The Philadelphia Stars (0-1) started their 2022 USFL season late Sunday afternoon at Protective Stadium against the New Orleans Breakers (1-0).
Philadelphia got the ball to start the game. On the game’s first snap, both offensive lineman Gunner Vogel and running back Darnell Holland missed their assignments, and Davin Bellamy sacked Bryan Scott.
This set the tone for the Stars’ offense, which struggled to protect Scott. Scott was sacked six times in the game, three of them by Davin Bellamy. On the Stars’ second possession of the game, Bryan Scott’s pass was intercepted by Breakers’ linebacker Vontae Diggs and returned for a 37-yard touchdown, putting New Orleans up 7-0.
The Breakers sacked Scott for the third time, which pinned the Stars at their own seven-yard line. The Stars then tried to punt the ball, but Chad Williams blocked it. The ball went out of bounds for a safety, making it 9-0 Breakers.
The Stars did not score their first touchdown until the late second quarter with 58 seconds left on an 11-play drive for 79 yards. Bryan Scott threw a ten-yard touchdown pass to tight end Bug Howard. The Breakers led 9-7 at halftime.
The Stars got the ball back in the second half after cornerback Channing Stribling intercepted Kyle Sloter’s pass. The Stars were able to get to the Breakers’ 19-yard line, where kicker Matt Mengel made a 38-yard field goal giving the Stars a 10-9 lead.
However, the Breakers came right back late in the third quarter on a six-play drive for 58 yards when running back T.J. Logan Jr. rushed for a 12-yard touchdown, making it 15-10. In the USFL, teams can go for one, two, or three points. The Breakers chose two and converted it, making it 17-10.
On the next Stars possession, they got the lead back. Philadelphia running back Darnell Holland broke through the Breakers’ defense and rushed for a 42-yard touchdown, tying the game at 17 apiece.
In the fourth quarter, New Orleans went ahead 23-17 on a nine-play drive for 63 yards. The drive ended with Breakers’ running back Jordan Ellis rushing for a two-yard touchdown. However, they missed the extra point.
On the next drive, the Stars were able to get to the Breakers’ 26-yard line. But, for the second time, kicker Matt Mengel missed a 44-yard field goal. The game would’ve been tied had Mengel made those two field goals.
Late in the game, the Breakers had the ball with 1:49 left, facing a third-and-two and going for a hard count. It worked as Stars defensive lineman Michael Barnett was called for offsides that ended the game, and the Breakers won 23-17.
Stars quarterback Bryan Scott had a decent game. He went 25/36 for 202 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. However, one of Scott’s weaknesses was his judgment of where to throw the ball. He made some bad throws, including overthrowing his receivers and not giving them a chance to catch the ball.
Sizing up his performance, he hit the receivers’ numbers a couple of times, but they could not catch the ball. You couldn’t blame Scott for those throws because he had no offensive line to protect him. Instead, he threw many short passes that saved him from getting hit.
The strength of this Stars team is their running game. Darnell Holland had nine carries for 52 yards and one touchdown. Matt Colburn II had nine carries for 14 yards and was second in receiving with four catches for 43 yards.
Stars wide receiver Chris Rowland was Scott’s go-to receiver with seven catches for 74 yards, and Diondre Overton had two catches for 34 yards. They need to get Overton more involved in the next game. The Stars’ defense did not record a sack but had one interception and five pass breakups. Philadelphia had a total of 246 yards and led the time of possession at 34:50.
For the Breakers, quarterback Kyle Sloter was 17/27 for 150 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. The running back duo of T.J. Logan Jr. and Jordan Ellis combined for 33 carries totaling 145 yards and two touchdowns.
Tight end Sal Cannella led the Breakers’ receivers with six catches for 58 yards. In addition to six sacks, the defense had one interception, one touchdown, and three pass breakups.
The Stars play the Pittsburgh Maulers next Saturday at noon on FOX. Tickets for the game can be purchased thanks to our friends at StubHub.
