DEFENDERS SEND CHAMPS OUT ON THEIR SHIELDS

12,254 people showed up to Audi to cheer on the Defenders against the reigning and defending UFL champions, the Birmingham Stallions. DC boasted the highest attendance of the opening UFL weekend. 

 

Not only are the Stallions the defending champions, but they have been the champions for the past three consecutive years. Birmingham has been a dynasty in this league. The Chiefs or the Patriots of the UFL. The golden franchise, if you will.

 

Birmingham came into this game as the clear favorites, and with every right to be. The issue is, nobody seemed to tell the Defenders they were supposed to be the underdogs. DC came out unafraid and ready for a fight. The Defenders were able to pull off the upset, winning 18-11. Birmingham now has as many losses in 2025 as it had all of 2024. 

 

Both teams are dealing with a coaching switch up. The Stallions are embarking on a season without celebrated general manager Zach Potter. Birmingham lost the engineer of the most talented roster in the UFL when Potter took a job as GM of the Sacramento State college football program this offseason. At only 24 years old, Potter was one of the best talent evaluators in the league, consistently ahead of the curve in recruiting and signing the best talent to the Stallions. 

 

Meanwhile DC had their own drama going on. Just last week, former Defenders Head Coach Reggie Barlow took the head coaching job at Tennessee State. Quarterbacks coach Shannon Harris was named the interim head coach for the Defenders. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will remain with the team… He's rumored to be eventually joining Barlow at Tennessee State. 

 

Now, let’s get to the game. 

 

The Stallions' quest to win their fourth consecutive pro spring football title didn't get off to a great start. Ricky Person Jr. fumbled on the game's opening possession while trying to pick up a first down on a fourth-and-1 carry.

 

The Defenders were able to kick a field goal on the next drive, taking an early 3-0 lead. The Stallions responded with a field goal of their own, however, making it a 3-3 game roughly halfway through the first quarter. 

 

After the Defenders took a 6-3 lead in the first quarter with their second field goal of the day, the Stallions responded with a score that gave them the lead. 

 

Running back C.J. Marable took a screen pass 12 yards for a touchdown before the Stallions scored a two-point try to go up 11-6 in the first minute of the second quarter. 

 

This is when it seemed like the game was about to go sideways for the Defenders. As DC was trying to cut into the Stallions' lead during late stages of the second half, Jordan Ta’amu attempted a screen pass that got intercepted.

 

Despite things not looking great against the defending 3-time champions, the DC crowd was trying to stay hyped and get their team back into it with their famous beer snake! Defenders fans didn't waste any time getting up the first beer snake of the season, which has quickly become a famous UFL tradition. 

 

After the interception on their penultimate possession of the second half, the Defenders were able to redeem themselves right before halftime. Jordan Ta’amu strung together an impressive drive, which ended with him throwing an eight-yard pass to Chris Rowland for a touchdown, giving DC a slim 12-11 lead heading into halftime. Perhaps that beer snake has something to it, after all. 

 

The Defenders punted after five plays on the ensuing drive, but they wound up with the ball again not long after. Three plays into the next possession, Stallions QB Alex McGough had a deep pass intercepted by DC cornerback Deandre Baker. The play gave the Defenders the ball at their own 22-yard line with just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter.

 

This was the ultimate story of the day: The Defenders came up with big defensive plays when they mattered the most. 

 

The Stallions were able to get to midfield on their first possession of the second half but went the wrong way. Alex McGough took a six-yard loss on second-and-six before tripping while scrambling on third down for an 18-yard loss. 

 

The Defenders added another field goal early in the fourth quarter to make it a four-point game, 15-11. Meanwhile, the beloved UFL beer snake continued to grow. You gotta love that snake! 

 

The Defenders continued their momentum and made it a seven-point game, When K Matt McCrane hit a 50+ yard field goal in the late minutes of the game.

 

But you can’t ever count out the champions. QB Alex McGough broke two major runs for first downs and actually got Birmingham into the red zone with under a minute left. 

 

However, the story remained the same. With time ticking down, the Defenders recorded their EIGHTH sack of the game, sealing the win for DC. The defense of the Defenders definitely came to fight. 

 

This was a huge game not just for the team, but for interim Head Coach Shannon Harris.

 

“Very emotional win for these guys." Harris said after the game. 

 

Harris was even given a celebratory Gatorade bath from the players, something that you don’t often see for a week one victory. But that’s quite the debut, to defeat the defending champions.

 

Holtz and Harris seemed to have an argument at midfield after the game. When asked about it at the press conference, Harris said he wasn’t gonna speak on it, but they were fine and he spoke to the staff on the Stallions side and believes everything was smoothed over in the end. 

 

We asked the winning QB Jordan Ta’amu at the post game press conference what it meant to him and the team to beat the defending champions in the first game of the season. 

 

“Oh so much. That was our mentality for two weeks now. Once we got done with the cuts and everything, this was our goal to go in here and I knew they couldn’t keep up with our tempo and I knew they were going to get tired. We wanted to jump on them early and today we did that.”

 

Final score: Defenders 18 - stallions 11