The USFL rolled into historic Legion Field for Friday night lights, which started with two impressive drives by the New Jersey Generals and the Pittsburgh Maulers, scoring seven points on both of their opening drives. Which saw the Pittsburgh Maulers start their newly signed quarterback Roland Rivers III who went 18 for 38 throwing for 218 yards with one touchdown and one interception; he’d finish the night with a 63.3 QB Ratings but came up short on leading his team to a come back to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Maulers Kicker Ramiz Ahmed breaks USFL longest Field Goal Record

The night did not go without a record broken, and that was by Mauler’s kicker Ramiz Ahmed drilled a 61-yard FG to set the record that just last week was broken by Michigan Panther’s own, Cole Murphy, who made a 60-yard field goal. It looks like he has some competition now with Ahmed.  

A night also saw Darius Victor score not one, not two, but three rushing touchdowns to help lead the Generals to their seventh victory of the season. It didn’t come without some fight, though. As the Maulers tried to make a comeback in the fourth quarter by completing the league’s first alternative kickoff option after a touchdown, they decided to take the unique rule that was created where any team can elect instead of an actual onside kick to go for it on a fourth and twelve from their thirty-three-yard line in what is a precarious chance to earn another possession and Rivers ended up connecting with newly signed free-agent Jalen McCleskey for a gain of eighteen yards only to come up short by missing a field goal that hit the uprights which ended the game at that point.

Generals Quarterback Luis Perez continues to outplay the competition

During the postgame press conference, Coach Riley was asked why returning Quarterback De’Andre Johnson did not play in tonight’s game which came after a stunning performance for Luis Perez. Coach Mike Riley said to the press that he never once intended to start De’Andre or even allow him to play a down unless it was an emergency. He was fortunate that did not have to happen as he wanted some more time for De’Andre’s ankle to heal up more. With the Generals locking up the first playoff birth in the league last week, they are looking to rest their star quarterback for the playoffs, but could Luis Perez slowly take that starting position from De’Andre? Throwing no picks tonight and going 18 for 24 for 220 yards and one touchdown Luis Perez completed the game with a 116.7 QB rating.

Where do the Maulers go from here?

With only two weeks remaining, the best bet for the Maulers is to really scout the next two games and start the offseason early; with their playoff hopes being demolished by a team that is on a seven-game winning streak atop of the north division, this will give the Maulers to try anything possible to see whom they will keep on the roster for next year and possibly decide what the team does at the quarterback position. The real question for the Maulers is, done the USFL will keep Kirby Wilson as head coach after this season going into the second season, or could there be a change-up at the head coach position. The Maulers will have a length that began tonight to start making moves for next year rather than be back in another hub city season, or if the Maulers show up in Pittsburgh next year also remains to be seen.

The Maulers play their final two games next week with Pennsylvania rivals the Philadelphia Stars currently (4-3) before their game with the Panthers this Sunday. And then, they will wrap up the season by facing the current (1-6) Michigan Panthers to close out the season. Either way, I believe we will see this team play their hearts out the next two weeks to try to get two more wins against two struggling teams.

Box Score

Pittsburgh Maulers

New Jersey Generals

Week 9 Matchup

The Pittsburgh Maulers will face the Philadelphia Stars on Sunday, June 12^th at 7:30 pm ET / 6:30 pm CT / 5:30 pm MT / 4:30 pm PT on Fox Sports 1 (FS1).

The New Jersey Generals will take on the Michigan Panthers on Saturday, June 11th, at 1:00 pm ET / 12:00 pm CT / 11:00 am MT / 10:00 am PT on NBC.

Stay with USFL News Hub as we close in on the final two weeks of the USFL 2022 Season, and be on the lookout for any New Jersey Generals or Pittsburgh Maulers news and updates throughout the week.