For the third consecutive week, the Philadelphia Stars (4-6) had a chance to clinch a playoff spot and win the North Division on Sunday night at Ford Field against the Michigan Panthers (4-6) in the USFL regular-season finale.
Philadelphia got off to a great start on the opening drive of the first quarter. Case Cookus threw three passes for 34 yards and Dexter Williams had a couple of carries for 13 yards plus one catch for 13 yards to get to the Panthers’ 23-yard line. On the next play, Cookus threw the ball up in the air and it was caught by Terry Wright for the touchdown to take a 7-0 lead with 10:35 left.
The Panthers, with new quarterback E.J. Perry, went on their first series of the game and reached the Stars’ 35-yard line but Cole Murphy missed a 53-yard field goal and the score remained 7-0 with 5:59 left. A fun fact about E.J. Perry is he beat former New Orleans Breakers quarterback Kyle Sloter for a quarterback job in Jacksonville and was on the practice squad. He was initially set to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles but chose to sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars instead.
Philadelphia had the ball and made it to the Panthers’ 15-yard line when the first quarter ended up 7-0. In the second quarter, Case Cookus threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Devin Gray but an offensive pass interference penalty on Corey Coleman erased it. It was a bad call as Coleman legally blocked his guy and there was no hold there. The Stars settled for a field goal, and Luis Aguilar made it for 29 yards, making it 10-0 Philadelphia with 11:17 left.
In the next three series, the teams traded field goals. Michigan kicker Cole Murphy made two field goals and Luis Aguilar made a 53-yard field goal. It was 13-6 Philadelphia with 2:29 left.
Late in the second quarter, Case Cookus threw a 29-yard touchdown down the middle to Diondre Overton, who caught it with two Panthers players near him and it was now 20-6 Philadelphia with 27 seconds left. Philadelphia led 20-6 at halftime. Little did anyone know; those were the last points scored by Philadelphia this season.
Philadelphia quarterback Case Cookus completed 17 of 26 passes (65.4%) for 193 yards, two touchdowns, and led the rushers with five carries for 39 yards. The running game was ineffective as Dexter Williams and Jamyest Williams combined ten carries for six yards.
Wide receivers Terry Wright and Corey Coleman combined with ten catches for 112 yards, and one touchdown as part of the Stars’ 219 yards on offense. They dominated possession at 20 minutes and 33 seconds.
Michigan quarterback E.J. Perry completed 5 of 11 passes (45.5%) for 42 yards, and three carries for three yards while running back Reggie Corbin had six carries for six yards, and Joe Walker had two catches for 18 yards as part of the Panthers’ 51 yards on offense.
In the second half, it was all Michigan. They started to chip away at Philadelphia’s lead in the third quarter when Cole Murphy made a 33-yard field goal and it was 20-9 with 12:47 left. The game’s turning point came with 4:55 left on a fourth down for the Stars. Michigan sent the house as AJ Richardson blocked the punt and recovered it for a 15-yard touchdown. Next, Michigan went for a two-point conversion and missed it. It was 20-15 Stars with 4:54 left.
Toward the end of the third quarter, Luis Aguilar missed a 50-yard field goal and the score remained 20-15 heading into the fourth quarter. Philadelphia, as in the case all season long, did not execute plays and were making terrible decisions that allowed Michigan back into the game.
Michigan put the game away with 12:59 left when E.J. Perry ran for a seven-yard touchdown and converted a two-point play that made it 23-20 Michigan. Philadelphia had no answers at all and Michigan went on to win the game by the final score of 23-20. For the first time in USFL history, the Stars will miss the playoffs. It was a disappointing way to end the season. In addition, Philadelphia lost Dexter Williams and Corey Coleman to injuries
Philadelphia quarterback Case Cookus finished the night completing 24 of 44 passes (54.5%) for 247 yards, two touchdowns, and seven carries for 48 yards. Running back Jamyest Williams finished second in rushing with six carries for 22 yards. He is someone I would like to see back next year as I love some of the juke moves he made that Michigan could not tackle him.
Wide receiver Devin Gray led the receivers with nine catches for 62 yards, while Terry Wright had six catches for 57 yards and one touchdown. Kicker Luis Aguilar made two of three field goals with a long of 53 yards and converted two extra points. Philadelphia’s defense allowed 205 yards, with 56 tackles, two tackles for loss, and four pass breakups.
Michigan quarterback E.J. Perry completed 12 of 23 passes (52.2%) for 121 yards, ten carries for 48 yards, and one touchdown. Running back Reggie Corbin had 12 carries for 24 yards, while wide receiver Trey Quinn had three catches for 41 yards. Kicker Cole Murphy made three of four field goals with a long of 51 yards, and Michigan’s defense allowed 330 yards, with 67 tackles, three tackles for loss, and six pass breakups.
Congrats to the Michigan Panthers. They will take on the Pittsburgh Maulers in the USFL North Divisional playoffs next Saturday at 8 pm on NBC. For Philadelphia, it is back to the drawing board and there needs to be major changes going into the 2024 season. I’ll have an article on those changes in the next Stars piece.
