The Birmingham Stallions defeated the New Jersey Generals, 28-24, in the inaugural game of the USFL season at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday night.
The matchup came down to the final minutes as both teams traded scores back-and-forth throughout. But QB J’Mar Smith, who entered the game in the second half to replace the injured Alex McGough, rushed for a game-winning two-yard touchdown with 29 seconds left to secure the victory for the hometown Stallions.
The Generals dominated the first half of the game as QB Luis Perez threw two touchdown passes, including one to standout WR Randy Satterfield, to give New Jersey a seven-point lead heading into the locker room.
After relying predominantly on their passing game in the first half, both teams found the ground game in the second. Fellow Generals QB De’Andre Johnson helped set up a 47-yard field goal with two minutes left in the game to give New Jersey a three-point lead. But there was too much time left on the clock and the Stallions took advantage, driving 10 plays all the way down the field for the game-winning touchdown score.
The Generals were led by head coach Mike Riley, who was a former defensive back for the University of Alabama from 1971-74 and has over 40 seasons of head coaching experience at the pro and collegiate levels. Skip Holtz led the opposite sideline for the Stallions. Holtz is the son of former head coach Lou Holtz, who spent 11 seasons at the helm at Notre Dame and won a national championship in 1988. Skip most recently spent the last nine seasons at Louisiana Tech where he finished with an overall record of 64-50. He made his coaching debut at the professional level against the Generals and is now 1-0 as a pro football coach.
Generals vs. Stallions score, results, highlights
Final score: New Jersey Generals 24, Birmingham Stallions 28
1st quarter, 11:51 (Generals): L.Perez pass short middle complete to BHAM 3. Catch made by R.Satterfield at BHAM 3. Gain of 3 yards….