The Philadelphia Stars (4-3) visited Tom Benson’s Hall of Fame Stadium on Saturday night to take on the Pittsburgh Maulers (2-5) for the final time of the season. In their first meeting, the Maulers beat the Stars 21-13 in week three.
Since then, the Stars have won two out of three games, while Pittsburgh lost two of three games. The winner of this matchup controlled first place in the North Division.
In the first quarter, Philadelphia had two good special team returns by Terry Wright. The first kick returned went for a 42-yard run before getting tackled at Pittsburgh’s 47-yard line. Philadelphia went tempo on their first drive of the series. They made short passes and rushing gains to reach the Maulers’ one-yard line before Matt Colburn II scored a touchdown, putting the Stars up 7-0 with 12:05 left.
Pittsburgh answered back on their first series of the game. At one point during the drive, Philadelphia’s defense stopped Pittsburgh to force fourth down but the Maulers went for it and got it. Pittsburgh went on a ten-play drive for 64 yards that ended with a three-yard touchdown run by wide receiver Bailey Gather. The game was tied 7-7 with 6:08.
On Philadelphia’s next possession, Terry Wright returned a kickoff for 32 yards before being tackled at the Maulers’ 37-yard line. Philadelphia quarterback Case Cookus threw a 25-yard pass to tight end Pro Wells but that was all and the Stars had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Luis Aguilar, who made it and the Stars led 10-7 with 3:02 left.
Pittsburgh’s special teams came up with a huge play on the kickoff. Kick returner Josh Simmons got some great blocking and took off for an 88-yard touchdown run, putting the Maulers up 14-10 with 2:48 left.
On the kickoff, Terry Wright returned the ball for 36 yards. Philadelphia reached Pittsburgh’s 31-yard line as the first quarter ended down 14-10.
In the second quarter, Philadelphia gained three yards before Luis Aguilar kicked his second field goal for 45 yards. It was now 14-13 Pittsburgh with 13:43 left.
Philadelphia’s defense came up with a huge play on Pittsburgh’s next drive. On first down at the Stars’ 38-yard line, Pittsburgh quarterback Troy Williams tried to throw a pass to Mason Stokke but it went through his arms as Stanford Samuels III made a one-handed interception and took it for eleven yards to the Maulers’ 43-yard line.
However, Philadelphia was unable to capitalize on fourth down when Ryan Navarro made a bad snap as they attempted a 40-yard field goal and Pittsburgh got the ball at the Stars’ 45-yard line. Pittsburgh took advantage when quarterback Troy Williams threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Isiah Hennie, extending Pittsburgh’s lead to 21-13 with 2:40 left.
Philadelphia needed to respond on this drive and did it. They went on a seven-play drive for 48 yards that resulted in quarterback Case Cookus throwing a two-yard touchdown pass to Samuel Akem, cutting Pittsburgh’s lead to 21-20 with 23 seconds left.
Philadelphia’s special teams made another mistake when kicker Lirim Hajrullahu kicked the ball out of bounds and the ball was placed on the 50-yard line. Pittsburgh kicker Chris Blewitt made a 49-yard field goal as the Stars trailed Pittsburgh 24-20 at halftime.
Philadelphia’s offense had 146 yards. Quarterback Case Cookus completed 12 of 18 passes (66%) for 89 yards, one touchdown, and one carry for nine yards. Running back Matt Colburn II had eight carries for 46 yards, one touchdown, and one catch for seven yards. Tight end Pro Wells led the receivers with two catches for 33 yards.
Pittsburgh quarterback Troy Williams completed 9 of 14 passes (64%) for 67 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, and led the rushers with six carries for 41 yards. Pittsburgh had 147 yards on offense and tight end Matt Seybert led the receivers with three catches for 22 yards.
Philadelphia’s special teams came up with another huge play to start the third quarter. Samuel Akem, who caught a touchdown earlier in the game, knocked the football out of Pittsburgh kick returner Josh Simmons and it was picked up by Amani Dennis at the Maulers’ 47-yard line. However, Philadelphia gave it right back when Case Cookus overthrew Diondre Overton and it was intercepted by Arnold Tarpley III in the endzone.
It was a defensive showdown in the third quarter. Neither team did much for the majority of the third quarter. With 2:26 left, Pittsburgh had a chance to extend their lead but kicker Chris Blewitt missed a 54-yard field goal.
Philadelphia’s big play of the game came on their next drive when wide receiver Corey Coleman made a juke move that caused a Pittsburgh defender to slip and Case Cookus threw to him for a 56-yard touchdown, putting the Stars up 27-24 with 2:11 left. Pittsburgh had the ball for the rest of the third quarter and faced fourth down as the third quarter ended.
Philadelphia got the ball to start the fourth quarter. On the third play, Cookus threw a 56-yard pass to Devin Gray before getting tackled at the Maulers’ 22-yard line. Six players later, running back Matt Colburn II scored his second touchdown of the game for two yards, extending Philadelphia’s lead to 34-24 with 9:24 left.
After Pittsburgh punted on their drive, Philadelphia’s goal was to run out the clock. They were unable to get a first down near the two-minute warning. When they punted the ball, Pittsburgh returner Isiah Hennie got a couple of good blocks and nearly took in for a touchdown. His right foot stepped out of bounds at the Stars’ one-yard line. Garrett Groshek muscled his way into the endzone for a touchdown. It was now 34-31 with 2:01 left.
Pittsburgh elected to go for a 4th and 12 play as an alternative kickoff but Adam Rodriguez sacked Williams, giving Philadelphia the ball at the Maulers’ 25-yard line. Philadelphia was unable to run the clock out and Luis Aguilar made his third field goal for 38 yards for a 37-31 lead with 34 seconds left. Philadelphia’s defense made the final stop when Jordon Scott sacked Troy Williams that ended the game, and the Stars beat the Maulers by the final score of 37-31.
With the win, Philadelphia now has sole possession of first place. Quarterback Case Cookus finished the night completing 18 of 30 passes (60%) for 235 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and four carries for 28 yards. Running back Matt Colburn II led the rushers with 20 carries for 82 yards, two touchdowns, and two catches for 13 yards.
Wide receivers Corey Coleman and Devin Gray combined with eight catches for 150 yards and one touchdown. Kicker Luis Aguilar made three field goals with a long of 45 yards, and converted four extra points. Philadelphia’s defense allowed 202 yards (3.6 YPP), with 58 tackles, seven tackles for loss, five sacks, two of them by LaBryan Ray, one interception, two pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Pittsburgh quarterback Troy Williams completed 18 of 28 passes (64.3%) for 145 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, and led the rushers with 11 carries for 44 yards. Running back Madre London had three carries for 26 yards, while fullback Mason Stokke led the receivers with three catches for 34 yards.
Pittsburgh’s defense allowed 347 yards (6.1 YPP), 62 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, two pass breakups, and one forced fumble.
Next Saturday, the Pittsburgh Maulers host the Houston Gamblers at 12 pm on USA Network, while the Stars visit the Birmingham Stallions at 3 pm on NBC. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 USFL Season, and tickets for both games are available today on StubHub and Viagogo.
