Birmingham Thunderbolts 19 New York / New Jersey Hitmen 12
Freezing temperatures and 22 mph wind that made it feel like 6 degrees - and that was at the start of the game -- sent most of the 36,458 fans at the Hitmen's home opener to the exits early Sunday night.
Only about 5,000 hardy fans were left at Giants Stadium when Charles Puleri's fourth-and-14 pass from the Birmingham 19-yard line fell incomplete in the end zone, allowing Birmingham to beat New York / New Jersey 19-12 in a sloppily played game.
Stepfret Williams, who played 26 NFL games mostly with the Dallas Cowboys, paced the Bolts' victory with eight catches for 134 yards. He caught a 70-yard second-quarter pass to set up a 7-yard touchdown pass from Casey Weldon to Quincy Jackson, and gave Birmingham the lead for good with a league-best 95-yard punt return for a touchdown with 8:12 left in the third quarter. Weldon's conversion pass to Kaipo McGuire extended the lead to 13-6.
Mike Archie's second 1-yard touchdown run got t
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