2023, May 20th: Birmingham Stallions 27 @ Michigan Panthers 13

The game summary below is by Josh Boutwell for the Troy Messenger. 

In light of how successful the Stallions have been, it's easy to forget that they were 3-2 at this point of the 2023 season after losing two of their previous three. The  got back on track against the Panthers and rolled from here on in.

The two sides exchanged field goals in the first quarter and the Stallions capped off a 14-play drive to open the second quarter with another Brandon Aubrey field goal to go up 6-3 with 10:16 left in the first half. After Michigan missed a 48-yard field goal attempt, Birmingham marched on a 10-play drive that quarterback Alex McGough finished off with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Zaquandre White to give the Stallions a 13-3 lead at halftime.

CJ Marable

The only score in the third quarter came on a Michigan 11-yard touchdown pass from Josh Love to Cole Hikutini with 4:09 to play in the period, cutting Birmingham’s lead to 13-10. 

The Stallions capped off an 11-play drive to open the fourth quarter with a 4-yard scoring pass from McGough to CJ Marable to extend the Birmingham lead to 20-10. 

After the Birmingham defense forced a three-and-out, White lost a fumble on Birmingham’s first play of the next drive. A 31-yard Michigan field goal cut the Stallion lead to 20-13 with 8:46 left. Birmingham answered with an 8-play scoring drive that saw McGough cash in a 10-yard touchdown run to secure the 27-13 for the defending champs.  

Birmingham rolled up 312 yards of offense, while the Panthers managed 295 yards. The Stallions tallied 190 yards on the ground, by far the best rushing performance of the season for Birmingham. Marable led the Stallion ground game with 100 yards on 18 carries, while also grabbing three catches for 16 yards and a score. McGough finished the game 19-of-24 passing for 133 yards and two touchdowns along with 11 carries for 82 yards and one touchdown. Adrian Hardy caught four passes for 37 yards.