Stallions Fall 29-28 in Back-And-Forth Battle with St. Louis

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UFL Birmingham Stallions

Stallions Fall 29-28 in Back-And-Forth Battle with St. Louis

May 17, 2025 - United Football League (UFL)
Birmingham Stallions News Release


The Birmingham Stallions (5-3) dropped a 29-28 back-and-forth matchup to the St. Louis Battlehawks (6-2) on Saturday afternoon inside The Dome at America's Center. Despite the defeat that featured six total lead changes, the Stallions secured a spot in the USFL Conference Championship Game against the Michigan Panthers.

"What a game," said Head Coach of the Birmingham Stallions Skip Holtz. "Two teams that battled it out all game. It's like two heavyweights just standing in the middle of the ring, slugging it out. I give St. Louis a lot of credit, and I think they did what they needed to do to win today. Looking at our football team, I am proud of how they competed and fought, and it was one of those games that made us feel like we ran out of time. You'll always learn lessons in life, and we, as a football team, definitely did that today. With J'Mar (Smith) being our fifth quarterback, I was proud of how he competed and made some plays. I certainly think there are a couple of plays in that game that we would like to see back. However, the thing about football and sports is that you can't have them back and have to own them. All you can do is learn from it, grow from it, and get better as a football team. With Houston's loss to Michigan, we know we will be in the playoffs, and we have to grow as a team and keep moving forward. This was a heck of a football game today; we greatly respect St. Louis' team and their coaching staff. We fell short today on the scoreboard, but I certainly believe we made some strides as a football team today."

Making his first start of the season at quarterback, J'Mar Smith finished the day completing 14-of-27 passes for 262 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Smith was also the leading rusher for Birmingham, accounting for 45 yards on 10 carries. All three of Smith's touchdown passes were either 47 yards or over, as Deon Cain was on the receiving end of two of Smith's three touchdown passes. Cain led Stallions receivers with 115 yards on two catches. Both of his receptions went for scores, the first from 65 yards out and the second from 50. Cade Johnson hauled in the final touchdown of the day, a 47-yard touchdown reception late in the fourth quarter. In total, nine Birmingham receivers recorded at least one reception on the day.

Defensively, Birmingham only surrendered 102 yards passing and forced a season-high three turnovers. A.J. Thomas picked off his second pass of the season, while Mario Goodrich and Daniel Isom each forced a fumble. Those fumbles were recovered by Tae Crowder and Kyahva Tezino, respectively. Tre Norwood led the way with eight total tackles, five of which were solo stops. Thomas and DeMarquis Gates each had six tackles a piece with Gates registering half a sack and Thomas adding a pass break up to go along with his interception. The defense ended the day with three tackles for loss, courtesy of Crowder, Perrion Winfrey and Myjai Sanders.

Notes

With Houston's loss to Michigan, the Stallions have secured a spot in the USFL Conference Championship Game for the second year in a row.

Saturday's game saw six total lead changes.

The Stallions forced a season-high three turnovers on the day; the previous high was two takeaways, a feat that Birmingham achieved in each of the first four games of the season.

J'Mar Smith's first quarter touchdown pass to Deon Cain went for 65 yards, the longest single play of the season for Birmingham.

A.J. Thomas recorded his franchise leading fifth interception of his career and his second pick this season.

Deon Cain's multi-touchdown performance marks the first time a Stallions receiver has had two receiving touchdowns since Marlon Willimas hauled in a pair of touchdown receptions on 5/4/24 against the Memphis Showboats.

Smith's three touchdown passes are the most touchdowns a Stallons' quarterback has thrown in a game this season.

All three of Smith's touchdown passes were 47 yards or more.

Harrison Mevis continues his all-league caliber season, connecting on three field goals to push his season total to 18-of-19.

ATTENDANCE: 30,114

How It Happened

First Quarter

11:01 - BHM | On the first play from scrimmage, J'Mar Smith connected with Deon Cain on a 65-yard touchdown pass to get the Stallions on the board first. The following two-point conversion was unsuccessful (6-0, Stallions).

8:50 - BHM | Following a fumble by St. Louis on the ensuing kickoff that was forced by Mario Goodrich and recovered by Tae Crowder. Birmingham added to the lead with a 45-yard field goal from Harrison Mevis (9-0, Stallions).

3:43 - STL | St. Louis got on the board on a 13-yard touchdown run that ended a nine-play, 45-yard drive. The following one-point attempt was denied (9-6, Stallions).

Second Quarter

13:26 - STL | The Battlehawks took advantage of a fumble recovery deep in Birmingham territory, taking their first lead of the day on a 12-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage. The following one-point attempt was successful (13-9, Battlehawks).

4:40 - BHM | Mevis cut the deficit to one with a 34-yard field goal that brought a 14-play, 55-yard drive to a close (13-12, Battlehawks).

Third Quarter

13:05 - BHM | Following an interception by A.J. Thomas, Birmingham regained the lead on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Cain to end a quick, two-play, 54-yard drive. The Stallions elected to attempt a two-point conversion but were unsuccessful (18-13, Stallions).

2:37 - BHM | After a fumble recovery by Kyahva Tezino deep in Birmingham territory, Mevis added to the lead with a 36-yard field goal that concluded an 11-play, 57-yard drive (21-13, Stallions).

Fourth Quarter

13:53 - STL | St. Louis cut into the lead with a 49-yard field goal, ending an eight-play, 34-yard drive (21-16, Stallions).

13:13 - STL | A Battlehawks defender stepped in front of a slant route, intercepting it, and returning it 18 yards for a touchdown to help St. Louis retake the lead. The Battlehawks elected to go for the two-point conversion but were unsuccessful (22-21, Battlehawks).

5:21 - BHM | Smith found Cade Johnson on a 47-yard, go-ahead touchdown pass that brought a four-play, 64-yard drive to a close. Smith connected with Cain in the back corner of the end zone for a successful one-point conversion on the following play (28-22, Stallions).

3:03 - STL | St. Louis answered on the following possession, scoring on a one-yard touchdown run. The Battlehawks elected to attempt the one-point conversion and were successful, giving St. Louis the late lead (29-28, Battlehawks).

Up Next

The Stallions will return to Protective Stadium for a Week 9 USFL Conference matchup against the Michigan Panthers.

The game will be played on Saturday, May 24, at 2 p.m. CT and will be aired live on ABC.

Check out the Birmingham Stallions Statistics



United Football League Stories from May 17, 2025


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