The inaugural UFL season reached its midway point, and this week’s game featured a clash between the undefeated Birmingham Stallions and the less successful Memphis Showboats. In this USFL Conference rivalry matchup, the Stallions were aiming to maintain their dominance, while Memphis was in desperate need of a win to stay in postseason contention.
Memphis was looking to avenge a 33-14 loss at the hands of the Stallions in Birmingham in Week 3. Meanwhile, Birmingham was 5-0 and coming off back-to-back USFL Championship seasons, whereas Memphis has lost its last four since winning the opener.
Birmingham Stallions kicker Ramiz Ahmed kicked off 68 yards and Titus Swen returned the ball to the Memphis 36. On first down, Memphis Showboats quarterback Case Cookus was sacked for a 7-yard loss. Cookus passed to Daewood Davis for 15 yards, and then passed to Vinny Papale for 6 more yards and a first down.
Cookus handed to Darius Victor for a 1-yard rush, and then handed again to Victor for 6 yards more. A 12-yard pass to Jonathan Adams moved the markers to the Birmingham 31. Cookus passed to Davis for 2 yards, and then Cookus was swarmed and strip sacked with the ball recovered by Carlos Davis.
Birmingham Stallions quarterback Adrian Martinez started on his own 33-yard line. A pass to Deon Cain fell incomplete, and then a handoff to Ricky Person lost 5 yards. On third and 15, Martinez was pressured and threw an incomplete pass. The Stallions were forced to punt.
Vinny Papale returned the punt to the Memphis 41. Cookus handed to Victor for 2 yards, and then Cookus was pressured and had to throw the ball away. On third and 8, the Showboats were charged with a delay of game penalty, making it third and 13. Cookus could not find a receiver, but a defensive holding penalty gave Memphis a first down.
Cookus handed to Victor for a 6-yard run, and then went back to Victor for 7 more yards and a first down at the Birmingham 40. A deep pass to Daewood Davis along the sideline was thrown out-of-bounds, and then Cookus passed to Davis up the middle for a 16-yard gain. A screen pass to Papale made 9 yards, and then Cookus flipped the ball to Lee Morris but he lost 7 yards. On second and 17, Cookus passed to Wes Saxton for 11 yards, and then Birmingham took a neutral zone infraction for a 5-yard penalty. On third and 2, Memphis was called for a false start, and then Cookus passed across the middle to Sage Surratt in the end zone. The one-point conversion failed, making the score 6-0 for Memphis.
The Matt Coughlin kickoff was returned by Deon Cain to the Birmingham 25-yard line. Martinez handed to Person for no gain, and then was forced out of bounds for a 1-yard loss. On third and 11, Martinez passed 37 yards to Deon Cain on the sideline as the first quarter ended.
Martinez handed to Person for no gain, and then passed 19 yards to Jace Sternberger on the Memphis 19-yard line. A handoff to Person gained 2 yards, and then Martinez connected a pass to Cain in the end zone, but Cain was out of bounds. On third and 8, a 12-yard pass to Amari Rodgers moved the markers. Then, Martinez handed to Ricky Person for a 5-yard rush and a Stallions touchdown. The two-point conversion succeeded on a 5-yard pass to Jordan Thomas, making the score 8-6 for Birmingham.
The Ahmed kickoff was returned by Swen to the Memphis 33. Cookus handed to Victor for 1 yard, and then passed to Papale for an 8-yard gain. A 4-yard rush by Victor moved the chains. Cookus passed to Victor for a 7-yard gain, and another run by Victor only gained one yard. On third and 2, Cookus was pressured and threw an incomplete pass, however he was called for intentional grounding on the play, and the Showboats were forced to punt. The Matt White punt was bobbled by Gary Jennings, and he had the down the ball on his own 12-yard line with no return.
Martinez passed to Binjimen Victor for a 10 yard gain, and then passed to Marlon Williams for 9 yards. A 15-yard rush by C.J. Marable gave Birmingham a first down. Then, a one-handed catch by Jordan Thomas gained 32 yards, putting the ball on the Memphis 22-yard line.
A swing pass to Marable gained 7-yards, and then a handoff to Marable only gained 1 yard. On third and 2, Martinez rolled out and passed 8 yards to Marcus Baugh. Then, a 4-yard pass to Marable scored another Birmingham touchdown. The two-point conversion was good on a 5-yard pass to Jordan Thomas, making the score 16-6 for the Stallions.
Swen returned the Ahmed kickoff to the Memphis 40. A pass to Adams gained 18 yards, and then a handoff to Victor was good for 7 yards. Cookus handed to Victor again for 3 yards and a first down. Cookus passed to Victor for a 3-yard gain as the two minute warning was announced.
A pass to Davis on the sideline was well-defended and fell incomplete. On third and 7, Case Cookus could not connect a pass to Adams, and the Showboats settled for a 47-yard Matt Coughlin field goal to make the score 16-9 for Birmingham.
The Coughlin kickoff was returned by Cain to his own 29-yard line. Adrian Martinez passed to Marable for 2 yards, and then ran for 8 yards and a first down. Martinez connected a 13-yard pass to Kevin Austin and then passed again to Austin for 7 more yards. Martinez was pressured and had to throw the ball away, and then on third and 3, Martinez could not complete a long pass to Williams. The Stallions setup to punt but ran the fake, which Memphis stopped, giving them the ball on the Memphis 38 with 0:48 remaining in the half.
On first down, Case Cookus was hit and fumbled the ball, with the Stallions recovering the fumble on the Memphis 38. Martinez passed to Victor for a 6-yard gain, and then a catch by Ricky Person made 4 yards. Then, Martinez passed down the seam to Marlon Williams for a 28-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, making the score 22-9 for Birmingham.
The Ahmed kickoff was returned by Swen to the Memphis 30. Cookus passed to Victor for no gain as the clock ran out. The score at halftime was Birmingham 22, Memphis 9.
The second half began with a Matt Coughlin kickoff which was returned by Gary Jennings to his own 40. A holding penalty during the return put the ball on the Birmingham 25-yard line. A handoff to Marable gained no yards, and then a Martinez pass to Austin fell incomplete. On third down, Martinez was pressure and nearly sacked, and he had to throw the ball away. The Stallions punted.
The punt was returned by Jaray Elder to the Memphis 45. Cookus passed to Victor, but the ball fell incomplete, and then he passed to Adams for a 6-yard gain. On third and 4, Cookus was pressured and had to throw the ball away. The Showboats were forced to punt.
The punt went out of bounds at the Birmingham 20-yard line. Martinez passed incomplete to Binjimen Victor, and then passed 15-yards to Sternberger. A screen pass to Williams gained 9 yards, and then a handoff to Person gained 7 yards for a first down. Martinez rushed 14 yards to the Memphis 30-yard line, and then handed to Person for 2 yards more. A pass to Baugh was dropped and nearly intercepted, and then on third and 8, Martinez could not complete a pass to Sternberger, who was well-defended. The Stallions settle for a 45-yard Ahmed field goal to make the score 25-9 for Birmingham.
The Ahmed kickoff was returned by Titus Swen to the Memphis 41. Cookus handed to Victor for 1 yard, and then went back to Victor for only 3 yards more. On third and 6, a pass to Papale fell incomplete, and the Showboats were forced to punt.
The punt was downed on the Birmingham 6-yard line. A handoff to Marable gained 5 yards, and another run by Marable gained 9 yards and a first down. Adrian Martinez passed deep down field to Kevin Austin Jr. who hauled in the pass and then ran for a 79-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, making the score 31-9 for Birmingham.
The kickoff was returned by Swen to the Memphis 35. Backup quarterback Troy Williams came in for the Showboats, and he passed 6 yards to Papale. On second down, Williams rushed for 8 yards to move the markers. A pass intended for Surratt was incomplete, and then a pass to Davis gained 4 yards. On third and 5, a pass downfield was incomplete to Adams, however a defensive pass interference penalty gave Memphis a first down on the Birmingham 32 as the third quarter ended.
Troy Williams passed deep for Daewood Davis in the end zone by the ball sailed over his head, and then attempted a pass to Davis that was nearly intercepted. On third and 10, a pass to Davis was good for only 5 yards, and the Showboats settled for a 45-yard Coughlin field goal to make the score 31-12 for Birmingham.
The Coughlin kickoff was returned by Jennings to the 40-yard line, but a blind-side block penalty placed the ball on the Birmingham 18. Martinez passed to Cain for 8 yards, and then handed to Person for 6 yards and a first down. Then, Martinez passed 33 yards to Marcus Baugh on the Memphis 31-yard line.
Martinez scrambled for 1 yard, and then a pass to Marable fell incomplete. On third and 9, a pass to Cain was well-defended and could not be caught. The Stallions settled for a 48-yard Ahmed field goal attempt which narrowly missed to the right.
Memphis started on their own 38-yard line. On first down, a Troy Williams pass was intercepted by Kenny Robinson and returned to the Memphis 50-yard line.
Martinez’s first down pass fell incomplete, and then a pass to Marable gained no yards. On third and 10, Martinez’s pass was nearly picked off. However, a defensive interference penalty gave the Stallions a first down on the Memphis 28
Martinez passed to Austin for 7 yards, and then handed to Person for 5 yards and a first down. Martinez kept the ball and ran for 4 yards, and then passed short to Marlon Williams who ran 12 yards for the touchdown. On the two-point conversion, another 5-yard pass to Jordan Thomas was successful, making the score 39-12 for the Stallions.
Titus Swen returned the Ahmed kickoff to the Memphis 47. Williams passed 9 yards to Morris, and then rolled out of the pocket and ran for 4 yards and a first down. Williams was pressured and flipped the ball to Swen who made 6 yards. A pass intended for Morris was dropped, and then another pass intended for Morris was incomplete. On fourth and 4, Williams passed deep to Dee Anderson for a 34-yard Showboats touchdown. The three-point conversion was good on a 10-yard pass to Anderson, making the score 39-21 for Birmingham.
Instead of an onside kick, the Showboats opted to attempt a 4th and 12 play from their own 28-yard line. Williams passed to Wes Saxton, but he was well-covered and the pass was dropped.
Martinez handed to Person for a 30-yard gain as the two-minute warning was announced.
Martinez handed to Person for a short 2-yard run, and then a handoff to Marlon Williams gained 13 yards and a first down. The Stallions were able to go into victory formation and run out the clock.
The final score was Birmingham Stallions 39, Memphis Showboats 21.
