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Denver 40 at Birmingham 23
1985 Week 2 - Sunday, March 3, 1985
Denver Gold(0-1) at Birmingham Stallions(1-0)(-13)
Attendance: 27,400
BIRMINGHAM(AP) - Denver's new run-and-shoot offense may also be termed lost-and-found.
It was non-existent in an opening game 31-10 loss to the Oakland Invaders but it didn't take long to surface Sunday - just one play.
"Offensively, we were given a big boost since we got down so close to scoring and scored at the beginning of the game," said quarterback Vince Evans, who flipped a 55-yard screen pass to Bill Johnson on Denver's first play that took the ball to the 1-yard line. Johnson scored on the next play and the Gold was en route to a 40-23 United States Football League drubbing of the Birmingham Stallions.
"This has to be an added punch for our offense, especially after last week," Evans added. "I knew I had confidence in our offense. We needed just a little more time to master it, and I was very encouraged by our progress."
Evans passed for two touchdowns and ran for another in directing a 564-yard Denver attack. He completed 14 of 27 passes for 284 yards, including touchdowns of 48 yards to Vincent White and 39 yards to Leonard Harris.
The Gold led 26-21 and broke the game open with drives of 78 and 56 yards, capped by scoring runs of 1 yard by Evans and 8 yards by Johnson.
"Vince obviously did a good job and I was pleased very much with this win," said Denver Coach Darrel "Mouse" Davis, who installed Houston's run-and-shoot attack last year as the Gamblers offensive coordinator.
Sunday, March 3, 1985 Denver Gold 40 @ Birmingham Stallions 23 Stadium : Legion Field, Birmingham, AL. Attendance: 27,400 Denver Birmingham First Downs 24 19 Rushes - Yards 37-284 21-67 Passing Yards 247 258 Return Yards 46 43 Passes 14-28-3 17-38-1 Sacks by ?-? ?-? Punts 2-39 7-36 Fumbles-Lost 2-2 2-0 Penalties-Yards 12-81 5-46 Time of Possession 35:02 24:58 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total Denver 9 17 7 7 - 40 Birmingham 7 7 7 2 - 23 1st Quarter Scoring Denver Gold - B. Johnson 1 yard run ( Speelman Kick ) Birmingham Stallions - Stoudt 7 yard run ( Miller Kick ) Denver Gold - Safety, Stoudt Fumbled out the back of End Zone 2nd Quarter Scoring Denver Gold - White 48 yard pass from Evans ( Speelman Kick ) Denver Gold - Harris 39 yard pass from Evans ( Speelman Kick ) Denver Gold - 28 yard Field Goal by Speelman Birmingham Stallions - Smith 9 yard pass from Stoudt ( Miller Kick ) 3rd Quarter Scoring Birmingham Stallions - Jones 53 yard pass from Stoudt ( Miller Kick ) Denver Gold - Evans 1 yard run ( Speelman Kick ) 4th Quarter Scoring Denver Gold - B. Johnson 8 yard run ( Speelman Kick ) Birmingham Stallions - Safety, Evans tackled in End Zone. INDIVIDUAL Statistics Rushing Denver Gold - Gerhart 21-119, B. Johnson 9-74, Evans 5-50, K. Johnson 1-28, White 1-9. Birmingham Stallions - Cribbs 9-36, Gant 5-10, Stoudt 5-5, Coles 1-15. Passing Denver Gold - Evans 14-28-3-284. Birmingham Stallions - Stoudt 17-38-1-259. Receiving Denver Gold - Harris 4-74, Lewis 3-29, White 2-67, Gerhart 2-52, B. Johnson 1-55, Stegall 1-4, K. Johnson 1-4. Birmingham Stallions - Smith 6-83, Jones 4-96, Cribbs 2-22, Gant 2-9, Mason 2-9, Toler 1-40. Missed Field Goals NONE
Archived news report
Archived news report
Supplemental information courtesy of Chris Blackburn
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