The United Football League, created from the merger of the XFL and USFL, opened Saturday, with the UFL opening its 10-week season with two games featuring former XFL teams and former USFL teams.
Saturday began with a matchup of league champions in Arlington, Texas, with the two-time USFL champion Birmingham Stallions defeating the defending XFL champion Arlington Renegades. The Michigan Panthers picked things up in Game 2, as Jake Bates hit a 64-yard field goal with three seconds left to defeat the St. Louis Battlehawks, making it 2-0 for the former USFL team against the former XFL team. did.
ESPN will broadcast Sunday's games, starting with the San Antonio Brahmas hosting the DC Defenders at noon ET. The Houston Roughnecks will take on the Memphis Showboats, with the game ending at 3:00 PM ET in Houston.
Saturday's game
Michigan kicker Jake Bates made a 64-yard field goal with three seconds left, giving the Panthers a thrilling last-minute victory over the Battle Hawks in a game that saw the lead change hands four times in the final quarter. St. Louis took the lead with 49 seconds left on a 5-yard touchdown pass from AJ McCarron to Marcell Ateman, followed by an extra-point conversion pass from McCarron to Jake Sutherland that gave the Panthers a 19-yard lead.
updated record
Motor City Kitties: 1-0
Battle Bat: 0-1😽 https://t.co/KAMDRoGSYe
— Michigan Panthers (@USFLPanthers) March 30, 2024
Bates, a soccer player and kickoff specialist in college, made his first regular-season field goal attempt since high school. He took a kick after St. Louis (0-1) was called a timeout before the first attempt, which was also good. The Panthers (1-0) also got two rushing touchdowns from quarterback EJ Perry, who shook off two first-half interceptions, and got 85 yards rushing from Wes Hills.
McCarron completed 24 of 37 passes for the BattleHawks for 216 yards and two touchdowns, both of which came in the fourth quarter. Ateman had six receptions for 60 yards and one touchdown, and Sutherland had three receptions for 45 yards and one touchdown.
Stallions quarterback Matt Corral, a former Ole Miss star and 2022 third-round pick of the Carolina Panthers, threw for 201 yards on 12-of-21 passes and was hit by Deon Cain just before halftime. He threw a beautiful 39-yard touchdown pass to give Birmingham the lead. Win a battle between defending champions.
For those wondering who the real champion is 😏🐎
It's the Stallions W 🔥 #giddyup pic.twitter.com/ePHGHFPc7G
— B2B Champion Stallions 🏆🏆 (@USFLStallions) March 30, 2024
Touchdowns by Corral and Cain put the Stallions even with the Renegades (1-0) at 11-11 with three seconds left in the first half. The Stallions carried the momentum into the second half with short touchdown runs by Ricky Person Jr. and CJ Marable. Marable gained 67 yards on the touchdown run for Birmingham, which leads all rushers and is now 22-3 over the past two-plus seasons.
Arlington (0-1) found its way to the end zone first as Luis Perez's 51-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Winstead with 9:01 left in the second quarter gave the Renegades an 11-3 lead. entered. Perez completed 19 of 28 passes for a game-high 214 yards, but threw a costly interception to Birmingham cornerback Mark Gilbert in the fourth quarter, thwarting any comeback attempt.
sunday's game
