2023, May 7th: Stallions 24 @ Maulers 20

Since I'm in recap mode, having done the BSC game below, we'll deliberately skip over the Birmingham Stallions' loss 2023 week 3 loss to New Orleans and instead revisit the team's week 4 win over Pittsburgh, played in Canton, Ohio.

The text below is from a rather literal play-by-play summary from the Fox Sports website. The photos are from social media, with the exception of the one, lifted from an al.com recap of the week that was in the USFL.

Josh Simmons ran the opening kickoff out to the Birmingham 45-yard line for Pittsburgh.

On the fourth play of the drive, quarterback Troy Williams hit wide receiver Isiah Hennie for a 25-yard pickup, getting Pittsburgh inside the Birmingham 10-yard line. With that said, the Maulers didn't get into the end zone, settling for a 20-yard field goal from Chris Blewitt.

Birmingham and Pittsburgh went three-and-out after the latter's opening score. Then disaster struck for Birmingham, as quarterback Alex McGough had his pass intercepted by cornerback Mark Gilbert. 

One play after the turnover, Williams hit wide receiver Bailey Gaither for a 35-yard completion, putting the ball on the Birmingham 2-yard line... The Maulers were unable to reach the end zone again, though, settling for a 22-yard Blewitt field goal.

McGough was intercepted again on the first play of the next possession. This pick came from cornerback Keith Gipson Jr. on a downfield pass.

ZaQuandre White

After the Maulers got to midfield, Williams took off for a 16-yard carry... On the next play, Williams hit tight end Matt Seybert for a 20-yard pickup. The drive ended with a third Blewitt field goal.

Brandon Aubrey connected on a 37-yard field goal with 1:45 remaining in the second quarter to get Birmingham on the board.

Pittsburgh went three-and-out after the Birmingham field goal, and then the latter took the lead on the next drive.

After methodically bringing the ball down the field through the air, McGough ran in a 5-yard score, which saw him reach for the pylon near the sideline as time expired in the first half. The Stallions led 10-9 at halftime.

Alex McGough

Backed up at their own 9-yard line, Maulers running back Garrett Groshek produced a powerful first-down run to get them out of harm's way.

Two plays after the Groshek's first-down run, Williams threw downfield to wide receiver Tre Walker, who pulled off a sensational diving catch. The pair of big plays sparked a Pittsburgh drive that ended with a 46-yard field goal from Blewitt. Pittsburgh led 12-10 after the third quarter.

Birmingham put together a 14-play touchdown drive that ended with an eventful scoring play.

On third-and-9, McGough couldn't find an open receiver, continued to buy time with his legs, evaded sack attempts and eventually found wide receiver Davion Davis for the touchdown (below).

Williams took the snap, ran up the middle and ran around Birmingham's defense for a 34-yard touchdown, Pittsburgh's first of the game. Hennie then converted the 2-point conversion, giving the Maulers a 20-17 lead with 6:52 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Stallions got seven of those points back on the ensuing kickoff, as Deon Cain ran it out 91 yards for the touchdown.

(Deion Cain Photo by Jason Miller/USFL/Getty Images for USFL)

Pittsburgh went three-and-out after the kickoff return, and Birmingham proceeded to run out the clock thereafter.

In all, McGough led the team in rushing with 48 yards on ten carries including his dramatic TD.  Davion Davis had eight receptions for 71 yards and the lone touchdown through the air. Linebacker Scooby Wright had six tackles including one for a loss.  

2012, Sept. 8th: "No. 24 Panthers hold off Huntingdon for 45-38 road win"

Continuing to record BSC's accomplishments while the info is available, today we look at the victory that took them to 2-0 for the 2012 season. The writer and photographer were not identified in the original.

MONTGOMERY, Ala.—No. 24 Birmingham-Southern held off a late-game surge by Huntingdon to clinch a 45-38 win on the road in the fourth-annual Wesley Cup Game.

The Panthers move to 2-0 on the season, while the Hawks fall to 1-1. Today's game was nearly a replay of the end of last year's Wesley Cup face-off, but reversed, with Huntingdon having a chance to tie things up as the clock wound down. BSC scored on the final play of the game last season to tie it up, and eventually won in the second overtime. Today mark's BSC's third-straight win against the Hawks in the last four seasons.

The Panthers scored first in today's game when sophomore Michael Cowan caught a 46-yard pass from senior quarterback Jimmy Stainback at the 9:53 mark of the first quarter. Junior kicker Ryan Laughlin's extra point was good to put BSC up 7-0.

Huntingdon got on the board early in the second quarter on a 31-yard field goal by David Ballard to cut it to 7-3, and then took the lead with 2:17 left in the half on a one-yard run by Trevor Manuel, going up 10-7.

BSC answered less than two minutes later with a six-yard run by senior tailback Shawn Morris with 20 seconds left. Laughlin's kick was on the mark again, putting the Panthers up 14-10 at the half.

The Hawks took back the lead two minutes into the third quarter on a four-yard Manuel run to go up 17-14, but the Panthers responded on the very next play with a 69-yard run by Morris to go back up 21-17 at the 12:41 mark.

Laughlin connected on a 26-yard field goal at the 9:03 mark of the third quarter to increase the lead to 24-17, and junior Joseph Moultrie made a four-yard dash into the end zone with 1:01 left in the quarter to put BSC up 31-17 after another Laughlin extra point.

Huntingdon cut it to 31-24 with 12:45 left in the game on another short run by Manuel. On the next play, BSC answered with a 67-yard pass from Stainback to sophomore Sam Vermilyea, putting the Panthers up 38-24 with 10:44 left to play.

The BSC defense came up huge on the next play, as the Hawks advanced to the Panther one-yard line and ended up turning the ball over on downs. On the second play of the ensuing drive, sophomore Joseph Moultrie made a 99-yard run - a new BSC record - to the Huntingdon end zone to put the Panthers up 45-24 with 7:14 left.

The Hawks were able to score on the next possession when Neal Posey connected on a six-yard pass to Ephraim Johnson, cutting it to 45-31 with 5:02 left. After a BSC turnover, a 13-yard pass from Posey to Johnson cut it to 45-38 with 2:59 left in the game.

The Panthers were unable to score on their possession and punted with 1:20 to go. The Hawks advanced steadily down the field to the BSC 35-yard line, where a pass from Posey to Johnson was knocked down by senior Jordan Culliver as time expired to clinch the Panther victory.

Stainback was 11-of-16 with one interception for 265 yards passing, while Morris led on the ground with 123 yards and Moultrie added 111. Senior Aaron Sherrill led with 97 yards on four catches.

Posey passed for 388 yards with 26 completions on 42 attempts and no interceptions. Manuel led with 154 yards rushing, and Johnson had 173 receiving yards.

Laughlin was key for the Panther win today, going 6-of-6 on extra points with a field goal on top of that for nine points.

Senior Andrew Shannon led the BSC defense with nine tackles (five solo, four assisted), including 1.5 for losses of nine yards. Seniors Jake Robertson and Zack Lambert each had a sack. Senior Nick Gordon also recovered one of Huntingdon's three fumbles.

Parker wins 6A Championship 28-17 over Saraland

I'm posting about Parker recruits while neglecting to make mention of the school's first-ever championship. 

The text below is from an al.com, I believe, but obtained from msn.com. The photography is from Vasha Hunt and there's plenty more of it here. 

Parker’s Na’eem Offord, Timothy Merritt and Jourdin Crawford will all be playing big-time college football on Saturdays next fall.

As it turns out, they had one more big-time Friday night left in them as well.

Offord and Merritt, future defensive backs on the next level, scored two touchdowns each and Jourdin Crawford and the Parker (defense) limited Saraland’s high-scoring offense to just 17 points as the Thundering Herd won the school’s first Class 6A state football title at Birmingham’s Protective Stadium.

Parker finished 14-1 and was undefeated against in-state teams. The Herd’s only loss came against Carrollton, Ga.

...6-foot-1, 330-pound...Auburn signee (Crawford) finished with six tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss and three sacks. Keshaun Johnson added six tackles and two sacks, and the Thundering Herd held Saraland to just 26 yards rushing on 26 carries.

Parker scored on its first two possessions of the game on runs by Merritt out of the Wildcat formation. He capped a 65-yard drive with a 14-yard run and a 62-yard drive with a 6-yard run, giving the Herd a 14-0 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

The two teams exchanged touchdowns early in the second quarter. (Saraland quarterback KJ) Lacey hit Deshawn Spencer with a 39-yard TD pass, while Offord scored his first TD on a 15-yard run. However, the Spartans took momentum into the half when Lacey and Spencer connected again on a 37-yard TD that Spencer caught between a pair of Parker defenders.

Parker put the game away with a 12-play, 43-yard drive that took 5:59 off the clock in the final quarter. Merritt converted a fourth-and-9 with a 15-yard run before Offord scored from the 2 with 1:37 left to clinch the win.

Offord finished with 98 yards and 2 TDs on 16 carries. Merritt had 78 yards and 2 TDs on 19 carries. He also had 4 tackles. Dylan Reese was 6-of-11 through the air for 74 yards.

Joseph Holt to Georgia State

Adding another player to watch in the college ranks in the near future.

According to Georgia State's website, Holt is 6'2" / 186 and totaled a combined 76 tackles in two seasons at Parker.

War BHAM Eagle

Among Auburn's 25 signees this week, this four-start, 6'2 / 325 pound load from Parker stands out. Look forward to watching his progress. 

The biographical info below is from Auburn's website. 

Productive defensive lineman with impressive strength … two-year all-state selection for Coach Frank Warren at Parker High with 155 career tackles, 38 sacks … team MVP, all-state, all-region … Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game … first team Class 6A all-state, AL.com A-List … 67 tackles, 17 sacks (most in region) as a junior … ranked No. 8 overall prospect in Alabama by 247 Sports, ESPN … top 15 at his position nationally by ESPN, On3, 247 Sports .. honor roll student … also a track and field letterman in shot put … son of Antonio Robinson and Patsy Crawford.

Jax State Add Two

Jacksonville State has added two Birmingham guys to their program. Bios below.

Luke Reynolds

Linebacker/Safety | Briarwood Christian HS | Birmingham, Ala.

Prepped at Briarwood High School under coach Matthew Forester…Played on both sides of the ball for the Lions, starring at linebacker and running back…Rushed for 177 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-6 win over Corner early in the season…Closed out his regular season with a five touchdown, 206-yard performance against McAdory…Also lettered in baseball for the Lions.

Lance Johnson

Offensive Line | Ramsay HS | Birmingham, Ala.

Selected to the 2024 AHSAA North/South All-Star Game…Helped lead Ramsay to the Class 5A AHSAA title in 2022 and an appearance in the state title game in 2023…Chose Jax State over offers from Samford, Alabama A&M, Marshall and Arkansas State.

Sweeping the SWAC for Signees

Having just posted about Amon Scarbrough at Alabama State, we're going to look around the rest of the conference for a preview of who we'll be watching in the coming years.  

Emphasis on social media and communication in general differs from team to team in this conference. Alabama State and Alcorn State are among the more engaged teams and each has announced one Birmingham acquisition in the early signing period.  

There may be others around the conference, but not all the teams make it easy to know. I'll continue looking and update accordingly. 

More Accolades for Amon Scarbrough

The SWAC announced its all-star team on December 3rd and Birmingham's Amon Scarbrough was named first-team safety. 

Scarbrough tallied 60 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, four interceptions and five pass deflections. The Birmingham, Ala., native ranks 17th nationally and second in the SWAC with four interceptions and tied for fourth in nine passes defended.

The image above was shot by Shu Han.