FORMER ROUGHRIDERS RUN WILD IN AAF WEEK 2

Trent Richardson is still a good football player. And now he’s a good professional one.

The former Heisman Trophy winner scored the game-winning touchdown in Birmingham’s 12-6 victory over the Salt Lake Stallions on Saturday.

After flaming out as the No. 3 pick of the 2012 NFL Draft and a short stint in the CFL with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Richardson looked right at home at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala., only about an hour from where Richardson starred for the Crimson Tide. He led the Iron in rushing and receiving — he had 91 total yards — while helping the Iron rally back from a 9-0 halftime deficit. His two-yard touchdown run with 4:48 remaining in the fourth quarter gave Birmingham its first lead of the game.

Richardson, of course, is one of the most recognizable names in the Alliance of American Football, and through two weeks he’s played like it. In last week’s season opener, Richardson scored two touchdowns.

Meanwhile a miraculous comeback by the Arizona Hotshots spoiled an AAF record-setting night by Zac Stacy. The Hotshots bounced back from a 12-0 halftime deficit to defeat the Memphis Express, 20-18, at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis Saturday night. The Hotshots remained undefeated and are 2-0 while Memphis dropped to 0-2. The Arizona win was the first for a road team in six Alliance games.

The Express dominated the Arizona offense in the first half and scored on a Zac Stacy 9-yard run to go with 35- and 38-yard field goals by John Jasper.

The Hotshots were held to 95 yards in the first half, but totaled 288 in the final two quarters. Arizona scored all of their 20 points in the final 16 minutes of the game!

The Hotshots overshadowed the league’s first 100-yard rushing game as Stacy – a fifth-round pick of the St. Louis Rams in 2013 and Saskatchewan Roughriders training camp addition in 2018 – had 101 yards on 19 attempts and that included a 49-yard run.