The Birmingham Stallions (1-1) powered through for a 21-12 win against the Michigan Panthers (1-1) on Friday night at Ford Field in Detroit. The Stallions secured their first win of the 2025 season thanks to a dominant and consistent defensive effort and timely offense that executed effectively in crucial situations.
“What a blessing to have the opportunity to be here and play this great game,” said Head Coach of the Birmingham Stallions Skip Holtz. “Glory and honor to God for giving us all the opportunity to be here to do this. What a difference a week makes. A week ago, I thought we had arguably our worst performance in three years. We did not play very well, and I was proud of how our team came out and practiced this week. The sense of urgency that our players had, the energy that they practiced with, and the sense of determination to get the job done was awesome. When you get beat, you have two options: put your head in the sand or roll your sleeves up and go to work. Even though this game today wasn’t the prettiest football game ever, it was just a slugfest with two heavyweights sitting in the middle of the field going at it. We called it a bit of a conservative game plan because of how great our defense played. Two hard-nosed football teams that competed their tails off, and I’m proud of Matt (Corral) going out there when Alex (McGough) got hurt. I have said all year long that we have two great quarterbacks on our team.”
Quarterback Alex McGough was injured on the first play from scrimmage, bringing in Matt Corral for the remainder of the game. Corral led the charge on offense, completing 18-of-29 passes for 198 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Ricky Person Jr. led the ground attack, finishing the day with 53 rushing yards on 17 attempts and a touchdown.
Deon Cain led the Stallions receivers, compiling 84 yards on four catches, including a 52-yard touchdown reception on the first play of the fourth quarter. Jace Sternberger hauled in his first three receptions of the season, totaling 35 yards. The right foot of Harrison Mevis proved to be another crucial point of the Stallions offense, finishing a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals, with a long of 36 on the night.
The Stallions defense aided in the winning effort with two total turnovers - an interception and a fumble recovery on a muffed punt that led to another Mevis field goal that put the contest out of reach. Kyaha Tezino led Birmingham defenders with nine total tackles, which included five solo stops. A.J. Thomas, Madre Harper and Willie Yarbary all registered six total tackles a piece, with Yarbary picking up half a sack, and Thomas adding two pass break ups and intercepting his first pass of the season, returning it for 11 yards before successfully executing on a lateral to Perrion Winfrey, who ran for an additional nine yards to set up a Stallions score.
Notes
The Stallions increased their all-time series record over the Panthers to 6-0, including a 3-0 mark in Detroit.
Birmingham converted six points off of the two Michigan turnovers.
The Stallions defensive front imposed its will all night, halting Michigan on a fourth-and-goal inside the five yard-line that eventually led to a Stallions touchdown on the following possession.
A.J. Thomas picked up his fourth career UFL interception, the second-year man led the league with three interceptions a season ago.
Thomas converted on a successful lateral to Perrion Winfrey during the interception return, Winfrey picked up nine yards to set up the offensive in opponent territory.
Bradlee Anae had 2.0 sacks on the night, with the Stallions defense totaling 3.0 before the night was over.
Harrison Mevis continued his hot start to his tenure with the Stallions, finishing the night a perfect 3-for-3
on field goals, bringing his season total to 4-for-4.
ATTENDANCE: 10,049
How it Happened
First Quarter
11:34 - BHM | Harrison Mevis connected on a 36-yard field goal on Birmingham’s opening possession. The drive covered 39 yards on six plays (3-0, Stallions).
Second Quarter
0:32 - BHM | Mevis extended the lead with a 21-yard field goal that concluded an 11-play, 44-yard drive (6-0, Stallions).
Third Quarter
11:27 - BHM | Following A.J. Thomas’ interception and lateral to Perrion Winfrey that set up the offense in plus territory, Ricky Person Jr. took advantage of the turnover and picked up his first rushing touchdown of the season from one-yard out to cap off a four-play, 23-yard drive. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful (12-0, Stallions).
Fourth Quarter
14:52 - BHM | On the opening play of the fourth quarter, Matt Corral connected with Deon Cain for a 52- yard passing touchdown to highlight an 11-play, 98-yard drive that ate up 5:49 of gameplay. The ensuing two-point conversion was unsuccessful (18-0, Stallions).
9:16 - MICH | Michigan connected on a nine-yard touchdown reception to give the Panthers their first score of the night. The drive consisted of 10 plays that covered 68 yards. Michigan then converted on a three-point conversion to cut the Birmingham lead in half (18-9, Stallions).
1:53 - BHM | Mevis’ third field goal of the night, a 31-yard kick, ended a seven-play, 24-yard drive to make it a two-possession game (21-9, Stallions).
0:26 - MICH | The Panthers concluded a nine-play, 51-yard drive with a 39-yard field goal (21-12, Stallions).
Up Next
The Stallions will head home to Birmingham for the first time this season, as they face the Arlington Renegades at Protective Stadium.
The contest will be played on Friday, April 11, at 7 p.m. CT and will be aired live on FOX.