe and sound return home.
The reported attendance was 11,839, which is a relatively small crowd in the cavernous Alamodome. However, the crowd was boisterous and loud, at times overcoming the Stallions play calling.
The Ramiz Ahmed kickoff went 71 yards and was returned by Pooka Williams to the San Antonio 29-yard line. Brahmas quarterback Quinten Dormady handed to Ellison for a 4-yard gain, and then passed to Anthony McFarland for 12 yards and a first down. Another handoff to McFarland gained 11 yards, and then a pass to McFarland gained 7 yards. A handoff to Ellison resulted in a 9-yard run to move the chains to the Birmingham 28.
Dormady was sacked for a 2-yard loss, and then he was sacked again for a 7-yard loss, but this time he fumbled. The ball was recovered by Birmingham’s Taco Charlton on his own 37-yard line.
Birmingham quarterback Adrian Martinez passed short right to Amari Rodgers for no gain, and then passed again to Rodgers, but the ball fell incomplete. On third down, another pass to Rodgers gained 20 yards to the San Antonio 45. Martinez was sacked for a 2-yard loss, and then passed incomplete, intended for Rodgers. On third down, a catch by Sternberger gained 7-yards, and the Stallions were forced to punt.
After a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Stallions, the Wadman punt was returned by Marquez Stevenson to the San Antonio 25. Dormady handed to McFarland who lost a yard, and then passed deep to Coy Latimer for a 25-yard gain. Unfortunately, Latimer was injured on the play and left the field on a cart with a lower body injury. The Stallions’ Kenny Robinson was assessed a 15-yard personal foul penalty for his tackle on Latimer.
Dormady tossed the ball to Jontre Kirklin, who passed deep 36 yards to Justin Smith for a Brahmas touchdown. The one-point conversion failed, making the score 6-0 for San Antonio.
Jennings returned the Santoso kickoff to the Birmingham 35. Martinez rushed right for an 11-yard gain, and then kept the ball a second time for 7 more yards. A handoff to Ricky Person gained 2 yards, and then on third and 1, a handoff to Person resulted in him being pushed out of bounds after a 2-yard loss. The Stallions were forced to punt.
The Wadman punt was downed at the San Antonio 8-yard line. Chase Garbers handed to McFarland for a 5-yard gain, and then passed to Marquez Stevenson for 4 yards. On third and 1, Ellison rushed for 4 yards and a first down. Garbers scrambled for 8 yards before he went out of bounds, and then handed to McFarland for 2 yards and another first down.
Garbers passed to Stevenson for a 3-yard gain, and then handed to Ellison for a 2-yard loss as the first quarter ended.
A false start penalty pushed the Brahmas back 5 yards, and then Garbers could not complete a pass to Justin Smith, and the Brahmas were forced to punt.
Amari Rodgers returned the Brad Wing punt to the Birmingham 41. A deep pass to C. J. Marable on the sideline was not caught, and then Martinez handed to Marable for an 11-yard rush to move the chains. Martinez kept the ball and scrambled 17 yards to the San Antonio 32.
Martinez scrambled for a 5-yard gain, and then handed to Person for a 6-yard run and a first down on the San Antonio 21. A handoff to Person gained 3-yards, and then Martinez tossed to Marable who gained only 2 yards. On third down, a pass intended for Jordan Thomas fell incomplete. The Stallions settled for a 34-yard Ramiz Ahmed field goal to make the score 6-3 for San Antonio.
The Ahmed kickoff was returned by Pooka Williams to the San Antonio 42. Garbers handed to McFarland for a 5-yard gain, and then passed to Jontre Kirklin for a 34-yard gain to the Birmingham 19. Garbers passed to Smith for 4 yards, and then handed to McFarland for a 5-yard run. On third and 1, Garbers kept the ball and gained 4 yards for a Brahmas first down on the Stallions 6.
Garbers handed to Ellison for a 5 yard rush, and then another handoff to Ellison saw him leap into the end zone for a touchdown. The one-point conversion failed, making the score 12-3 for San Antonio.
Gary Jennings returned the Santoso kickoff to the Birmingham 32-yard line. Martinez passed to Marlon Williams for 10 yards and a first down, and then passed to Deon Cain for 10 yards and another first down. Martinez scrambled and passed to Williams for a 2-yard gain, and then a handoff to Person gained 2 more yards. On third and 6, a pass intended for Cain was well defended and fell incomplete. On fourth and 6, the Stallions punted.
The Wadman punt was downed on the 3-yard line. Garbers handed the ball to McFarland for a one-yard run as the two-minute warning was announced.
A pass to McFarland gained 3 yards, and then on third and 6, Garbers completed an 8-yard pass to Stevenson to move the markers. A pass to McFarland gained 6 yards, and then a 7-yard catch by Smith was good for another first down. Garbers could not complete a pass to Kirklin, and then a pass to McFarland gained 5 yards. On third and 5, Garbers passed 10-yards to Smith to move the chains to the San Antonio 43.
With 0:38 on the clock, Garbers passed deep left to Jontre Kirklin to put the ball on the Birmingham 37, and then handed to McFarland who was stuffed for a 1-yard loss. A one-handed catch by McFarland gained no yards, and then on third down, a pass to Kirklin gained 3 yards. With 0:03 remaining, Ryan Santoso attempted a 53-yard field goal, and the ball went off the uprights and out for no points.
At halftime, the score was San Antonio Brahmas 12, Birmingham Stallions 3.
The second half began with Jennings returning the Santoso kickoff to the Birmingham 45. Martinez could not complete a pass to Rodgers, and then threw to Jace Sternberger who tiptoed down the sideline for a 49-yard gain to the San Antonio 6. San Antonio head coach Wade Phillips challenged that Sternberger stepped out of bounds, but the challenge failed.
On first down from the 6-yard line, Martinez handed to Person and he was dropped for a 9-yard loss. Then, Martinez passed 15 yards to Sternberger, who caught the ball in the end zone for a Stallions touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt failed, making the score 12-9 for San Antonio.
Pooka Williams returned the Ahmed kickoff to the San Antonio 32. Garbers handed to McFarland for a 14-yard run, and then Garbers was sacked for a 9-yard loss. A pass to Landon Akers was well defended and not caught, and then on third and 17, a toss to Stevenson gained 11 yards to midfield. The Brahmas were forced to punt.
The Wing punt went into the end zone for a touchback, putting the ball on the Birmingham 25-yard line. Martinez rushed for 6 yards, and then passed to Williams for a 7-yard gain to move the markers. A pass intended for Williams was incomplete, and then a handoff to Person lost 3 yards. On third down, Martinez passed 15 yards to Williams for a first down at midfield.
A pass to Person fell incomplete, and then a handoff to Marable gained 6 yards. On third down, Martinez could not complete a pass and the Stallions were forced to punt.
The Wadman punt went into the end zone for a touchback, putting the ball on the San Antonio 25-yard line. Garbers handed to McFarland for a 5-yard run, and then his pass was batted down and fell incomplete. On third and 5, Garbers threw a pass to Kirklin on the sideline, but he dropped the ball. The Brahmas were forced to punt.
Amari Rodgers returned the Brad Wing punt to the Birmingham 24. A Martinez pass intended for Sternberger was nearly picked off, and then Martinez was sacked for a 5-yard loss. On third and 15, a 9-yard pass to Sternberger was short of a first down, and the Stallions were forced to punt.
Stevenson returned the Wadman punt to the San Antonio 34. Chase Garbers handed to McFarland for a 2-yard run, and then passed 9 yards to Kirklin to move the markers as the third quarter ended.
A handoff to McFarland gained 16 yards, and then Garbers could not complete a deep pass to Stevenson. McFarland rushed for 15 more yards and another first down, and then a handoff to Ellison was stuffed for no gain. Then, a 12-yard pass to Alize Mack moved the markers to the Birmingham 11.
A pass intended for McFarland fell incomplete, but the Brahmas were penalized 5 yards for an illegal formation. Another handoff to McFarland gained no yards, and then McFarland made a one-handed catch for a 16-yard touchdown. Unfortunately for the Brahmas, an offensive pass interference penalty negated the touchdown and pushed the Brahmas back 10 yards. On second and 26, Garbers handed to Ellison for no gain, and then Garbers passed deep to Landon Akers which drew a 15-yard personal foul penalty on Kenny Robinson who was defending the pass.
With first and 10 on the 12-yard line, a handoff to McFarland gained 3 yards, and then a 9-yard run by Morgan Ellison scored a Brahmas touchdown. The one-point conversion failed, making the score 18-9 for San Antonio.
Gary Jennings returned the Santoso kickoff to the Birmingham 32. Martinez passed 14-yards to Cain for a first down, and then was sacked for a 5-yard loss. A pass to Sternberger gained 10 yards to midfield, and then her could not complete a pass to Cain streaking down the sideline. The Stallions were forced to punt.
The Wadman punt was returned by Stevenson to the San Antonio 10-yard line. With 5:49 remaining, Garbers handed to Ellison for no gain, and then a handoff to Pooka Williams gained 4 yards. On third and 6, a pass intended for Smith drew a defensive pass interference penalty to give the Brahmas a first down on their own 21-yard line.
A handoff to Ellison lost one yard, and then another handoff to Ellison gained no yards, but a defensive holding call pushed the Brahmas back 10 yards. As the clock was running down, on second and 20, Ellison ran for no gain, and then Garbers handed to Pooka Williams who was tackled for a short loss. Another defensive holding call was declined as the two minute warning was announced.
The Brahmas were forced to punt from deep in their own end. The Brad Wing punt went 64-yards and was downed on the Stallions 24-yard line. Martinez passed 15 yards to Rodgers, and then a pass to Austin fell incomplete. Martinez was pressured and scrambled up the middle for 16 yards to the San Antonio 45.
A 5-yard false start penalty was caused by crowd noise, and then the Stallions took a time out with 1:07 remaining. Martinez was pressured and had to throw the ball away. On second and 15, Martinez completed a 7-yard pass to Williams, and then passed 16 yards to Sternberger for a first down on the San Antonio 27.
With 0:46 remaining, another pass to Sternberger gained 6 yards, and then Martinez faced good pressure and managed to escape and pass toward the end zone. Unfortunately for the Stallions, his pass was intercepted by Teez Tabor on the San Antonio 2-yard line.
With 0:22 remaining, the Brahmas went into victory formation and ran out the clock.
The final score was San Antonio Brahmas 18, Birmingham Stallions 9.
Box Score
SCORE BY QUARTER
TEAM 1 2 3 4 T
BIR 0 3 6 0 9
SAN 6 6 0 6 18
BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS
Birmingham Stallions Passing
# PLAYER C-A YDS TD I C% RTG
09 Martinez, Adrian 18-32 211 1 1 56 115.7
Birmingham Stallions Rushing
# PLAYER ATT YDS TD LNG AVG
09 Martinez, Adrian 5 56 0 17 11.2
11 Marable, C.J. 2 17 0 11 8.5
17 Williams, Marlon 1 6 0 6 6
23 Person Jr., Ricky 7 -1 0 6 -0.1
Birmingham Stallions Receiving
# PLAYER NO YDS TD LNG TGT YAC
12 Sternberger, Jace 7 110 1 49 9 42
17 Williams, Marlon 5 42 0 15 6 16
03 Rodgers, Amari 3 35 0 20 6 5
08 Cain, Deon 2 22 0 12 4 3
11 Marable, C.J. 1 2 0 2 2 5
81 Thomas, Jordan 0 0 0 0 1 0
23 Person Jr., Ricky 0 0 0 0 1 0
80 Austin Jr., Kevin 0 0 0 0 1 0
Birmingham Stallions Defense
# Player (Starter) TotTk Solo Sack TFL Int BrUp FF
47 Gates, DeMarquis (LB) 9 7 1 1 0 0 1
31 Tezino, Kyahva (OLB) 8 6 0 2 0 1 0
36 Harper, Madre (CB) 5 5 0 0 0 0 0
51 Lloyd, Damon 4 2 0 0 0 0 0
14 Clarke, Nevelle (DB) 4 4 0 0 0 0 0
24 Robinson Jr, Kenny(SAF) 4 2 0 0 0 0 0
32 Thomas, A.J. (SAF) 3 2 0 0 0 0 0
97 Yarbary, Willie 3 1 0 0 0 0 0
96 Davis, Carlos (NT) 3 3 1 1 0 0 0
22 Burns, Lorenzo 3 1 0 0 0 0 0
58 Wilson, Marvin 3 3 0 1 0 0 0
20 Carter, TJ 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
29 Brown, Ike 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
54 Charlton, Taco 2 1 0 0 0 0 0
99 Tillman, Dondrea (DE) 2 2 0 0 0 1 0
19 Isom, Daniel (CB) 2 2 1 1 0 0 0
94 Thompson, Jordan (DE) 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
50 Garvin, Jonathan (DE) 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
12 Sternberger, Jace 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
08 Cain, Deon 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
52 Hall, Maalik 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
81 Thomas, Jordan 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 Ahmed, Ramiz 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Birmingham Stallions All Purpose Yards
Player Tot Rush Rec KOR PR IR-FR TDs
Sternberger, Jace 110 0 110 0 0 0 1
Jennings, Gary 98 0 0 98 0 0 0
Martinez, Adrian 56 56 0 0 0 0 0
Birmingham Stallions Punting
Punter NO YDS AVG LNG I20
Wadman, Colby 6 252 42.0 44 2
Birmingham Stallions Kick Returns
Returner NO YDS AVG LNG TD
Jennings, Gary 4 98 25 28 0
Birmingham Stallions Punt Returns
Returner NO YDS AVG LNG TD
Rodgers, Amari 2 21 11 12 0
Birmingham Stallions Field Goals
Kicker Time Dist Result
Ahmed, Ramiz 2nd-9:17 34 GOOD
TOTAL 1-1 LONG OF 34
SAN ANTONIO BRAHMAS
San Antonio Brahmas Passing
# PLAYER C-A YDS TD I C% RTG
14 Garbers, Chase 16-23 139 0 0 70 120.3
12 Dormady, Quinten 3-4 44 0 0 75 167.4
13 Kirklin, Jontre 1-1 36 1 0 100 732.4
San Antonio Brahmas Rushing
# PLAYER ATT YDS TD LNG AVG
41 McFarland, Anthony 15 82 0 16 5.5
27 Ellison, Morgan 12 30 2 9 2.5
14 Garbers, Chase 4 10 0 8 2.5
17 Williams, Jr., Pook 2 5 0 4 2.5
San Antonio Brahmas Receiving
# PLAYER NO YDS TD LNG TGT YAC
41 McFarland, Anthony 6 34 0 12 6 50
13 Kirklin, Jontre 4 66 0 34 7 34
10 Smith, Justin 4 56 1 36 6 13
05 Stevenson, Marquez 4 26 0 11 5 16
03 Latimer, Cody 1 25 0 25 1 0
88 Mack, Alize 1 12 0 12 1 13
82 Akers, Landen 0 0 0 0 2 0
San Antonio Brahmas Defense
# Player (Starter) TotTk Solo Sack TFL Int BrUp FF
23 Mosley, Jordan (SAF) 8 7 0 1 0 0 0
11 Beckett, Tavante (LB) 7 4 0 0 0 0 0
01 Thompson, Bryce (CB) 5 4 0 0 0 0 0
29 Hendy, A.J. (DB) 5 3 0 1 0 0 0
32 Keyes, BoPete (CB) 4 3 0 0 0 1 0
91 Nelson, Garrett 3 2 0.5 1 0 0 0
44 Morton, Zach 3 0 0.5 0 0 0 0
98 Emili, Prince (DT) 3 1 0 0 0 0 0
02 Phillips, Darius (CB) 3 2 0 0 0 2 1
92 Twyman, Jaylen 2 1 1 1 0 0 0
45 Scott, Delontae (OLB) 2 2 1 1 0 0 0
21 Nelson, Scott 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
28 Mayfield Jr., Corey 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
40 Barnes, Robert 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
99 Patton, Caeveon (DT) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 Smith, Justin 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
82 Akers, Landen 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
25 Anyalebechi, Kelech 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
22 Tabor, Teez 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
San Antonio Brahmas All Purpose Yards
Player Tot Rush Rec KOR PR IR-FR TDs
McFarland, Anthony 116 82 34 0 0 0 0
Williams, Jr., Pook 68 5 0 63 0 0 0
Kirklin, Jontre 66 0 66 0 0 0 0
San Antonio Brahmas Punting
Punter NO YDS AVG LNG I20
Wing, Brad 4 214 53.5 64 0
San Antonio Brahmas Kick Returns
Returner NO YDS AVG LNG TD
Williams, Jr., Pook 3 63 21 29 0
San Antonio Brahmas Punt Returns
Returner NO YDS AVG LNG TD
Stevenson, Marquez 3 23 08 13 0
San Antonio Brahmas Field Goals
Kicker Time Dist Result
Santoso, Ryan 2nd-00:00 53 MISS
TOTAL 0-1 LONG OF 0
GAME COMPARISON
STAT BIR SAN
Total Yds 278 329
Pass Yds 200 202
Rush Yds 78 127
Penalties 7-78 5-35
1st Downs 15 24
3rd Downs 3-10 5-11
4th Downs 0-0 0-0
Total Plays 50 64
Avg Yds/Play 5.6 5.1
Avg Yds/Completion 11.1 10.1
Avg Yds/Rush 5.2 3.8
Sack-Adj Rush Yd(Avg) 89 (7.4) 144 (4.8)
Red Zone 1-2 2-3
Time of Poss 27:49 32:11
Turnovers (Def Pts Off) 1 (0) 1 (0)
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-1
Sacks (Def Yds) 3.0 (17.0) 3.0 (11.0)
TFL (Def Yds) 6 (15.0) 5 (23.0)
Alt. Kickoffs 0-0 0-0
