Sept 2nd, 2017: "UAB pulls away from Alabama A&M to win return game"

I  was reminded of UAB's record-setting home crowd while looking up something in the program's 2022 media guide and that event seemed like something worth recording here.

The al.com article below is by Drew Champlin. I normally post only about half of the content and link to the original material but Drew's work here is of such quality that I couldn't find anything to trim. It all seemed noteworthy and relevant, so it's all there. All photography is credited individually (but it's all Mark Almond's anyway). 

For the first half of UAB's 38-7 win over Alabama A&M, the Blazers looked like a brand new team that had not played anyone else in more than 1,000 days.

But UAB celebrated its return to game action and school attendance record crowd of 45,212 thanks to a stout defense and two game-changing third-quarter plays.

Quarterback A.J. Erdely finished 11-of-20 for 152 yards and two scores - 26 yards to Sederian Copeland and 15 to Andre Wilson.

This was UAB's first game since a 45-24 win at Southern Miss on Nov. 29, 2014. Three days later, president Ray Watts killed the program before bringing it back the following June.

Many millions of dollars raised later, UAB football was back.

UAB running back James Noble tries to escape the tackle of Alabama A&M linebacker Quantravis Kelly during a NCAA college football game at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala., Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017. (Mark Almond/preps@al.com)

UAB's offense struggled for most of the day. The offensive line couldn't protect A.J. Erdely and A&M's pressure forced him out of the pocket for most of the game. Midway through the third, a holding penalty on Rishard Cook forced a 1st and 20 from the 26. UAB held on to a 10-7 lead, which it took into halftime.

There, Erdely rolled to his right and found Sederian Copeland, a former quarterback in junior college. He made his first career catch a memorable one, fighting through holding and turning completely around in the end zone to make the catch.

It gave UAB a 17-7 lead with 6:30 left in the third.

UAB defensive back Duke Culver (left) and UAB linebacker Shaq Jones wrap up Alabama A&M wide receiver Isaiah Bailey during a NCAA college football game at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala., Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017. (Mark Almond/preps@al.com)

At 6-foot-5 and 340 pounds, Anthony Rush is one of UAB's biggest players.

But he looked mighty nimble when, on Alabama A&M's next possession following the Copeland score, the defensive tackle tipped Aqueel Glass' pass up in the air to himself and intercepted it. He rumbled like a running back into the end zone from 27 yards out and scored.

It came just 37 seconds after the offensive score.

That put UAB up 24-7 and, with the way UAB's defense played, essentially iced it with six minutes left in the third quarter.

Alabama A&M's only touchdown came on a 46-yard reception by Roderick Randolph late in the second quarter. UAB blitzed. No one picked up Randolph and he broke a tackle in the secondary.

It was all UAB after that, as the Blazers didn't give up another score. The Blazers gave up just 183 total yards.

UAB quarterback A.J. Erdely looks to throw behind the blocking of UAB offensive lineman Charles Richardson against Alabama A&M during a NCAA college football game at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala., Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017. (Mark Almond/preps@al.com)

Tevin Crews, who started his college career in 2011 and stuck with the program, led the way with seven tackles, three for loss. It was a career game for the seventh-year senior.

UAB responded with a 46-yard field goal from Nick Vogel to take a 10-7 lead into halftime. Vogel and punter Joel Dixon also had nice games.

For Saturday's game, there was a surprise rushing leader. Redshirt freshman walk-on Carlos Stephens led with 15 carries for 74 yards. He wasn't on the three-deep given to the media on Monday, but the former Thompson High standout has played well in scrimmages.

Starter James Noble III wasn't far behind him, rushing 13 times for 74 yards.

Donnie Lee, listed as a potential starter on Monday, did not play until the game was out of hand in the fourth quarter. He was the fifth Blazer running back to get a carry after Spencer Brown and Lucious Stanley.

Brown scored UAB's final touchdown on a 5-yard score late. He rushed for 42 yards on seven carries.

UAB's ground game put up 259 yards.

March 3rd, 2019: San Antonio Commanders 12 @ Birmingham Iron 11

Game summary below by Evan Dudley for al.com, and photography by Vasha Hunt.  

Offensive struggles finally caught up with Birmingham (3-1) in its 12-11 loss to the San Antonio Commanders today at Legion Field. The Iron gained 283 total yards but were just 3-of-10 on third-downs while committing two late turnovers.

(Running back Trent) Richardson entered the fourth week of the season with 145 rushing yards and a league-leading six rushing touchdowns, but finished with 52 total yards and one touchdown. His backmate, former Maryland Terrapin Brandon Ross, added 64 yards on nine carries but fumbled twice in the final quarter only for San Antonio to recover.

Birmingham Iron running back Brandon Ross (45) gets into open field during the first half of the San Antonio Commanders at Birmingham Iron AAF pro football game, Sunday, March 3, 2019, at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.  

Luis Perez looked more comfortable in the Iron’s victory over Atlanta last week but finished 19-of-39 for 202 yards and two interceptions. Perez did flash his potential on both scoring drives but was inconsistent and threw his second interception of the season midway through the third quarter and added his second of the game on an onside attempt – there are no onside kicks in the AAF – after the Iron pulled within a single point on a Trent Richardson 1-yard touchdown run and the Iron’s subsequent 2-point conversion that cut San Antonio’s lead to 12-11 late in the fourth quarter.

...

The Iron started the game with two big passes from Perez to Richardson and L’Damien Washington, but the drive stalled, and punter Colton Schmidt pinned San Antonio at its 1-yard line. The Commanders drove 89 yards but a third-down sack by Beniquez Brown ended the threat and forced a 39-yard field goal from San Antonio’s Nick Rose.

Birmingam Iron linebebacker Jonathan Massaquoi (57) and others stop San Antonio Commanders running back Trey Williams (35) during the first half of the San Antonio Commanders at Birmingham Iron AAF pro football game, Sunday, March 3, 2019, at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.

Penalties and inconsistency plagued both teams on their next two drives until the Iron’s Nick Novak tied the game on a 33-yard field goal following a 12-play, 64-yard drive. Perez was 8-of-11 and completed his first four passes on the drive after starting the game 3-of-10 for 34 yards.

San Antonio opened the second half but were unable to move the ball while the Iron responded with their own failed drive. Schmidt pinned his fourth straight punt of the day inside the 10-yard line on the ensuing kick and Birmingham forced its first three-and-out of the day on the next possession.

Coming back out, Perez completed a 22-yard pass to Wes Saxton to midfield and an unnecessary roughness call one play later pushed the Iron to the San Antonio 35-yard line. Another defensive penalty moved Birmingham to the 24-yard line but Perez threw his second interception of the season on the next play.

Birmingham Iron defensive back Ryan White (22) cheers after the final stop of a double-goal-line stand during the second half of the San Antonio Commanders at Birmingham Iron AAF pro football game, Sunday, March 3, 2019, at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.

The Commanders quickly moved down the field and took a 9-3 lead on a 12-yard rushing touchdown from Trey Williams. A 26-yard run by Kenneth Farrow on the first play of the drive and a defensive facemask penalty aided San Antonio on the drive.

Birmingham closed with a nine-play, 75-yard drive to cut the San Antonio lead to a single possession on the 1-yard score from Richardson. The Iron attempted the onside attempt but Perez was intercepted and the Commanders kneeled it three times to end the game.

Sept. 21st, 1991: "Blazers Get Their First Football Victory"

Once again, since I was looking at articles about the Fire in 1992, I decided to step back just a little to have a look at UAB's first season in D-III as an independent. 

The post title is literally the heading to the article below, published on September 22nd in the Birmingham Post-Herald.

March 29th, 1992: San Antonio Riders 10 @ Birmingham Fire 17

The crowd may not have been great for the 1992 Birmingham Fire's home opener, but the coverage was outstanding.

All images below are from the following day's Birmingham Post-Herald.

"Birmingham Stallions quarterback J'Mar Smith back for a second season"

The text below is a partial article from 1819.com. Check out the full version at this link.

The photography was copied from Smith's own Instagram account, uncredited.

Smith was the Conference USA Player of the Year at Louisiana Tech in 2019. He played in 44 games during his college career, with his final appearance coming in a 14-0 win over Miami in the Independence Bowl. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the New England Patriots but was released before training camp began. He was part of a Canadian Football League practice squad before being released again.

Smith was coaching football at Huntington High in Shreveport, Louisiana.

“I was the quarterback's coach there,” said Smith, whose father, Kenny Smith, is a former defensive lineman at the University of Alabama and was a nine-year NFL veteran. “I coached a great guy in Kam Evans, who is going to do great things. That kept me into it, helping those guys get to where they wanted to be, helping those guys understand football a little bit more. Helping those guys understand football as a sport and the life lessons that comes with it.”

Then came the call from Holtz, his coach at Louisiana Tech.

“I remember it, man,” Smith said. “I was in the living room on my headset with my best friends. We call ourselves Five Guys. There’s five of us. We all went to Louisiana Tech, and the night of the draft last year, I saw Coach Holtz's personal number call me. I knew how I was going to be coached. I knew the expectations. I knew what to expect from him. When me and Coach Holtz first got on the call, I’m getting chills thinking about it. The ups and down we’ve been through came back. There’s been a lot of ups, but there’s been downs too, especially with a head coach and a quarterback.”

Smith said playing at Protective Stadium had a lot to do with the team's success.

"I can clearly remember, me and (linebacker Scooby Wright) went to, I want to say it was Michigan and Pittsburgh," Smith said. "It was after our game, on a Sunday, and I could count there were maybe 100 people there. You could hear everything going on the field. It was like, 'Man. We're grateful to have the city of Birmingham supporting us.' They rallied around us. It helped that first game with me, the energy. I started off slow, trying to get a groove. I was hadn't played ball since 2019. I was trying to get a groove back into the game."

June 10th, 1984: Washington Federals 21 @ Birmingham Stallions 42

Despite the breaks between scans, this article reads as two columns; straight down the left side then down the right. 

March 26th, 1992: "Familiarity Helps (Philip) Doyle Kick With The Best of Them"

The article below is from the Birmingham Post-Herald.

May 27th, 1984: Birmingham Stallions 31 @ New Orleans Breakers 14

Game summary from the May 28th, 1984, Birmingham Post-Herald.

May 18th, 1984: Birmingham Stallions 41 @ Chicago Blitz 07

Summary of the above game from the Birmingham Post-Herald.