Nearly 30 years later, Philadelphia Stars get another title shot in USFL reboot
The USFL, which suspended operations in 1986, came back this year after being defunct for 35 years. But the Stars picked up right where they left off.
The Philadelphia Stars came as close as any original USFL team to reaching dynasty status, earning trips to the league’s first two championship games and winning one in 1984. (They relocated to Baltimore and won another in 1985.)
The Stars (7-4) now have a shot at another title in the spring football league’s second iteration.
“These guys have come a long way and have fought through a lot of adversity,” coach Bart Andrus said. “Let’s respond when adversity rears its ugly head. Let’s not react. That’s kind of the mindset of this football team.”
The Stars are set to face the Birmingham Stallions (10-1) in the eight-team league’s title game at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
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In the first round of the four-team playoffs, the Stars upset the heavily favored New Jersey Generals, 19-14. An 87-yard punt return for a touchdown by Maurice Alexander Jr. with less than two minutes remaining proved to be the deciding play. Alexander leads the league in kick-return yardage, averaging 31.5 per attempt.
The first day that players arrived in the start-up league’s Birmingham, Ala., bubble, they said Andrus stressed that championship runs aren’t easy at any level, and the team that figures itself out the quickest will be the last one standing.
Channing Stribling, a cornerback who leads the league in interceptions with seven, described the Stars’ brand of football as “hungry and honest” with a galvanized chip on their shoulder.
“We’re swaggy and aggressive,” said Stars linebacker Jordan Moore. “It’s going to look like, ‘Oh, they’re real finesse guys.’ Then, boom! You get hit in the mouth, That’s every play and every player on our team.”
Losing three of their first five games lit a fire under the Stars, who then lost just one game in the back half of their schedule. Their only defeat came in the regular-season finale against the Generals.
Rewatching that game, players noticed that the Fox Sports broadcast showed graphics designating them among the worst defenses in the league.
“I think we took that as a challenge,” Stribling said. “Every week, we try to prepare like we’re the best team in the USFL. I think we flipped the switch going into the playoffs.”
Perhaps the biggest obstacle for Philadelphia was losing its starting quarterback early in the season.
Bryan Scott, who was drafted third overall, suffered a knee injury in a Week 3 loss to New Jersey, sidelining him indefinitely.
The former Occidental College and Canadian Football League quarterback led the league in both passing yards and touchdowns through two weeks. In his only win, he threw for 272 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for a fourth against the Pittsburgh Maulers.
Case Cookus commanded the offense the rest of the way. The former Northern Arizona quarterback threw for 1,334 yards and 12 touchdowns, which ranked second in the league.
Philadelphia has faced Birmingham only once this season, a 30-17 loss in Week 5.
“You would hope as a coach and as a football team that you can get better every week,” said Andrus, a former NFL assistant. “We’ve had a couple weeks where we go, ‘We kind of stayed the same. We need to pick it up and take it to that next plateau.’
“We’re a different football team from the first time we played them.”
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Stallions receiver Victor Bolden Jr. leads the league in all-purpose yards with 1,209 in nine games. The team’s kicker, Brandon Aubrey, leads the USFL in most kicking points with 76. And as a team, the Stallions allowed the second-fewest points against, giving up an average of 16.1 per game.
Birmingham carried an unblemished record through eight weeks and has been the team to beat for much of the season. It’s now the final hurdle for an undersized, underdog team from Philadelphia.
“I tell our guys,” Andrus said, “whether we’re on offense, defense, or on special teams, quick, precise, and fast should describe our unit that’s on the field.”