Minor league football: Alabama Warriors 36, Memphis Panthers 20

Published 10:58 am Monday, August 10, 2009

Josh Stillings’ 61-yard punt return for a touchdown turned the game around for the Alabama Warriors, as they scored four straight touchdowns to overcome a 13-point deficit and secure a 36-20 win Saturday over the Memphis Panthers.

The victory gives Alabama the division championship and home field advantage for the first two rounds of the Premier Football League playoffs, which begin in three weeks.

Memphis (4-4-1) started out by running the ball down the Warrior’s throats to score on the first drive of the game, then switched to an air attack that gave the visitors a 20-7 lead at halftime.

But Stillings’ reversed the momentum, and was followed by another score on the next drive that was set up by a 37-yard run by Stillings, who had taken the ball on a pitchback after quarterback Kawaski Jackson had already gained about ten yards. Stillings was stopped just short of the goal line, and Jackson then scored on a sneak from about a foot away.

Jackson later scored on a 21-yard sweep, and the Warriors finished off Memphis with a 62-yard interception return for a touchdown by Rob Taylor.

Counting an “administrative win” (forfeit) awarded after the cancellation of this Saturday’s game against the shuttered Baton Rouge, La. franchise, the Warriors’ record improves to 7-1-1.

More on the game in Wednesday’s North Jefferson News.

Robert Carter