By Luke Adams
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (June 16, 2024) – The Birmingham Stallions shut out the San Antonio Brahmas 25-0 Sunday at The Dome at America’s Center to win the inaugural United Football League Championship.
Two of the top defenses in the league created a stalemate and a scoreless tie for virtually the entire first half. It took a while, but Birmingham’s top-rated offense finally got on track late in the first half. The Stallions scored on three straight possessions spanning the second and third quarters to grab a 22-0 lead and cruised to the shutout victory.
In the end, the Stallions’ high-powered offense and an inspired performance from their defense led to a third straight championship for Birmingham. Skip Holtz’s team won the 2022 and 2023 USFL Championship prior to the merger of the XFL and USFL that created the United Football League.
San Antonio (8-4) entered the championship game with the top defense in the UFL, while Birmingham (11-1) was the No. 2-rated defensive unit. Both showed up early. Neither team scored for the first 29 minutes, 20 seconds.
Birmingham finally broke the scoring seal with 40 seconds remaining in the first half. Gary Jennings hauled in an 8-yard touchdown pass from Adrian Martinez, capping a six-play, 69-yard drive. A 2-point conversion pass from Martinez to Amari Rodgers gave the Stallions an 8-0 lead at the intermission.
Martinez and the Stallions’ offense continued rolling to open the second half. The Stallions’ quarterback got free around the left end for an 11-yard touchdown run four minutes into the third quarter. His 2-point conversion pass to Jordan Thomas made it 16-0.
A San Antonio turnover led to Birmingham’s third straight score. Kyahva Tezino forced a Jontre Kirklin fumble that was recovered by the Stallions’ Kenny Robinson Jr. on the first play of the Brahmas’ ensuing possession. Martinez finished that possession as well, scoring on a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line to take a 22-point lead.
Birmingham added a 49-yard field goal from Chris Blewitt with 11:31 remaining in the contest to account for the final tally.
Martinez, the United Football League Most Valuable Player, accounted for all three touchdowns in the game and was named the UFL Championship Game Most Valuable Player. He finished 13-of-28, passing for 98 yards and one touchdown. On the ground, Martinez ran for 52 yards on 11 carries with two TDs. Ricky Person Jr. paced the Stallions with 102 yards rushing on 13 carries. The Stallions out-gained San Antonio 308-208, including a 210-52 advantage on the ground. Defensively, Tezino racked up a team-best nine total tackles and forced two fumbles.
Chase Garbers finished 18-of-26 passing for 116 yards to lead the Brahmas’ offense. Teez Tabor recorded a game-best 10 total tackles for the San Antonio defense.
UFL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME NOTES
- The inaugural UFL Championship Game between the Birmingham Stallions and San Antonio Brahmas took place at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The game had an attendance of 27,396 fans.
- The Birmingham Stallions claim their third straight league title: 2022 USFL Champions, 2023 USFL Champions, and 2024 UFL Champions. The team improves to 32-4 all-time under head coach Skip Holtz and is undefeated in the postseason (6-0) in the modern era of the franchise.
- The first points by either team came 29:20 into the game, in the waning seconds of the first half.
- The game featured three total takeaways (BHAM: 2; SA: 1).
- Birmingham scored the final 28 points of the USFL Conference Championship Game and all 25 points in the UFL Championship Game, scoring 53 straight points to finish the season.
- The Stallions defense became the first and only defense to tally a shutout throughout the UFL regular season and postseason.
- Birmingham linebacker Kyahva Tezino forced two fumbles, becoming the first defender in the UFL to record multiple forced fumbles in the same game. As a team, the Stallions forced three fumbles, recovering two of them.
- Birmingham doubled up San Antonio in first downs, 22-11.
- The Stallions were 3-for-3 in the red zone with three touchdowns.