On Friday night, the Philadelphia Stars (2-2) took on the Michigan Panthers (1-3) from Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama. Case Cookus was the new starting quarterback for the Stars after Bryan Scott was injured last week and is out for the foreseeable future.
The Stars’ offense got off to a good start on a 14-play drive for 55-yards to the Panthers’ three-yard line. Instead of going for it on fourth down, the Stars sent Matt Mengel to kick a 21-yard field. Mengal made the field goal, putting the Stars up 3-0.
On the Michigan Panthers’ first drive of the game, the Stars’ defense could not stop the run. However, Panthers’ quarterback Shea Patterson’s pass was intercepted by Channing Stribling with 2:19 left in the first quarter. It was Stribling’s second interception of the season. The Stars led 3-0 after one quarter.
At the start of the second quarter, the Stars extended their lead. Stars’ quarterback Case Cookus threw a nice deep ball down the middle to wide receiver Devin Gray for a 39-yard touchdown. Matt Mengel made the extra point, and the Stars’ lead was now 10-0.
The Stars’ defense continued to let the Panthers run all over them. Michigan marched down the field on an eight-play drive for 29-yards to Philadelphia’s four-yard line. The Panthers could not get to the endzone and settled for a 22-yard field goal by Michael Carrizosa, cutting the Stars’ lead 10-3.
The Stars’ offense gave the ball back to the Panthers after running back Paul Terry fumbled the ball, recovered by Michigan on the Stars’ 46-yard line.
Michigan marched down to the Stars’ nine-yards line. Panthers’ quarterback Shea Patterson rushed for a nine-yard touchdown, and Michael Carrizosa missed the extra point, cutting the Stars lead to 10-9 with 5:27 left in the second quarter.
On the Stars’ next possession, Case Cookus’ pass was intercepted by Panthers’ safety Sean Williams Jr. It was an ill-advised throw by Cookus, who overthrew Jordan Suell.
The turnover led to a Panthers touchdown. From the Panthers’ 12-yard line, running back Reggie Corbin rushed for an 88-yard touchdown. The Panthers’ offense opened a hole on the right side, allowing Corbin to sprint for the touchdown.
The defense at this point was atrocious. They could not stop anything, and the stops they were getting were self-inflicted wounds by the Panthers’ offense. The Panthers went for a two-point conversion and got it for a 17-10 lead.
On the next Stars’ possession, Philadelphia got to the Panthers’ 30-yard line and went for a field goal on fourth-and-four. The Stars probably could’ve gotten the first down. Instead, Matt Mengel missed a 48-yard field goal, keeping the game 17-10 Panthers. The Stars’ offense would get one more chance after Jordan Moore intercepted Shea Patterson’s pass.
The Stars took advantage of the turnover, and Case Cookus made another great pass down the field to Diondre Overton for a 41-yard touchdown. Matt Mengel made the extra point, and the game was now tied 17-17 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Stars were able to take a 20-17 lead on a 44-yard field goal by Matt Mengel. Then, the Stars’ defense picked off Patterson for the third time by Channing Stribling. He read the coverage perfectly and intercepted the ball close to the sidelines, keeping both feet inbounds for his second interception of the night. However, after the play, Stribling was injured.
His turnover would lead to another field goal by Matt Mengel, this time for 30-yards, and the Stars led 23-17 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Panthers took their time to get into the endzone in the fourth quarter. They ran a 13-play drive for 69-yards, ending with a Shea Patterson pass to Joe Walker for an eleven-yard touchdown. The Panthers converted another two-point conversion and led 25-23 with 8:51 left in the game.
Philadelphia’s offense stalled on their next possession. The turning point of this game came when Panthers’ returner Joe Walker fumbled the ball, and the Stars recovered the ball on the Panthers’ 12-yard line. But, once again, the Stars’ offense stalled on the Panthers’ four-yard line.
Instead of going for it on fourth down, Matt Mengel made his fourth field goal of the night for 21-yards, giving the Stars a 26-25 lead. It was a bold call for the Stars to trust their defense, who were not good tonight.
The Panthers marched down to the Stars’ three-yard, setting up an easy game-winning 21-yard field goal attempt for Michael Carrizosa. Subsequently, Carrizosa’s kick went off the upper right post, and the Stars escaped with a 26-25 win, improving their record to 2-2.
Stars’ quarterback Case Cookus did not have a bad game. He went 22/30 for 190-yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and four carries for 35-yards. The offensive line still needs work, but they were better than last week’s game against New Jersey.
Stars’ running back Paul Terry led the team in rushing with 11 carries for 62-yards, while wide receivers Diondre Overton and Devin Gray combined with 11 catches for 143-yards and two touchdowns. The defense gave up 301-yards, 67 tackles, three interceptions, and eight pass breakups.
Panthers’ quarterback Shea Patterson was 9/17 for 67-yards, one touchdown, three touchdowns, nine carries for 79-yards, and one touchdown.
Running back, Reggie Corbin had 12 carries for 152-yards and one touchdown, while wide receiver Joe Walker had three catches for 28-yards and one touchdown. The Panthers’ defense gave up 293-yards, 68 tackles, two sacks, one interception, and five pass breakups.
Next week, the Stars take on the Birmingham Stallions on Sunday at noon on NBC, while the Panthers battle the Tampa Bay Bandits on Friday at 8 pm on USA Network. Tickets for both games can be purchased thanks to our friends at StubHub.
