BIRMINGHAM, Ala – Birmingham kept their perfect record intact at 8-0 on Saturday afternoon after a 10-9 victory over New Orleans at Legion Field. With the win, the Stallions clinch the USFL South Division.
Brandon Aubrey’s 29-yard field goal with 1:48 remaining in the game proved to be game-winner and Josh Shaw’s interception with six seconds left, iced the contest for the Stallions.
Birmingham’s Marlon Williams led all receivers with seven receptions for 109 yards. Stallions quarterback J’Mar Smith was 15-for-29 for 183 yards and one touchdown.
New Orleans falls to 5-3 on the season.
Birmingham took the opening drive 69-yards. On 3rd down and 4 from the New Orleans 9-yard line, Smith completed an 8-yard pass to Osirus Mitchell, but Vontae Diggs forced a fumble which was recovered by Jerod Fernandez in the end zone for a touchback.
New Orleans could not capitalize on the turnover and punted after running five plays. Birmingham took the ball 84-yards to paydirt when Smith found Adrian Hardy for a 27-yard touchdown at 2:08 of the 1st quarter. The point after from Aubrey was good giving the Stallions a 7-0 lead.
The Breakers got on the board at 4:42 of the 2nd quarter. A 12-play, 68-yard drive was capped by a 30-yard Taylor Bertolet field goal.
New Orleans was driving in the final minute of the quarter, but Kyle Sloter was intercepted by Tyree Robinson at the Birmingham 6-yard line, returning the ball to the Stallions’ 36-yard line with 11 seconds remaining. Smith found Marlon Williams for 30-yards on the next play to set up a 52-yard field goal, but Aubrey’s attempt was wide left.
The score remained 7-3 in favor of Birmingham heading into halftime.
The Breakers took their first lead of the game, 9-7, at 12:46 of the 3rd quarter. Anthony Jones found the end zone from 3-yards out, but Bertolet missed the extra point. The drive was highlighted by 44-yard catch and run from Taywan Taylor.
Neither team scored until Aubrey’s game-winning kick.
“Every one of these games has boiled down to who is going to make the big play in the 4th quarter,” said Birmingham head coach Skip Holtz. “Somebody needed to make a play going down the stretch and that’s what we did. We continued to battle and found a way to win the game.”
Birmingham plays again on Sunday, June 11, at noon against Houston (1-6), while New Orleans takes on Tampa Bay (3-4) on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Both games will be played at Protective Stadium.
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