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LOUISVILLE, KY (March 27, 2026) – The Louisville Kings came up just short in their inaugural United Football League game Friday night, falling to the Birmingham Stallions 15-13 in front of a near capacity crowd of 14,034 at frigid Lynn Family Stadium, where the wind chill slipped to 32 at the end of the game. Birmingham quarterback Matt Corral threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Justyn Ross with 1:55 remaining to wipe out a 13-9 Louisville lead, and the Kings comeback in the final minute came up short.
Louisville led 10-9 after a Tanner Brown 20-yard field goal with 8:37 remaining, only to have the visiting Stallions drive 66 yards in 13 plays, taking 6:42 off the clock before the winning TD pass. The Kings had two chances in the final minute. After taking over at midfield following the ensuing kickoff after a nice return by Jaden Shirden, Louisville quarterback Jason Bean threw an interception inside Birmingham 15 with 1:27 left. After forcing a three and out, the Kings got the ball back at the Louisville 43 with just 24 seconds left, but on first down Bean was sacked for a 7-yard loss and on the final play of the game the Kings tried a hook and ladder, but it only gained five yards,
The two key statistics definitively determined the outcome of the game were turnovers and time of possession – the Kings had three turnovers while the Stallions did not commit any. The other stat of note was Birmingham dominated ball control, having it for more than 38 minutes compared to just under 22 minutes for the Kings. The three turnovers really hurt the Kings, who were driving in the final minute of the first half, only to lose a fumble inside the 1-yard line. Birmingham held a narrow 9-7 lead at the intermission.
Bean threw a couple of interceptions, including one when he was under pressure with 1:27 left that was picked off at the Birmingham 12 as the Kings were trying to drive for a potential game-winning score. However, despite the tough loss, Kings head coach and Louisville native Chris Redman had a lot of positives to take away.
“First of all, it was an incredible atmosphere, the fans showed up and the city did its part,” Redman said. “These guys fought really hard and its hard to do when you have some turnovers and we could not get off the field on third down.” Birmingham coverted 63 percent on third down, going 10 of 16, which extended drives, but until the final two minutes, the Kings made big plays like blocking a field goal and forcing the Stallions kicker into missing a couple of extra points.
The Kings offense got a sterling performance from wide receiver Lucky Jackson, a Kentucky native from Lexington, who was a standout at Western Kentucky. Jackson caught six passes for 76 yards, and scored the Kings only touchdown when he caught a 12-yard TD pass from Bean late in the first quarter to Louisville a 7-6 lead.
When asked about returning to play professionally back in his home state, Jackson said. “I probably had 20-30 people here tonight, and for the fans to show out and make that much noise like they did, any good team wants to see an atmosphere like that.”
The Kings play their first road game of the season next Saturday, April 4 at Orlando. Game time is set for 8:00pm ET and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
