Showboats fall to Stallions, 33-14
he Birmingham Stallions (3-0) outscored the Memphis Showboats (1-2) 15-2 in the second half Saturday night at Protective Stadium and pulled away for a 33-14 victory in United Football League action.
The teams traded scores for much of the first half. With Birmingham on top 15-12 and just 14 seconds remaining in the second quarter, the Stallions got a 36-yard pass from quarterback Adrian Martinez to wide receiver Deon Cain. Chris Blewitt capitalized for Birmingham, kicking a field goal as time expired before the intermission to put the Stallions on top 18-12.
From there, it was all Birmingham. The Stallions went on top 21-12 on another Blewitt field goal with 3:28 remaining in the third quarter. Two plays into the fourth quarter, Birmingham found the end zone on a Ricky Person 5-yard run. The next Birmingham possession found paydirt again to make it 33-12. A late safety for the Showboats accounted for the final tally.
Birmingham struck first on a Martinez touchdown pass to tight end Jace Sternberger. The Showboats answered after a Martinez fumble, when quarterback Case Cookus hooked up with wide receiver Vinny Papale for a 23-yard scoring strike to tie the game at 6-6.
A Martinez to Marlon Williams 53-yard touchdown pass made it 12-6 in favor of the Stallions. From there, the teams traded a pair of field goals each to account for the 18-12 halftime score.
Martinez accounted for 378 yards of offense for the Stallions, passing for 334 and rushing for a team-high 44. Cookus was 15-of-22 for 140 yards for Memphis, while Troy Williams came on in relief and finished 11-of-19 for 100 yards.Kyhava Tezino led the way for the Stallions’ defense with nine tackles and one sack. The Showboats’ Jordan Ferguson tallied a game-best 10 tackles and a sack.
The Showboats are in action again Saturday, April 20 at the St. Louis Battlehawks.
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