Chase Garbers #14 of the San Antonio Brahmas runs against Dondrea Tillman #99 of the Birmingham Stallions during the first quarter of the UFL Championship Game at The Dome at America’s Center on June 16, 2024 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Scott Rovak/UFL/Getty Images)
UFL Championship, Birmingham Stallions (10-1) vs San Antonio Brahmas (8-3)
Week twelve of the 2024 United Football League season, brought us the inaugural UFL Championship game featuring the USFL and XFL Conference Champions. To get to this game, last week the Birmingham Stallions defeated the Michigan Panthers 31-18, while the San Antonio Brahmas defeated the St. Louis Battlehawks 25-15.
This was the second game between the two franchises, with the Brahmas handing the Stallions their only loss of the season back in Week 9 with a score of 18-9.
Not only does Birmingham have the opportunity to avenge their only loss of the regular season against San Antonio, the Stallions will also be going for a historic three-peat. The last franchise to win three straight titles in the NFL, NBA, MLB, or NHL was when the Los Angeles Lakers accomplished the feat 22 years ago, in 2002.
The Chris Blewitt kickoff went 72 yards and was returned by San Antonio’s Marquez Stevenson to the Brahmas 22-yard line. Quarterback Chase Garbers passed short right to Anthony McFarland for 6 yards, and then handed to John Lovett for a gain of 2 yards. On third and 2, Garbers rushed for two yards and a first down.
Garbers passed to Jontre Kirlin for a 5-yard gain, and then handed to McFarland for a short gain of one yard. On third and 4, Garbers completed a 4-yard pass to Kirklin for another first down.
A handoff to Morgan Ellison gained 2 yards, and then a handoff to McFarland was called back by an offensive holding penalty. On second and 18, a Garbers pass fell incomplete, and then a handoff to Ellison only gained 6 yards. The Brahmas were forced to punt.
The Brad Wing punt went into the end zone for a touchback, and a Stallions’ 10-yard holding call was tacked on to put the ball on the Birmingham 15-yard line. Quarterback Adrian Martinez handed to Ricky Person for a 6-yard rush, and then handed again to Person for 4 yards and a first down. Another handoff to Person gained 2 yards, and then a 3-yard pass to Jace Sternberger made it third and five. Martinez could not complete a pass intended for Kevin Austin and the Stallions were forced to punt.
The Chris Wadman punt was returned by Marquez Stevenson to the San Antonio 29. Garbers handed to McFarland for no gain, and then passed to Calvin Turner for a gain of 6 yards. A handoff to McFarland gained no yards, and the Brahmas were forced to punt.
The Brad Wing punt was returned by Amari Rodgers to the Birmingham 29. Martinez passed short right to Marlon Williams for a gain of 3, and then passed to Sternberger for 5 more yards. On third and 2, a pass intended for Austin fell incomplete and the Stallions were forced to punt.
The Wadman punt was downed on the San Antonio 7-yard line. Garbers completed a short pass to Kirklin for a gain of 4 yards, and then scrambled for 5 yards. ON third and one, San Antonio took a delay of game penalty, forcing them back 5 yards, and then a 9-yard catch by McFarland moved the markers as the first quarter ended.
The second quarter began with no points on the scoreboard. Garbers passed to Kirklin for a gain of 5 yards, however he fumbled, with his teammate Calvin Turner recovering the ball. Garbers passed to Stevenson for a gain of 17 yards to move the markers to the San Antonio 43. A handoff to McFarland gained 3 yards, and then Garbers threw two incomplete passes to end the drive. The Brahmas were forced to punt.
The Brad Wing punt was taken by Rodgers via a fair catch at the Birmingham 11. A pass intended for Gary Jennings fell incomplete, and then Martinez scrambled left for a gain of 6. A pass to Binjimen Victor was ruled a catch, but upon review it was deemed out-of-bounds, and the Stallions were forced to punt.
The Wadman punt was returned by Stevenson to the San Antonio 41-yard line. Garbers handed to McFarland for no gain, and then passed to Stevenson for a gain of 5 yards. A pass intended for Kirklin fell incomplete and the Brahmas were forced to punt.
The Brad Wing punt was taken by Rodgers via a fair catch at the Birmingham 11. Martinez rushed for 11 yards, and then a pass to Williams fell incomplete. A handoff to C.J. Marable gained 2 yards, and then a pass to Sternberger gained 9 yards and moved the chains. Martinez handed to Person for a 3-yard gain, and then a 19-yard catch by Williams resulted in a fumble that was recovered by San Antonio’s Jordan Wiliams at the Brahma’s 46-yard line. A San Antonio unsportsmanlike conduct penalty moved the ball back to the Brahmas 32.
Garbers passed incomplete short right intended for Kirklin, and then passed to McFarland for a gain of 8 yards. On third and 2, a 1-yard catch by Alize Mack was not enough for a first down, and the Brahmas were forced to punt.
The Brad Wing punt was returned by Rodgers to the Birmingham 16. Martinez handed to Person for a 10-yard gain, and then went back to Person who broke open a 44-yard run to the San Antonio 30. A Marable rush was stuffed for a one-yard loss as the two-minute warning was announced.
Martinez could not complete a pass to Rodgers, but a 15-yard defensive pass interference penalty moved the markers to the San Antonio 16. Martinez rushed up the middle for 3 yards, and then handed to Person for a 5-yard gain. On third and 2, Martinez passed short right to Gary Jennings for an 8-yard touchdown. On the two-point conversion attempt, San Antonio was penalized for too many men on the field and the attempt was granted from the 2-yard line. A pass to Rodgers was good, to make the score 8-0 for Birmingham.
The Chris Blewitt kickoff was returned by Stevenson to the San Antonio 30. Garbers handed to McFarland for an 11-yard gain, and then attempted a pass to McFarland that fell incomplete. A pass to Justin Smith gained 3 yards, and then a pass to Turner gained 8-yards and moved the markers to the San Antonio 44.
With time running down, Garbers passed short left to Turner who ran for a gain of 17 yards where he fumbled. The ball was recovered by Birmingham’s Kyahva Tezino as the first half ended.
The second half began with a 74-yard Ryan Santoso kickoff that was returned by Deon Cain to the Birmingham 36. Martinez passed to Williams for a gain of 6 yards, and then passed 6 yards to Cain to move the markers. A handoff to Rodgers gained 11 yards to the San Antonio 41, and then a long run by Person gained another 17 yards. Martinez then passed to Williams for an 8-yard gain, and then he scrambled up the middle for a 3-yard gain and a first down on the San Antonio 13.
A handoff to Marable gained 2 yards, and then Martinez ran the ball to the left for an 11-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion succeeded on a pass to Jordan Thomas, making the score 16-0 for Birmingham.
The Blewitt kickoff was returned by Stevenson to the San Antonio 19. Garbers passed short left to Kirklin for a 5-yard gain, but Kirklin fumbled. The ball was recovered by Birmingham’s Kenny Robinson and returned to the San Antonio 24.
Martinez pass short left to Jennings for a gain of 11 yards. A handoff to Marable gained 10 yards, and then Martinez went back to Marable for a 2-yard rush. Martinez threw an incomplete pass, and then handed to Person for no gain. On fourth and 1, Martinez rushed for a one-yard touchdown, but was stopped short. On review, it was determined he had broken the plane of the goal line, and a touchdown was awarded. The two-point conversion failed, and the score was now 22-0 for Birmingham.
The Blewitt kickoff was returned by Stevenson to the San Antonio 31. Garbers handed to McFarland for an 11-yard gain, and then a pass intended for McFarland fell incomplete. Another McFarland rush gained only 2 yards, and then another pass to McFarland was not caught. The Brahmas were forced to punt.
The Brad Wing punt was taken via a fair catch by Rodgers to the Birmingham 14. Martinez handed to Marable for a 2-yard gain, and then a pass intended for Austin fell incomplete. On third and 8, a two-yard pass to Sternberger was not enough, and the Stallions punted.
The Wadman punt was returned by Stevenson to the San Antonio 34. Garbers was sacked for a 2-yard loss, and then a pass to McFarland gained 11 yards. On third and one, Garbers rushed for no gain, and then on fourth and 1, Garbers completed a pass to Mack for no gain. The Brahmas turned the ball over on downs.
From his own 47-yard line, Martinez handed to Person for a 3-yard run, and then Martinez scrambled right for a 10-yard gain to the San Antonio 40 as the third quarter ended.
Martinez passed to Person for a 4-yard gain, and then scrambled for a 1-yard gain. On third and 5, a Martinez pass fell incomplete. On fourth down, a San Antonio too many men penalty gave the Stallions a first down on the San Antonio 30.
A Martinez pass to Person fell incomplete, and then a pass intended for Sternberger was well-defended and not caught. However, Sternberger punched the defender and was penalized 15-yards for unnecessary roughness on the play. On third and 25, a pass to Thomas gained 14 yards, and the Stallions settled for a 49-yard Chris Blewitt field goal to make the score 25-0 for Birmingham.
The Blewitt kickoff was returned by Stevenson to the San Antonio 30. Quentin Dormady entered the game for San Antonio. His first pass intended for Turner fell incomplete, and then he handed to McFarland for no gain. On third and 10, Dormady passed to K.D. Cannon for a 23-yard catch to move the markers.
Dormady passed short right to Turner for a 10-yard gain, and then handed to Morgan Ellison for a 3-yard run. A pass to Stevenson gained 12 yards, and then Dormady was pressured and had to throw the ball away. A pass to Cannon gained 3 yards, and then on third and 7, a pass to Turner gained 8 yards and another first down.
A handoff to McFarland gained 5 yards to the Birmingham 6-yard line, and then Dormady was sacked for a 16-yard loss. On third and 21, Dormady handed to McFarland for a 2-yard run, and then on fourth down a pass to Turner fell incomplete. San Antonio head coach Wade Phillips challenged the play, and his challenge failed. The ball was turned over on downs.
Starting from his own 20-yard line, Martinez handed to Marable for a 14-yard rush, and then handed to Person for a 1-yard gain. Another handoff to Person gained 5 yards, and then an unnecessary roughness penalty against Birmingham’s Sternberger was offset by a similar penalty against San Antonio’s Bryce Thompson.
On third and 4, Martinez rushed 8 yards to move the sticks. A handoff to Marable gained 6 yards as the two-minute warning was announced.
The Stallions attempted to run out the clock by handing to Person for a 3-yard run, and then to Marable for a 5-yard rush and a first down. A three-yard rush was followed by Martinez going into victory formation until time ran out.
The final score was Birmingham Stallions 25, San Antonio Brahmas 0.
