The D.C. Defenders (1-0) kicked off their 2025 season on Sunday afternoon against the three-time champion Birmingham Stallions (0-1) from Audi Field.
This week, the D.C. Defenders lost their head coach Reggie Barlow, who left the team one week before the season to take the head coaching job at Tennessee State, and Shannon Harris was named the interim head coach. Despite the chaos the Defenders went through, they came to play and took it to the Birmingham Stallions.
D.C. had 297 total yards led by quarterback Jordan Ta’amu completing 17 of 37 passes (45.9%) for 211 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and two carries for -1 yard in an 18-11 win. Running back Deon Jackson led the rushers with 10 carries for 42 yards, while Abram Smith had 13 carries for 37 yards.
Wide receiver Ty Scott led the receivers making five catches for 61 yards, while Chris Rowland made three catches for 40 yards, including a four-yard touchdown. D.C. kicker Matt McCrane was a perfect 4 for 4 field goals with a long of 53 yards.
D.C.’s defense was stellar in this game making 42 tackles, eight tackles for loss, eight sacks, four of which from Anthony Hines III (2) and Derick Roberson (2), one interception, four pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. The Defenders were penalized eight times.
Birmingham had 140 total yards on offense. They were also penalized 10 times. Quarterback Alex McGough made his first start since 2023 and it was a rough afternoon completing 10 of 23 passes (43.5%) for 89 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and eight carries for 84 yards. Running back Ricky Person Jr. had six carries for 29 yards, and C.J. Marable had six carries for nine yards, and one catch for 12 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown.
Wide receiver Davion Davis led the receivers making two catches for 28 yards, and Jordan Thomas made one catch for 13 yards. Kicker Harrison Mevis made one field goal for 53 yards. Birmingham’s defense finished the afternoon making 71 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, and 11 pass breakups.
Next week, the Birmingham Stallions visit the Michigan Panthers on Friday at 8 pm on Fox. The D.C. Defenders host the Memphis Showboats on Saturday at 8 pm on ABC. Purchase UFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
