The Philadelphia Stars (2-3) hosted the New Jersey Generals (2-3) on Sunday afternoon from Ford Field. Coming into this game, the Stars were looking to end a three-game losing streak, including a blowout loss to Houston last week. For New Jersey, the Generals were a seven-point favorite and came into his game on a two-game winning streak.
The first half was a defensive battle on both sides. In the first quarter, Philadelphia started with the football. Quarterback Case Cookus led the drive with several short passes plus a New Jersey penalty to reach the one-yard line. Philadelphia’s red zone struggles continued in this game.
Rather than go for a quarterback sneak, the Stars ran three straight plays by Matt Colburn II and could not get into the endzone and settled for a 22-yard field goal by Luis Aguilar for a 3-0 lead with 8:34 left.
Late in the first quarter, Adam Rodriguez knocked the ball out of New Jersey running back Darius Victor’s arm before Gabriel Sewell Jr. recovered it. The fumble turned into another three points when kicker Luis Aguilar kicked a 42-yard field goal that made it 6-0 at the start of the second quarter.
New Jersey finally got going on their next drive that went four plays for 56 yards, cumulating with a 35-yard touchdown run by quarterback De’Andre Johnson to put the Generals ahead 7-6 with 12:59 left.
Philadelphia’s special teams came up big on the kickoff as Terry Wright ran the ball before being tackled on the Generals’ 38-yard line. The offense did not make much progress but Aguilar came up clutch with a 56-yard field goal for a 9-7 lead with 9:03 left. It was his third field goal of the day.
For the rest of the first half, New Jersey kicker Nick Sciba made a 50-yard field goal that made it 10-9 for New Jersey. On Philadelphia’s next drive, wide receiver Cory Coleman appeared to have caught a 20-yard touchdown pass but after further review, he did not get the right foot down, and thus Luis Aguilar made his fourth field for 36 yards for a 12-10 lead at halftime.
Philadelphia’s offense had 92 yards as Case Cookus completed 11 of 18 passes for 79 yards and led the rushers with four carries for 21 yards. Matt Colburn II and Dexter Williams combined with nine carries for 11 yards, and tight end Pro Wells led the receivers with two catches for 26 yards. Philadelphia’s receivers were dropping the ball frequently, especially on the numbers.
For New Jersey, quarterback D’Andre Johnson he completed 4 of 8 passes for 49 yards and led the rushers with six carries for 61 yards, and one touchdown. The Generals had 135 yards on offense in the first half.
In the third quarter, New Jersey running back Darius Victor had the ball knocked out again this time by Jordan Scott, who recovered the ball. Philadelphia’s defense did a good job tackling the ball out of Victor’s hands. However, the Stars could not punch it in the endzone and Aguilar made his fifth field goal for 27 yards and it was 15-10 with 10:31 left.
The Stars’ defense came up with another huge play when Amani Dennis battled the ball up to prevent J’Mon Moore from catching it and Mazzi Wilkins intercepted it.
Before the interception, the General lost quarterback D’Andre Johnson to an injury and he did not return. Kyle Lauletta was the new Generals’ quarterback. The turnover led to Luis Aguilar’s sixth field goal for 51 yards. It was 18-10 Philadelphia that ended the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, New Jersey kicker Nick Sciba made a 28-yard field goal and Stars’ kicker Luis Aguilar made a 49-yard field for a 21-13 lead with 10:46 left.
Late in the game, New Jersey quarterback Kyle Lauletta scored a touchdown with a quarterback sneak and converted a two-point play that tied the game 21-21 with 21 seconds left. On the kickoff, Terry Wright returned the ball to New Jersey’s 47-yard line.
After Case Cookus completed an eight-yard pass to Devin Gray, he followed it up with an incomplete pass, it came down to Luis Aguilar. Aguilar was going for his eighth field goal of the day for 55 yards. Aguilar converted it to give the Stars a 24-21 win over the Generals. Aguilar’s eight field goals set the USFL record. It was not pretty, but the Stars finally ended a three-game losing streak.
Philadelphia quarterback Case Cookus finished the day completing 18 of 30 passes (60%) for 125 yards, and four carries for 21 yards. Running back Matt Colburn II led the rushers with 15 carries for 23 yards and two catches for 11 yards. Wide receiver Jordan Suell led the receivers with four catches for 32 yards. The defense allowed 354 yards, with 62 tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception, five pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.
New Jersey quarterback Kyle Lauletta completed 10 of 12 passes (83.3%) for 111 yards, one interception, one carry for one yard, and one touchdown. Running back Darius Victor had 12 carries for 49 yards, two catches for 25 yards, and lost the ball three times. Wide receiver J’Mon Moore led the receivers with five catches for 58 yards. New Jersey’s defense allowed 167 yards, with 68 tackles, three tackles for loss, four sacks, and four pass breakups.
Next Sunday, the Stars host the New Orleans Breakers at 12 pm on FS1, followed by the New Jersey Generals visiting the Houston Gamblers at 4 pm on FOX. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 USFL Season, and tickets for both games are available today on StubHub and Viagogo.
