The inaugural UFL season came to a conclusion this weekend with a riveting matchup between the USFL Champions, Birmingham Stallions and the XFL Champions, San Antonio Brahmas at The Dome in St. Louis, MO.
With star power on both sides of the ball for each team, this contest was sure to include fireworks.
First Quarter
The Brahmas elected to receive the ball to start the UFL Championship, led by QB Chase Garbers who returned to the team in week 10 following an injury.
San Antonio dealt with a handful of third and shorts on their initial offensive drive, but Garbers continued his early composure until the Brahmas were met with a third and long where the Stallions ended the opening drive.
With Birmingham taking possession for the first time,
Brahmas DB Teez Tabor was forced to exit the game in the opening drive due to a uniform violation with his socks. In turn, the Brahmas were forced to use their second timeout of the first quarter.
The Brahmas finished the regular season with the best third down defense in the league, and stopped Birmingham on their first third down try ending the drive.
San Antonio continued their push with the ground attack led by Anthony McFarland Jr, on their second drive, but were unable to generate anything significant with a three and out.
Second Quarter
The Brahmas recontroled possession heading into a scoreless second quarter, but defense continued to be the conversation of the first half with yet another stop by Birmingham’s defense.
Adrian Martinez and the Stallions offense once again trotted onto the field, but the Brahmas defense showed up with yet another stop. San Antonio’s offense was met with the same fate during the ensuing possession.
Birmingham was 0 for 3 on third downs until Martinez connected with Jace Sternberger on their first third down conversion of the game. The Stallions momentum was quickly quieted with a turnover by San Antonio, courtesy of Brahmas CB Darius Phillips.
THAT IS OUR BALL! 👏
We recover the fumble!#TorosUnidos pic.twitter.com/zVunCoUpD9
— San Antonio Brahmas (@XFLBrahmas) June 16, 2024
The Brahmas conservative style continued off the game’s first turnover, ending their drive abruptly.
Birmingham took advantage of the continued lackadaisicalness by San Antonio, taking the ball down the field on the next drive with Ricky Person Jr. entering beast mode on this 44 yard rush into Brahmas territory,
Watch @RickyPersonJr get 🆙 pic.twitter.com/efcXFYZ4Wc
— B2B2B CHAMPION STALLIONS 🏆🏆🏆 (@USFLStallions) June 16, 2024
Person’s burst put the Stallions into the red zone, setting up Martinez for an eight yard connection with WR Gary Jennings for the game’s opening touchdown.
TOUCHDOWN! @_gman12 gets us on the board 🙌pic.twitter.com/w6L2SsfDHq
— B2B2B CHAMPION STALLIONS 🏆🏆🏆 (@USFLStallions) June 16, 2024
Birmingham converted the two point conversion attempt with a pass from Martinez to Rodgers to extend the game’s first lead to 8-0 over SA. The Stallions controlled the lead heading into halftime, 8-0.
See also
Third Quarter
Skip Holtz’ unit took possession to start the second half and wasted zero time extending their UFL Championship lead over San Antonio with an option play by Martinez into the end zone. Birmingham’s short yardage king, Jordan Thomas, finished off the Stallions drive with another two point conversion to make it, 16-0.
Brahmas WR Jontre Kirklin continued his big game mishaps in the second half with his second lost fumble of the game, giving Birmingham possession once again.
With momentum in their favor, Birmingham once again cashed in on their opportunity to score with Adrian Martinez striking from inside the one yard line for a touchdown.
With the Brahmas in desperation mode, San Antonio inserted Quinten Dormady into the starting slot over Chase Garbers. Dormady led San Antonio into the red zone during his first drive but indeed it with an abysmal effort, ending in a failed fourth down attempt. With Birmingham in full control of momentum, Martinez once again took control and iced the game with another touchdown extending the lead to three possessions.
TOUCHDOWN! 🐎@MartinezTheQB crosses the goal line and it’s 22-0 🙌pic.twitter.com/QFvJ3PyiJo
— B2B2B CHAMPION STALLIONS 🏆🏆🏆 (@USFLStallions) June 16, 2024
Fourth Quarter
With the Stallions taking over possession once again, they made sure to make it a sure thing with kicker Chris Blewitt converting a 49 yard attempt, extending the commanding lead to 25-0.
Chris Blewitt makes it 25-0 🙌#GiddyUp pic.twitter.com/ibWkLQZILH
— B2B2B CHAMPION STALLIONS 🏆🏆🏆 (@USFLStallions) June 16, 2024
With the Brahmas unable to sustain any control on offense with successfulness, the Stallons astounding defense continued their stonewall with one last shutout to end the 2024 UFL season. 25-0 over the San Antonio Brahmas.
What did you think of the inaugural UFL season? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below or join the conversation on Discord.
