From the moment the Birmingham Stallions walked onto the field of Lynn Family Stadium, they were about to be apart of a hostile environment they were not used to being apart of as they faced the Louisville Kings in their first game ever.
While it wasn't a pretty good, the Stallions proved their championship pedigree background and were able to score a game-winning touchdown with under 2:00 minutes left to beat the Kings 15-13. It was Birmingham's starting quarterback Matt Corral who connected with Justyn Ross for the game-winning touchdown, but it was the defense that got a key sack on Kings quarterback Jason Bean on the final drive and prevented the hook and ladder from working to improve to 1-0 on the season.
Stallions finished with 319 total yards of offense with Jaydon Mickens leading the way with nine receptions for 103 yards. Birmingham's defense shined with three turnovers created, including Hudson Clark's late-game interception with under two minutes to go in the game.
After the game, multiple members of the Stallions spoke with the media to share their thoughts on how the game went for them.
Birmingham Stallions comments after win over Louisville Kings
It was a big night for Stallions head coach A.J. McCarron as he picked up his first win as a coach. While it wasn't the cleanest performance from the team, McCarron was still proud of the team.
"Yeah, not perfect by any means, but I mean, I thought our group did an unbelievable job of just being resilient, finishing. I mean, we always preach the process, not worrying about the result. Every play has a history and a life of its own. And I think that showed tonight throughout our group. I mean, they drop down, they're on the goal line, and defense just no quit, knocks the ball out. Huge play in the game right there. I think we have a really resilient bunch, and it's awesome to have the opportunity to coach these guys."
McCarron was also asked about that moment of getting his first win as a head coach and being the leader of the team. It's not something he is going to take for granted.
"I mean, it's truly been awesome. I mean, it's a dream come true. You know, I've been blessed to have so many good players, but it's bigger than football. Like, I mean, we got good men in our locker room. You know, I've talked about it multiple times, but to go through a camp, not have any fights, not have anybody late for meetings, everybody's on time, they're professional in everything they do, that's hard. It's just, you usually have a bad apple on every team. And I mean, this group has been unbelievable to coach. It truly has been a blessing."
Corral had a great showing after jumping in and out of the starting lineup over the last two years as this season, it's his offense to lead. He responded with completing 70% of his passes for 208 yards and one touchdown to zero interception. When UFL News Hub asked McCarron about Corral's performance, the head coach was pleased with how he played.
"I think he's back to old Matty where he looks comfortable. I mean, he's been 21-of-30 for 208 and a touchdown. Unbelievable job by him. I thought the command he had in the offense the entire night— and I had talked to him, you know, believing in himself to have the confidence to go out and play the way I watched him for so many years in college, right? And that's awesome. I think, I mean, 21 to 38, that's in professional football, it's tough. And I thought he played his ass off."
One moment that has now gone viral from the game was at halftime when the Stallions players were walking to the locker room and got into it with the Kings fans as beer was thrown and words were exchanged. While Stallions wide receiver Jaydon Mickens appreciated Louisville for coming out, he did have some choice words about the fans.
"They brought what they needed to bring. We're proud of the UFL, especially for doing everything they needed to do to get those people in the seats. We love the back and forth. We don't like beer thrown on us, but we do love the crowd. We love from start to finish, they were there, and they were hyping their team up. You know, we had some Stallion fans in the crowd as well, but you know, they showed up for their team, but I'm glad we came up with the win."
The Stallions will stay on the road for their Week 2 showdown against the Houston Gamblers.