Michigan Panthers solve home woes, rally past Stars to earn USFL playoff berth

Detroit — Back in Week 6, after losing four straight games at home to stumble to a 2-4 record, Michigan Panthers head coach Mike Nolan was still positive about his team’s chances to make the USFL postseason.

And after losing two of their next three games, the team was thrust in a win-or-go-home scenario on the last game of the regular season, on Father’s Day, in front of a Ford Field crowd the Panthers have been unable to win in front of this season.

With all that pressure, the Panthers punched their ticket into the playoffs with a 23-20 victory over the Philadelphia Stars on Sunday night, overcoming a 20-6 deficit to also knock the Stars out of the playoffs.

The Panthers will face the Pittsburgh Maulers in the North Division championship at 8 p.m. Saturday in Canton, Ohio. The Maulers have won both regular-season meetings with the Panthers.

In the USFL, the top two teams in the North and South divisions make the playoffs, and the leading team in the North division entering Sunday’s season finale was the 4-5 Stars. The Panthers entered the game 3-6.

The Stars held first place in the North Division with their record, but since they lost to the Panthers in Week 2, another loss would put the Panthers ahead of them in the standings and knock them to third place in the division, behind the Maulers, who already clinched their playoff berth by defeating the New Jersey Generals on Saturday.

It might have taken them until the last game, but in the front of a Ford Field crowd that was possibly the loudest it had been all season, in what was the most important game of the season, the Panthers came through and sent the fans home happy in the biggest way.

“They were outstanding today," Nolan said, "as they’ve been every time we’ve played at home, today was really nice and obviously we were able to give them a win, so we really appreciate them being here and like I said, they were a big part of our victory today, making noise at the end and inspiring our guys."

The Panthers' quarterback carousel had been well documented all season, and in the season finale E.J. Perry was tasked to lead the offense in his first game with the team.

Perry was up to the task, recovering from a slow start to finish 12-for-23 with 121 passing yards, along with 48 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.

“I felt comfortable walking out there, and the biggest part of me feeling comfortable was … I had a bunch of guys around me who are terrific football players and in the end, that’s what it’s all about,” Perry said.

The Stars pulled out to a 20-6 lead at halftime thanks to quarterback Case Cookus, who was 17-for-26 with 193 passing yards and two passing touchdowns in the first half alone.

It looked like a similar script the Panthers had followed all season: a huge deficit to overcome thanks to a slow start from the offense and a defense that allowed too many points. But the Panthers were able to flip that script and show why they deserved to be in the playoffs.

It began with forcing the first punt by either team all game in the third quarter, with Cole Murphy knocking in a 33-yard field goal to make the score 20-9.

Then, in the biggest and maybe the most defining play of the season, Marcus Simms blocked a punt that was returned by A.J. Richardson for a touchdown to bring the Panthers within one score.

“I credit my teammates for that because I kinda came free," Simms said, "I had a free lane and just ran as fast as I could and got there and blocked it, just happy I could make that play for the team and that we can play next week for another game."

If anyone deserved credit for keeping the Panthers in the hunt for the win, it was Simms. He also had 167 kickoff return yards, which included 144 yards in the second quarter alone that set-up the six points the Panthers scored in the first half.

The defining score came with just over 13 minutes left in the game, when Perry fumbled the snap but kept his cool and ran it in for a six-yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion was even more impressive, with Perry running to his right before throwing back left to tight end Marcus Baugh for the conversion.

From there on, the Ford Field crowd was electric and defense forced multiple incompletions and punts, with Cookus ending the night 24-for-44 with 247 passing yards.

“It was a tough stretch, and it hits you a little harder when it’s at home when you have those losses because you want to play well in front of your home crowd and you wanna be a good team to this crowd,” Nolan said. "So, we wanted them to get inspired by the game and that’s what happened today in the second half. It was a tough stretch, but today, it feels like it never happened."

Kameron Goodwill is a freelance writer.