Former McGill-Toolen standout Marlon Williams stepped up his comeback season with the Birmingham Stallions with two touchdown receptions in a 39-21 victory over the Memphis Showboats on Saturday.
The Stallions remained the United Football League’s only unbeaten team six weeks into the season and clinched one of the USFL Conference’s two spots in the playoffs with four games remaining on their regular-season schedule.
More stories about the UFL
In the United Football League’s other Week 6 games:
· St. Louis quarterback AJ McCarron threw three touchdown passes in the Battlehawks’ 22-8 victory over the Houston Roughnecks on Saturday.
· Jake Bates of the Michigan Panthers kicked a field goal as time ran out in each half against the Arlington Renegades on Sunday. The first half ended with a 60-yarder that reduced the Panthers’ deficit to four points. The second half ended with a 42-yarder that gave Michigan a 28-27 victory. The game-winning field goal was a do-over. Bates’ kick went wide left from 47 yards out, but the Renegades had too many players on the field.
· San Antonio’s Jon Lovett ran for 153 yards, but Jordan Ta’amu’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Harmon with 5:07 to play made the difference in the D.C. Defenders’ 18-12 victory over the Brahmas on Sunday. The victory kept the Defenders relevant in the XFL Conference playoff race by moving D.C. to 3-3 and dropping San Antonio to 4-2.
Williams had eight receptions for 125 yards and one touchdown in Birmingham’s first five games of 2024. In Saturday’s victory, he had four receptions for 58 yards and two touchdowns.
Williams was among the 10 players who caught at least one pass from quarterback Adrian Martinez, who had 368 passing yards and four touchdown passes for the Stallions against the Showboats.
In 2022, Williams had 32 receptions for 474 yards and four touchdowns for the Stallions in the regular season. In Birmingham’s 33-30 victory over the Philadelphia Stars in the USFL Championship Game on July 3, 2022, Williams had 105 yards and one touchdown on seven receptions.
In 2023, Williams had three receptions for 23 yards in the Stallions’ season-opening game against the New Jersey Generals on April 15 when he sustained an Achilles tendon injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season.
Williams played for McGill-Toolen’s AHSAA Class 7A championship team in 2015 and earned All-State recognition for the Mobile school in 2016. After a 1,000-yard receiving season for Central Florida in 2020, Williams went to training camp with the Houston Texans in 2021 but did not make the regular-season roster.
Twenty-three players with Alabama football roots are on United Football League rosters:
Birmingham Stallions wide receiver Marlon Williams gets the football to the goal line during a United Football League game against the Memphis Showboats on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tenn.(Photo by Wes Hale/UFL/Getty Images)
Birmingham Stallions 39, Memphis Showboats 21
· Showboats wide receiver Dee Anderson (Alabama A&M) caught a 34-yard touchdown pass with 2:29 left, then caught the 3-point conversion pass after the TD.
· Stallions guard Deonte Brown (Austin, Alabama) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Showboats defensive tackle Connor Christian (Jacksonville State) was designated as a game-day inactive.
· Showboats safety T.J. Green (Sylacauga) made seven tackles, recorded one sack and registered one tackle for loss.
· Showboats linebacker TJ Neal (Auburn) made two tackles.
· Showboats tight end Wes Saxton Jr. (Hueytown, South Alabama) had an 11-yard reception.
· Stallions wide receiver Marlon Williams (McGill-Toolen) had four receptions for 58 yards and two touchdowns. Williams had a 28-yard touchdown reception with 23 seconds left in the first half as Birmingham took a 22-9 lead, then had a 12-yard TD reception with 5:21 to play as the Stallions went in front 39-12.
· Showboats tight end Jay Jay Wilson (Auburn) made three tackles on special teams.
St. Louis Battlehawks quarterback AJ McCarron slides down before Houston Roughnecks linebacker Reuben Foster (10) can get to him during a United Football League game on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis.(Photo by Rick Ulreich/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
St. Louis Battlehawks 22, Houston Roughnecks 8
· Roughnecks linebacker Christopher Allen (Alabama) made two tackles.
· Roughnecks tight end Braedon Bowman (South Alabama) did not record any stats.
· Cam Carter (Minor) started at left offensive tackle for the Roughnecks.
· Roughnecks linebacker Reuben Foster (Auburn High, Alabama) made five tackles and shared a sack.
· Roughnecks tight end A.J. Lewis (Murphy, Alabama State/Troy) was designated as a game-day inactive. Lewis signed with Houston last week.
· Battlehawks quarterback AJ McCarron (St. Paul’s Episcopal, Alabama) completed 24-of-37 passes for 255 yards with three touchdowns and one interception and ran for 4 yards on five carries. McCarron threw touchdown passes of 17 yards to wide receiver Hakeem Butler with 6:12 left in the first half, 1 yard to wide receiver Steven Mitchell Jr. on the final snap of the first half and 36 yards to Butler with 3:06 to play. McCarron also completed two 2-point conversion passes.
· Battlehawks quarterback Brandon Silvers (Gulf Shores, Troy) did not record any stats.
Arlington Renegades tight end Sal Cannella catches the football during a United Football League game against the Michigan Panthers on Sunday, May 5, 2024, at Ford Field in Detroit.(Photo by Nic Antaya/UFL/Getty Images)
Michigan Panthers 28, Arlington Renegades 27
· Renegades tight end Sal Cannella (Auburn) had six receptions for 52 yards and one touchdown. Cannella caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Luis Perez as Arlington took a 17-10 lead with 29 seconds left in the first half.
· Panthers outside linebacker De’Gabriel Floyd (Alabama A&M) was designated as a game-day inactive.
· Renegades defensive lineman Davonte Lambert (Auburn) was designated as a game-day inactive.
· Panthers defensive tackle Garrett Marino (UAB) made one tackle.
· Renegades guard Chris Owens (Alabama) did not record any stats.
D.C. Defenders defensive tackle T.J. Barnes hits San Antonio Brahmas quarterback Quinten Dormady during a United Football League game on Sunday, May 5, 2024, at Audi Field in Washington.(Photo by Greg Fiume/UFL/Getty Images)
D.C. Defenders 18, San Antonio Brahmas 12
· Defenders defensive lineman T.J. Barnes (Enterprise) made four tackles, recorded one sack and registered two tackles for loss.
· Defenders long snapper/tight end Trae Barry (Spanish Fort, Jacksonville State) did not record any stats.
· Brahmas offensive lineman John Yarbrough (Homewood) did not record any stats.
In Week 7 games:
· The Showboats (1-5) and the Renegades (0-6) meet at noon CDT Saturday at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, Texas. ESPN will televise the game.
· The Battlehawks (5-1) and Stallions (6-0) will square off at 3 p.m. Saturday at Protective Stadium in Birmingham. FOX will televise the game.
· The Panthers (4-2) and the Defenders (3-3) play at 11 a.m. Sunday at Audi Field in Washington. ESPN will televise the game.
· The Brahmas (4-2) and Roughnecks (1-5) will face off at 2 p.m. Sunday at Rice Stadium in Houston.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.