Stallions Earn First Win and Apollos Remain Undefeated in Week Three Alliance of American Football Action

February 23, 2019 - Alliance of American Football (AAF) News Release

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Week three of The Alliance of American Football began with the league's first B/R Live broadcast as The Salt Lake Stallions ended The Arizona Hotshots undefeated run in its home opener at Rice-Eccles Stadium. In the night cap, The Orlando Apollos defended its home field and remained undefeated, securing a win over The Memphis Express.

"It was another first for The Alliance, with our week three opener streaming on B/R Live earlier this afternoon. We set out to provide fans with more top-flight, competitive football, and our lineup of world-class broadcast partners, in tandem with The Alliance platforms, helps us reach millions of fans each weekend," said Charlie Ebersol, co-founder & CEO, The Alliance. "Salt Lake fans were able to witness a historic victory at Rice-Eccles Stadium and The Apollos continue to separate from the pack in what turned out to be an exciting, tightly contested game in front of a crowd of over 20,000 in Orlando. We continue to see tremendous online engagement from fans, and expect that to continue tomorrow with two more games on tap."

The Salt Lake Stallions earned its first win in team history, defeating The Arizona Hotshots 23-15, improving to 1-2 on the season. The Stallions avenged a week one loss, dropping The Hotshots to 2-1 and tightening the standings in the Western Conference. Stallions QB Josh Woodrum returned to the starting lineup after being sidelined last week with a hamstring injury, completing 22 of 31 passes for 178 yards and a 25-yard touchdown strike to WR De'Mornay Pierson-El. The game turned on the first drive of the second half, when Hotshots QB John Wolford was intercepted by Stallions' LB Greer Martini. Wolford left the game with an injury, and Stallions RB Brandon Oliver scored a 1-yard touchdown on the ensuing drive to give the team a lead they would not relinquish. Stallions DE Karter Schult tallied his league leading fourth sack of the season, and the defense stopped the first onside conversion attempt in league history to seal the victory.

Orlando Apollos QB Garrett Gilbert threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to WR Rannell Hall on a 4th and 8 play in the third quarter en route to a 21-17 win over The Memphis Express. Gilbert followed his offensive player of the week nomination with another stellar game, throwing for 207 yards and accounting for two touchdowns, including a 21-yard run to seal the game. Apollos LB Terence Garvin recorded his league leading third interception of the season in the win as The Apollos improved to 3-0. Express QB Zach Mettenberger replaced QB Christian Hackenberg to start the second half, providing an offensive spark, throwing for 120 yards and two touchdowns. The Express' defense held the highest scoring team in the league to 21 points, but was unable to prevent The Apollos from running out the clock at the end of the game and falling to 0-3.

Tune in Sunday as The Birmingham Iron take on The Atlanta Legends at 4:00pm ET on CBS Sports Network and The San Diego Fleet host The San Antonio Commanders in a week one rematch on NFL Network at 8:00pm ET.

Memphis Express quarterback Zach Mettenberger against the Orlando Apollos (Julio Aguilar/AAF/Getty Images)

Alliance of American Football Stories from February 23, 2019

• Stallions Earn First Win and Apollos Remain Undefeated in Week Three Alliance of American Football Action - AAF
• Woodrum Leads Stallions over Hotshots - Salt Lake Stallions

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