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UFL Memphis Showboats

Memphis Showboats Game Notes

April 23, 2024 - United Football League (UFL)
Memphis Showboats News Release


A key USFL Conference matchup is on tap Sunday at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. The Michigan Panthers are 2-2, while the Showboats are 1-3.

Should Michigan win, the Panthers would be alone in second place in the conference. A Memphis victory would put the Showboats in a tie for second with the Panthers, but would give Memphis a leg up in tie-breakers for playoff positioning down the road.

Michigan has alternated wins and losses since Week 1, defeating St. Louis and Houston in Weeiks 1 and 3 and falling to Birmingham and San Antonio in Weeks 2 and 4.

Michigan is the No. 5 offense in the UFL, while Memphis currently ranks No. 8 in the eight-team league. The Panthers are No. 5 in total defense, while Memphis checks in at No. 7.

Saturday's game is slated for a 2 p.m. CT kickoff and will be broadcast nationally on FOX.

The Memphis radio broadcast will be heard on News Talk 98.9, with Eli Savoie, Russell Copeland and Tyler Springs on the call.

LAST WEEK

The St. Louis Battlehawks scored 12 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 32-17 victory over the Memphis Showboats last week.

Memphis grabbed an early lead, then withstood and fought back from a first-quarter St. Louis barrage. But the Battlehawks put the game away in the fourth quarter.

St. Louis opened the scoring with a field goal. But Memphis grabbed a 6-3 lead when Vinny Papale hauled in a 17-yard touchdown pass from Case Cookus with 8:46 left in the first.

The Battlehawks responded to grab a 17-6 lead at the end of one quarter.

Memphis absorbed the blow and fought back.

Darius Victor busted into the end zone from 2 yards away. A 2-point conversion pass pulled the Showboats back within three, 17-14. A Quenton Meeks interception set Memphis up for a Matt Coghlin field goal and a 17-17 tie.

Andre Szmyt hit a 47-yard field goal to put St.

Louis team in front 20-17 at the intermission.After a scoreless third quarter, McCarron threw two TD passes in the fourth quarter to take the victory.

LET THE CHEF COOK

Starting quarterback Case Cookus' nickname is The Chef. So far this season, the recipe has called for a lot out of The Chef.

Cookus is 63-of-105 passing for 592 yards, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He is also Memphis' second-leading rusher. Cookus has rushed for 74 yards on 15 carries this season. His 666 yards of total offense currently ranks No. 5 in the UFL.

RUNNING BACK NOTEBOOK

- Darius Victor was the 2022 USFL Offensive Player of the Year, an All-USFL selection and led the league in rushing touchdowns. He rushed for 477 yards and nine touchdowns in 2022 for the New Jersey Generals. While his touchdown total went down in 2023, he rushed for 551 yards last season and his yards per carry was up nearly one full yard. In 2022, he averaged 4.54 yards per carry and that average increased to 5.51 last season.

- Titus Swen and Darius Victor have an interesting shared background. Both were refugees of Civil War-torn Liberia in their youth. Both found their way to the U.S., picked up football, became running backs and now share the same locker room.

- Cyrus Habibi-Likio joined the team prior to the Week 4 matchup at St. Louis and saw plenty of action. Habibi-Likio did not record a carry, but played a great deal on special teams and saw action in the backfield as well.

- Swen had one reception in the season-opener, but it was a big one. Facing a 3rd- and-4 at the Houston 47 with less than four minutes remaining, Swen took a swing pass to the left and looked for the sticks. He lowered his shoulder and powered past the first-down marker in a big collision with the Roughnecks' Colby Richardson. The initial first down of the possession allowed Memphis to control the ball and run the clock under one minute left in the game.

QUARTERBACK NOTEBOOK

- Case Cookus was a two-year starter for the Philadelphia Stars. Josh Love started nine games for the Michigan Panthers last season. Troy Williams started eight games for the Pittsburgh Maulers last season. No other UFL team can boast that amount of USFL/XFL starting experience among its top three quarterbacks.

- Cookus ranked No. 2 in the USFL in passing yards last season, throwing for 2,433 yards, while playing for the Philadelphia Stars. He also passed for 14 touchdowns, which ranked No. 3 in the league.

- Williams was one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the USFL last season. He passed for 1,414 yards and six touchdowns, while rushing for 341 yards and three scores for the Pittsburgh Maulers. Williams played the entire fourth quarter the past two games.

- Love passed for 1,556 yards and 13 touchdowns with 13 interceptions for the Michigan Panthers last season.

VICTOR BREAKS OUT

Battling injury for most of the season, Darius Victor has struggled to get things going in the running game. But he broke out a bit at St. Louis last week.

Victor found the end zone for the first time this season against the Battlehawks and rushed for 58 yards on 11 carries. He also caught three passes for 16 yards. Victor currently averages 28.5 yards per game.

PAPALE PRODUCES, HITS PAYDIRT AGAIN

Vinny Papale and Marcus Simms of Michigan are the only UFL receivers to have receiving touchdowns in more than two games. Both have one touchdown catch in three of their teams' four games.

Papale has 10 receptions on the season, meaning he reaches the end zone on 30 percent of his catches. While he's tied for No. 1 in the league in receiving TDs, he's No. 27 in receiving yards.

WIDE RECEIVER NOTEBOOK

- Papale is one of just three UFL receivers with three touchdowns this season, joining Marcus Simms (Michigan) and Marcell Ateman (St. Louis). Papale has a TD catch in each of the Showboats' three road games this season.

- Jonathan Adams ranked No. 6 in the USFL in receiving yards last season, playing under John DeFilippo with the New Orleans Breakers. Adams hauled in 41 receptions for 511 yards and 2 touchdowns. He ranks No. 9 in the UFL in receiving yards so far this season, with 13 receptions for 174 yards.

- Papale was the Showboats' leading receiver last season, catching 33 balls for 345 yards and three scores. He was also an All-USFL selection as a Special Teams Player.

And yes, if you recognize his name, his father is Vince Papale, the subject of the movie Invincible.

TIGHT END NOTEBOOK

- Surratt was the top-ranked tight end in the USFL in both receptions and receiving yards last season. He hauled in 50 receptions for 552 yards. His reception total was No. 2 in the league among all receivers, while his receiving yards ranked No. 3 among all receivers. He did all that under John DeFilippo with the Breakers.

- Jay Jay Wilson returns to the Showboats after catching 16 balls for 170 yards and a score last season.

- Wes Saxton comes to the Showboats after playing for the New Jersey Generals in both 2022 and 2023. Saxton missed the last two games with an injury.

- Saxton iced the victory for the Showboats vs. Houston in Week 1, making a play on special teams. He recovered a muffed punt with less than a minute left, allowing Memphis to run out the clock and secure the win.

OFFENSIVE LINE NOTEBOOK

- Jarron Jones returns to the Showboats as a two-time All-USFL selection for the franchise. He earned that honor with the Tampa Bay Bandits in 2022, before the franchise became the Memphis Showboats.

- Jared Thomas was a 2022 All-USFL selection with New Orleans and played for the XFL Seattle Sea Dragons last season..

- Terry Poole got the start at left tackle in Week 1 at Houston, but has since been released. Larry Tunstall took over the left tackle spot the last three weeks. Darrin Paulo has started all three at left guard. Thomas has held down the center spot, Jarron Jones (tackle) manned the right tackle position.

- Jordan McCray got his first start of the season last week at Birmingham, lining up at right guard.

SURE-HANDED SURRATT

Tight end Sage Surratt is No. 3 in the UFL among tight ends with 134 yards receiving on 14 receptions. Surratt caught four balls for 40 yards at Birmingham in Week 3 and four more for 24 yards last week in St. Louis.

DEFENSIVE LINE NOTEBOOK

- John Atkins Sr. returns to anchor the defensive line for the Showboats. He was a 2023 All-USFL selection, recording 29 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Atkins has been with the franchise since 2022, when it was the Tampa Bay Bandits. Atkins has seven stops in four games this season to rank No. 2 on the Showboats' defensive line.

- Dilon Faamatau has six tackles this season, to go along with 1 TFL and 1 fumble recovery.

- Josiah Bronson, Atkins, Faamatau, Mack and P.J. Hall all saw action along the defensive front last week.

MACK DADDY IN THE MIDDLE

Nose tackle Daylon Mack recorded five tackles last week at St. Louis. That's the most for a Showboats' defensive lineman in a game this season. Through four weeks, mack has eight total stops, which is also tops among the Showboats D-Line.

ONE IN A MAXIMILLIAN

Maximillian Roberts has not been on the field to start a game for the Showboats. But when he has been on the field, his presence is felt.

Roberts is tied for No. 3 in the UFL with three sacks. He is one of just seven UFL players with 3+ sacks through two games. Roberts tallied two sacks, a forced fumble and a tackle for-loss against San Antonio in Week 2.

SECONDARY NOTEBOOK

- T.J. Green returns to the Memphis secondary. He tallied 21 tackles last season and his lone interception of the season secured a win over Houston on May 28, 2023. He recorded a team-best 6 solo stops (7 total) with 2 tackles for-loss in Week 2 vs. SA. He missed last week's game with an injury.

- Christian McFarland and Kyree Woods teamed up to produce a defensive score in Week 1 with Woods forcing a fumble and McFarland returning it for the touchdown.

- McFarland comes to the Showboats after two seasons with the Birmingham Stallions, where he racked up 98 total tackles in two seasons.

- Quenton Meeks returns to the 'Boats after posting 21 stops and 1 INT last year. He played for both New Orleans and Tampa Bay in the USFL's 2022 season. Meeks returned an interception 42 yards at St. Louis last week, third-longest in the UFL.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTEBOOK

- Matt Coghlin made 18-of-19 field goal attempts last season for New Orleans. He was 6-of-6 from 40-49 yards and did not miss a field goal of less than 50 yards. After going 1-for-1 last week, he is now 9-of-10 and still has not missed from less than 50. Coghlin buried a career-best 57-yarder in Week 3 at Birmingham.

- Matthew White averaged 44.9 yards per punt last season for the Breakers, ranking No. 4 in the USFL. He currently ranks No. 3 in the UFL with an average of 44.9 yards per punt. His 66-yarder in Week 3 at Birmingham is the longest of the UFL season.

- Head coach John DeFilippo is very familiar with his specialists. The Showboats' new head coach brought his kicker, punter and long snapper over with him from the New Orleans Breakers. Coghlin handles the placekicking duties, while White punts and holds for placekicks. Turner Bernard is the long snapper.

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN(S)!

The Showboats have announced their captains for the 2024 season, as determined by a team vote. The 2024 Memphis Showboats captains are:

- DL John Atkins Sr.

- QB Case Cookus

- DB Jarey Elder

- RB Darius Victor

- P Matt White

LINEBACKER NOTEBOOK

- Malik Lawal leads the Showboats' defense iwth 23 total tackles. He has also contributed 2 tackles for-loss and forced a fumble. Lawal currently ranks No. 12 in the UFL in total tackles.

- Jordan Ferguson led the Memphis defense in Week 3 at Birmingham. He tallied 10 tackles and a sack, becoming the first Showboat to reach double-digit stops in a game so far this season. His 18 total stops ranks No. 3 on the team.

- Outside linebacker Greg Reaves had two sacks, including a strip sack for a turnover against Houston in Week 1.

- T.J. Neal topped the stat sheet for the Showboats defense in Week 1 with four solo stops vs. the Roughnecks. Neal has been with the franchise for three seasons now.

He was on the team in 2022 as part of the Tampa Bay Bandits, as well.

MCPHATTER MAKES HIS MARK

Lamont McPhatter recorded 11 tackles to lead the Showboats' defense last week. It was the most for a Memphis defender this season. In the UFL this season, only two other players have had more tackles in a game.

POSSESSION IS 9/10THS OF THE LAW

Memphis ranks No. 2 in the UFL in time of possession. The Showboats' average time of possession is 31:57. Last week's game at St. Louis was the first time this season that Memphis did not win the time of possession battle.

The Showboats held the ball for 39:32 against the Roughnecks in Week 1, 36:13 in Week 2 against San Antonio and 30:14 in Week 3 at Birmingham.

GOTTA TAKE CARE OF THE LAUNDRY

Penalties have hurt the Showboats this season. Memphis is currently the second- most penalized team in the UFL, averaging 7 penalties per game.

WHAT'S THE CONVERSION RATE?

While the Memphis offense has struggled to score and consistently gain yardage, the Showboats are still among the top half in the league in third-down conversions.

Memphis has converted 20-of-49 third downs (40.9 percent) to rank No. 4 in the league.

ROSTER MOVES

The Showboats announced a pair of roster moves prior to the Week 4 game in St. Louis. Memphis waived tackle Terry Poole and running back Trey Williams.

In a corresponding move, Memphis added running back Cyrus Habibi-Likio and tackle Marcus Tatum. Habibi-Likio played college football at Boise State and Oregon, where he saw action in 43 games with 23 rushing touchdowns. Tatum played two seasons at UCF and was an Honorable Mention All-AAC performer. He transferred to UCF from Tennessee, where he he started 11 games.

PAPER OR PLASTIC?

The Showboats' defense currently ranks No. 3 in the UFL in sacks. Memphis has gotten to the quarterback nine times this season. Only Birmingham (17) and San Antonio (15) have more sacks this season.

Check out the Memphis Showboats Statistics



United Football League Stories from April 23, 2024


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