Stallions Beat Maulers 28-12 for Second Consecutive USFL Title

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CANTON – The USFL Championship took place in beautiful Canton, Ohio at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium at the NFL Hall of Fame. The storm clouds came over Canton and rained on the field hours before kickoff. The teams avoided the stormy elements though since the field dried up. The clouds cleared out and it was a beautiful, hot, humid night for football. If the weather stayed the same, it could’ve been a sloppy contest with little offensive production from both teams. However, that wasn’t the case. The defending champions Birmingham Stallions challenged the Pittsburgh Maulers in an epic clash of the Titans in this winner take all game. The league celebrated its 40th season since the league started back in 1983. There was a pre-game concert which made the event more lively.

Alex McGough started at quarterback for the Stallions. McGough passed for 2,104 yards which ranked third and 20 touchdowns which was number one in the USFL this season. Running back C.J. Marable out of Coastal Carolina rushed for 525 yards and three touchdowns this season. Wide receiver Austin Watkins tallied 197 receiving yards and one touchdown. Multiple Stallions receivers missed the game including Adrian Hardy, Myron Mitchell, Michael Dareus, and Marlon Williams. Mitchell and Williams were both on the injured reserve. Tight end Jace Sternberger recorded 517 receiving yards (4th in USFL) and seven touchdowns (1st in USFL).

Former Jets, Colts, and Cardinals quarterback James Morgan was inactive for the Maulers due to injury.

Quarterback Troy Williams started for Pittsburgh. The 28-year-old passer went undrafted out of Utah. He passed for 1,414 yards and six touchdowns this season, both ranked 7th in the USFL. He also rushed for 341 yards and three touchdowns this season. Wide receiver Isiah Hennie recorded 474 yards and three touchdowns this season. Running back Madre London rushed for 254 yards (13th in USFL) and one touchdown this season. Tight end Matt Seybert recorded 118 receiving yards (48th in USFL).

Maulers running back Garrett Groshek was involved early as Pittsburgh wanted to take control early with the running game. After several plays, there was a helmet-to-helmet personal foul as Williams was hit. A 15-yard penalty moved to the 32-yard line. Several plays later Pittsburgh was penalized for unnecessary roughness after a third down play. Pittsburgh kicker Chris Blewit made a 37-yard field goal and the Maulers took a 3-0 lead with 5:27 left in the first quarter.

The Stallions went to work on offense with 5:20 left in the first quarter. Sternberger caught an 18 yard pass at the 48-yard line to get the offense moving after a run by Marable. Then McGough almost threw an interception down the field. McGough took a chance on 4th and 2, took a massive hit, spun out of it, then was tackled short of the first down. Pittsburgh had the chance to get an early double-digit lead with a touchdown.

Tensions between the teams seemed to escalate as there was some pushing and shoving after Pittsburgh’s first play on the team’s second possession. The earlier penalties between the teams seemed to set the stage for the tensions. The second quarter began shortly after that play. Pittsburgh lost the ball on a fumble and Birmingham took possession at their 15-yard line. Marable continued to play a big role as he caught a pass and then ran the ball after that for a Stallions first down. After that, McGough was grabbed by the helmet for a facemask penalty. McGough ran for about 15 yards after his helmet was grabbed. Then the Stallions scored a touchdown after McGough threw a 42-yard pass to receiver Davion Davis. Birmingham took the lead 7-3 with 10:39 left in the second quarter.

On Pittsburgh’s next possession, Williams almost threw a 48-yard touchdown pass but it was dropped. Several plays later, Blewit nailed another field goal to make the score Birmingham 7 Pittsburgh 6 with 3:01 left in the second quarter.

On Birmingham’s next possession, Pittsburgh defensive player Will Miles sacked McGough. Birmingham had a 2nd and five at their 37-yard line at the two-minute warning. McGough threw a bullet pass to Sternberger then he stiff-armed a Pittsburgh defender. McGough then took a chance on a QB run and took a massive hit and tried to hurdle against the Pittsburgh defense. Two plays later, McGough threw a touchdown to Deon Cain despite a big hit from Pittsburgh. Birmingham took a 14-6 lead with 31 seconds left in the 2nd quarter.

Pittsburgh tried to get points before the second half. They were penalized for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and the ball was moved to the Birmingham 42-yard line. Blewitt nailed his third field goal of the game to make the score Birmingham 14 Pittsburgh 9.

At the start of the third quarter, Birmingham was immediately called for a holding penalty on the opening kickoff of the second half. The Stallions continued to run the ball to start the second half. After three consecutive runs, the Stallions gained another first down at the Pittsburgh 38-yard line. This was followed by a fourth straight run by Marable for 14 yards. The Stallions scored another touchdown as McGough threw a touch pass to Cain for 20 yards. The Stallions opened the lead to 21-9 with 10:29 left in the third quarter. The touchdown was reviewed shortly after to determine if the catch was completed. After about a one-minute review, the touchdown was confirmed.

On Pittsburgh’s next possession, Blewitt made his fourth field goal of the night to make the score Birmingham 21 Pittsburgh 12. It seemed as though the Maulers just couldn’t do enough to keep us with Birmingham as the team continued to trade field goals for touchdowns. It was clear that Pittsburgh had to do more to have any chance of a win.

Then, in the blink of an eye, Pittsburgh’s Codie Bates and Eli Walker combined for a sack and fumble recovery. The play almost resulted in a touchdown but Pittsburgh had the ball with less than 50 seconds in the third quarter at Birmingham’s 33-yard line. The Maulers were penalized for an illegal forward pass which negated the touchdown. Pittsburgh was unable to get a touchdown this time too. Blewitt attempted his fifth field goal of the game and missed it. The score remained Birmingham 21 Pittsburgh 12 with 13:01 left in the fourth quarter.

With 9:17 left in the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh was penalized for holding but there was a possible facemask that was missed as Williams appeared to have his helmet pulled while out of bounds. Williams failed to complete a pass on fourth down which resulted in a turnover on downs with 7:22 seconds left in the game.

The Stallions scored another touchdown with 6:28 left in the fourth quarter for a 28-12 lead.

Pittsburgh failed to score with 2:30 left in the game. Birmingham was ready to end the game and earn its second consecutive USFL Championship. The Stallions “milked the clock” and won their second consecutive title with a 28-12 win over the Maulers.