On a cold, damp, and rainy night at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The Philadelphia Stars (1-1) took on the new-look Michigan Panthers (2-0) under new head coach Mike Nolan. The Stars were looking to build off of their win in Memphis last week. Unfortunately, they were manhandled in this game.
It didn’t look that way at the beginning of the game. The Stars’ offense, led by quarterback Case Cookus, threw a 50-yard pass to Jordan Suell. Cookus underthrew the pass and Suell did a good job adjusting to the throw before making the catch. However, when Philadelphia got near the red zone, they were unable to advance the ball and settled for a Luis Aguilar 27-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead with 11:13 left of the first quarter.
When it was the Stars’ defense turn, they could not contain Michigan’s offense, including running back Reggie Corbin, who had one carry for ten yards. Luckily for the Stars, Panthers’ kicker Cole Murphy missed a 47-yard field goal. Philadelphia could not move the ball on their next drive and punted it back to Michigan. Late into the first quarter, Philadelphia moved the ball toward Michigan’s 19-yard line. The game remained tied 3-3 after one quarter.
In the second quarter, Philadelphia’s offense stalled again. This was a recurring theme tonight. Stars’ kicker Luis Aguilar missed a 46-yard field goal. Then, the Panthers pounced on the Stars’ defense. Michigan running back Reggie Corbin continued his assault with a 28-yard run. Then, quarterback Josh Love threw a 13-yard touchdown pass up the middle to tight end Cole Hikutini for a 10-3 lead. Philadelphia’s defense was not properly set and the coverage by them was atrocious all night long. They could not stop Michigan period.
However, one Stars player who did show up in this game was Amani Dennis. He intercepted Love on the next Michigan play but Philadelphia gave it right back when Case Cookus threw an interception. The Stars’ offense line did not protect Cookus. Cookus took some nasty hits and was sacked four times in this game. The blame also goes to Cookus as well, he was forcing throws that shouldn’t have been made and came close several times to throwing more interceptions. The Panthers should’ve had at least three more interceptions in the first half.
Case Cookus in the first half completed 9 of 19 passes for 125 yards, one interception, and led the rushers with two carries for three yards. On the other side, Michigan quarterback Josh Love was 9 of 20 for 110 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. The Panthers led the Stars 10-3 at halftime.
Before the second half began, the FOX broadcasting crew notice that Cookus might have been injured before halftime. This potential injury showed in the second half as Cookus was having a hard time throwing the ball. Backup quarterback and former B.C. Lion Kevin Thomson was warming up but did not play.
In the third quarter, Michigan moved the ball down the field until Amani Dennis picked off Love for the second time. The field conditions were not great as players were slipping on the field and on that play, a Michigan player that Love was targeting slipped and Dixon capitalized.
That interception somewhat sparked the offense. They went on a six-play drive 39 yards that ended when Matt Colburn II scored a one-yard touchdown, tying the game 10-10 with 7:39 left.
On the next Michigan drive, Philadelphia’s defense had stopped Michigan on 3rd and 14, but a defensive pass interference penalty on Mazzi Wilkins gave the Panthers a fresh set of downs. Five plays later, running back Reggie Corbin scored a three-yard touchdown for a 17-10 lead with 52 seconds left of the third quarter. Michigan led 17-10 after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, Case Cookus threw several short passes as the running game was ineffective. The Stars made it to the Panthers’ 34-yard line as they faced fourth down. In a questionable call, the Stars elected to go for a pass on 4th and 1 instead of a quarterback sneak. They didn’t get it and Michigan took over possession. Even if Cookus is hurt, they could’ve used Thomson or one of their big backs like Dexter Williams to get the first down.
Michigan made them pay when Reggie Corbin ran for a 52-yard touchdown that sealed the game. It was 24-10 with 6:22 left. A couple of costly fumbles on the Stars’ offense prevented them from generating any momentum as they lost to the Panthers by the final score of 24-10.
Philadelphia has to answer a lot of questions heading into next week like what is the status of Case Cookus. Cookus completed 29 of 45 passes (64.4%) for 280 yards, two interceptions, and two carries for 12 yards.
He overthrew a lot to his receivers but some of his throws were not on him. His receivers have to be better at coming back for the ball. They ran their routes and stayed there waiting for Cookus to throw to them. Can’t do that and that’s why these guys are not in the NFL. Devin Gray, Jordan Suell, Corey Coleman, Diondre Overton, and Pro Wells combined with 23 catches for 245 yards.
As for the running backs, Matt Colburn II, and Dexter Williams combined with 12 carries for 30 yards, and one touchdown. Philadelphia’s defense allowed 318 yards, with 54 tackles, four tackles for loss, no sacks, two interceptions, and eight pass breakups.
For Michigan, quarterback Josh Love completed 15 of 30 passes (50%) for 174 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Running back Reggie Corbin had 11 carries for 131 yards, two touchdowns, and three catches for nine yards.
Tight end Cole Hikutini led the receivers with three catches for 56 yards and one touchdown. Michigan’s defense was dominated, allowing 302 yards, with 64 tackles, four tackles for loss, four sacks, two interceptions, five pass breakups, and three forced fumbles.
Next Sunday, the Philadelphia Stars host the Pittsburgh Maulers at 12 pm on NBC, followed by the Michigan Panthers against the New Jersey Generals at 4 pm on FOX. Tickets for both games are available on StubHub and Viagogo.
