The Birmingham Stallions (9-1) hosted the Michigan Panthers (7-3) on Saturday afternoon in the USFL Conference Championship Game in front of 10,287 fans at Protective Stadium.
Michigan dominated the first half up 18-12 but Birmingham shut out Michigan in the second half scoring 19 unanswered points to beat the Panthers 31-18 and advanced to the UFL Championship next Sunday against the winner of the XFL Conference champions.
Birmingham had 365 yards on offense. Quarterback Adrian Martinez completed 10 of 19 passes (53%) for 164 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and four carries for eight yards. In the second quarter, Martinez threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Thomas and the score was 18-9 Michigan with 3:53 left before halftime.
Quarterback Matt Corral completed 9 of 11 passes (82%) for 120 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and one carry for two yards. In the fourth quarter, Corral threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Amari Rodgers to take a 24-18 lead with 13:42 left. Then, Corral threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Pearson Jr. for a 31-18 lead with 4:04 left in the game.
Running back C.J. Marable led the rushers with eight carries for 77 yards and made one catch for five yards. The rushers finished the afternoon with 19 carries for 96 yards. Wide receiver Marlon Williams led the receivers making three catches for 50 yards while Deon Cain made three catches for 19 yards. The receivers finished the day making 19 catches for 284 yards, and three touchdowns.
Kicker Chris Blewitt made two field goals with a long of 43 yards. Birmingham’s defense made 66 tackles, seven tackles for loss, five sacks, three interceptions, eight pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Michigan had 253 yards on offense. Quarterback Danny Etling completed 18 of 29 passes (62%) for 182 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions, and two carries for three yards. In the first quarter, Etling threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Siaosi Mariner for a 6-0 lead with 12:17 left.
Running back Nate McCrary led the rushers with 11 carries for 62 yards. The rushers finished the day with 24 carries for 80 yards. Wide receiver Siaosi Mariner led the receivers making four catches for 60 yards, and one touchdown. The receivers finished the afternoon making 19 catches for 200 yards, and one touchdown.
Kicker Jake Bates made four field goals with a long of 53 yards. Michigan’s defense made 56 tackles, two tackles for loss, four sacks, two interceptions, three pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries.
The Birmingham Stallions will play either the St. Louis Battlehawks or the San Antonio Brahmas in the UFL Championship Game next Sunday at 5 pm on FOX. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 UFL Season and tickets for the game are available today on StubHub and Viagogo.
