John Goolsby, Prep Sports Editor
DETROIT – The Birmingham Stallions (2-0) went on the road for their second game in a row and hung on for a 20-13 win over the Michigan Panthers (1-1).
The Stallions’ defense made a stand at the end of the game to secure the win.
“I was really pleased with the way the defense played there at the end of the game; they finished it,” said head coach Skip Holtz.
The Stallions have now won eight straight games dating back to last season.
The Stallions moved the ball 54 yards on their opening drive, but it stalled on the 16-yard line.
Birmingham took an early 3-0 lead with a 34-yard Chris Blewitt field goal with 5:45 remaining in that opening stanza.
The Panthers then moved the ball to the Stallions’ 16-yard line but threw an interception to Detroit native A.J. Thomas at the 12-yard line.
The Stallions, with Adrian Martinez at quarterback, drove to the Panthers’ 12-yard line but could not punch the ball in the end zone.
The Stallions extended their lead to 6-0 with a 30-yard field goal by Blewitt.
The Stallions’ defense came up with another big play. Defensive back Kenny Robinson, Jr. scooped up a Panther fumble near midfield and returned it to the Michigan 35-yard line.
The Stallions, unable to score a touchdown, kicked their third field goal to take a 9-0 lead on a Blewitt 38-yarder.
The Panthers continued to fight and got on the board quickly with a 76-yard E.J. Perry to Marcus Simms touchdown with 3:25 remaining to make it a 9-7 game.
Birmingham wasn’t done scoring. Ricky Person, Jr. scored on a one-yard run with 29 seconds left in the first half to give the Stallions a 17-7 lead.
Michigan made the score 17-10 on a 62-yard field goal by Jake Bates with two seconds remaining in the first half.
The Stallions took the opening kickoff and moved to the Panthers’ goal line. Once again, the Stallions were forced to kick a field goal. Blewitt connected on a 20-yard kick to extend the Birmingham lead to 20-10.
The Panthers moved to the Stallions’ 35-yard line before the drive stalled. Bates connected on a 53-yard field goal to pull Michigan within seven of the Stallions with 4:31 remaining in the third period.
The two teams then traded punts on their next two series.
Birmingham’s offense began a drive at their 28-yard line with 13:04 left in the game that consumed almost seven minutes. Quarterback Matt Corral led the Stallions to the Panthers’ nine-yard line before throwing an interception in the back of the endzone.
The Panthers could not move the ball and were forced to punt to the Stallions. Likewise, Birmingham could not run the clock out and had to punt.
The Panthers, taking the ball at their 27-yard line with 2:25 remaining, had one last chance to tie the game or take the lead.
Aided by two fifteen-yard personal foul penalties, the Panthers moved inside the Birmingham 15-yard line with twenty seconds remaining in the game.
On fourth and sixth, former Michigan Wolverine Taco Charlton pressured Perry into throwing an incomplete pass. Birmingham took a knee to end the game.
The Stallions held the Panthers to 205 total yards. Birmingham rushed for 161 yards and threw for 141 yards.
The Stallions continue to use a two-quarterback approach and Holtz seems to be pleased.
“They’re doing a nice job around the offense,” Holtz said. “They’re cheering for each other.”
“They’re both here to get film,” he said. “They’re both being productive.”
“They both move the ball up and down the field. So I think we’re going to need them both before this is all over,” he said.
The Stallions could only score one touchdown on six trips inside the red zone.
“You know, I thought, offensively, there were a lot of positive things when we moved the ball, but our red zone offense was awful,” Holtz said.
The Stallions host the Memphis Showboats this Saturday night in Protective Stadium at 6 PM.
