Sports stats



USFL Pittsburgh Maulers

Stallions Seek USFL Title Repeat against Upstart Maulers

by Fran Stuchbury
June 29, 2023 - United States Football League (USFL)
Pittsburgh Maulers


The United States Football League Championship matchup is set with the Pittsburgh Maulers set to face the defending champion Birmingham Stallions at Canton, Ohio, on Saturday at 8 pm est. on NBC.

Following a frantic finish Saturday which saw Pittsburgh rally to take a late lead only to see the game tied on a field goal on the last play of regulation, the Maulers advanced to the championship with a 31-27 overtime victory over the Michigan Panthers in the North Division playoff. The Pittsburgh defense continued to step up by creating three turnovers and stopping both Michigan overtime conversion attempts.

The following night the Stallions clinched a repeat trip to the title game with a dominating 47-22 South Division playoff win over the New Orleans Breakers. Quarterback Alex McGough put on a show, completing 21 of 31 passes for 310 yards and four touchdowns, while adding 84 yards rushing and another score.

2023 USFL PLAYOFF RECAPS

Pittsburgh Maulers 31, Michigan Panthers 27 (OT)

Birmingham Stallions 47, New Orleans Breakers 22

2023 USFL CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

In their previous meeting this season, the Stallions defeated the Maulers 24-20 in week four.

HEAD COACHES

At the head coach position, Skip Holtz led the Stallions to an 8-2 regular season record, earning him USFL Head Coach of the Year honors. He guided Birmingham through a spate of key injuries and an early season lull to the USFL's best record.

Pittsburgh's Ray Horton completed his first season, improving the team from 1-9 in 2022 to 4-6 this year. He collected Super Bowl rings as a cornerback with the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVIII along with a pair as a secondary coach in Super Bowls XL and XLIII with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

OFFENSE

The Stallions rode a multi-faceted performance by Alex McGough during the regular season. Stepping in for the injured J'Mar Smith in week one, McGough passed for 2,104 yards and a league-leading 20 touchdowns. His mobility is a big part of his game as he placed second on the team with 403 rushing yards and three scores.

WR Davion Davis grabbed 39 receptions for 575 yards and three touchdowns, and tight end Jace Sternberger caught 33 passes for 517 yards and a league-leading seven scores.

Running back C.J. Marable picked up the slack for the injured Bo Scarborough, contributing 524 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

On the Pittsburgh side, the numbers were less gaudy. Quarterback Troy Williams runs the show, passing for 1,414 yards and a team-leading 341 yards on the ground after taking the reins early in the season.

Isiah Hennie led the Maulers with 46 receptions for 474 yards and three touchdowns.

On the ground, Pittsburgh will lean on Garrett Groshek and Madre London to take some pressure off Williams. Last week Williams once again topped the squad with 36 rushing yards.

DEFENSE

The Maulers rely on a tough, opportunistic defense which led the USFL with 20 takeaways, 13 interceptions and 7 fumble recoveries, and placed second in the league by allowing 17.2 points per game. Mark Gilbert led he USFL with four interceptions. They added three more takeaways in their victory over the Panthers.

Pittsburgh kept it close in week four with two interceptions in their matchup against Birmingham.

On the Birmingham side, Defensive lineman Willie Yarbary led the Stallions defense with four sacks, while Nate Brooks added two interceptions.

In Birmingham's win over the Breakers, cornerback Brian Allen collected two huge interceptions. After dealing with a calf injury most of the season, Scooby Wright III returned to the lineup with three total tackles and one pass defensed. Wright secured a crucial interception in last season's 33-30 USFL Championship win over the Philadelphia Stars.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Birmingham's Brandon Aubrey connected on 14-of-15 field goal attempts with a long of 49 yards and led the USFL with six touchbacks on kickoffs.

Deon Cain contributed 606 kickoff return yards and two touchdowns, one of which was a 91-yarder for the game-winning score against Pittsburgh. Davion Davis averaged nine yards per punt return.

Colby Wadman averaged 48.7 yards per punt, the best in the USFL.

The Maulers also rely on strong special teams play. Chris Blewitt connected on 21-of-25 field goal attempts with a long of 54 yards and added five touchbacks on kickoffs.

Joshua Simmons rolled up 859 kickoff return yards and one touchdown, while Isiah Hennie led the lead with 17.5 yards per punt return.

Matt Mengel averaged 42.9 yards per punt and booted the longest punt this USFL season at 83 yards.

PLAYOFF NOTES

Saturday night's Pittsburgh Maulers - Michigan Panthers game on NBC drew 957,000 viewers. Sunday's New Orleans Breakers - Birmingham Stallions matchup on FOX had 852,000 viewers.

Every Touchdown of the Semifinals

USFL Top 10 Plays from the Semifinals

Check out the Pittsburgh Maulers Statistics

• Discuss this story on the United States Football League message board...

United States Football League Stories from June 29, 2023


The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central