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Safety JoJo Tillery intercepted a pass at the Birmingham 31-yard line with 22 seconds to play to seal the Stallions’ 23-16 victory over the Houston Roughnecks in a United Football League game on Saturday night.

“JoJo broke up and made a great play on the ball,” Stallions coach Skip Holtz said.

The Stallions wave goodbye after this pick to seal the game ???????? pic.twitter.com/8r9Qx5T4jX

— United Football League (@TheUFL) April 20, 2025

The veteran defensive back’s takeaway was the final of the Birmingham defense’s big plays in the second half in Houston.

After Houston defensive back Rayshad Williams’ interception put the Roughnecks on the Stallions 37-yard line for their second third-quarter possession, Birmingham defensive end Willie Yarbary stopped a fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak.

After quarterback Jalan McClendon ran 11 yards for a touchdown to pull Houston within one point in the third quarter, the Stallions stopped a 1-point conversion run to keep a 17-16 lead.

After Birmingham wide receiver Deon Cain fumbled away the ensuing kickoff at the 25-yard line, the Stallions defense held, and Roughnecks kicker Chris Blewitt missed a 47-yard field-goal attempt with 37 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

On Houston’s first fourth-quarter possession, defensive end Bradlee Anae came through with the Stallions’ only sack of the game to force a punt.

“I thought the defense did a great job,” Holtz said.

Birmingham finished the game with its third quarterback, Case Cookus, on the field. After a 45-yard punt by Troy alumnus Mike Rivers pinned the Stallions on their 1-yard line with 6:07 remaining, QB Matt Corral got hurt on a keeper on Birmingham’s first snap of the possession.

Cookus came on for his first action of the season, and his 36-yard completion to wide receiver Davion Davis on a third-down throw allowed the Stallions to run an extra 2:51 off the clock before Harrison Mevis drilled his third field goal of the game. Mevis’ 50-yarder with 1:16 to play stretched Birmingham’s lead to seven points.

“He’s been money,” Holtz said of “The Thicker Kicker.”

Corral took over the QB duties when the Stallions lost Alex McGough on the first snap of their second game.

Corral connected with Davis on a 26-yard touchdown and a 2-point conversion with 14:52 left in the first half and Cain on a 50-yard touchdown with 1:09 remaining in the second quarter as Birmingham took a 17-10 halftime lead.

After completing 10-of-17 passes for 171 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in the first half, Corral was 4-of-8 for 24 yards with no touchdowns and one interception in the second half.

Holtz said the Birmingham offense “was making the routine play” in the first half, but that didn’t happen as much in the second half.

Houston lost starting quarterback Nolan Henderson when he sustained a shoulder injury on a hard hit by linebacker Chapelle Russell in the second quarter. But McClendon provided an immediate spark with the Roughnecks trailing 11-0.

Holtz called the loss of Henderson “a bump in the road” for the Roughnecks, “but what a pleasant bump it was” for Houston.

In his first action of the season, McClendon completed 22-of-31 passes for 236 yards with no touchdowns and one interception as Houston cut Birmingham’s lead to 11-10 with 1:24 left in the first half and 17-16 with 3:10 left in the third quarter.

The Stallions entered Saturday night’s game next-to-last in the UFL in rushing but picked up 127 yards on the ground before Cookus lost 1 on a game-ending kneel-down. Corral ran for 52 yards on 10 carries, and running backs C.J. Marable had 47 yards on 11 carries and Larry Rountree III had 28 yards on seven carries.

The Stallions take a three-game winning streak into their fifth game of the season against the Memphis Showboats at 7 p.m. CDT Friday at Protective Stadium in Birmingham. FOX will televise the game.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.

Strawberry season kicks off in Alabama in early March and typically lasts through the beginning of June. Good news for you: April is the prime time to pick them straight from the plant.

Get ready to soak up some sunshine and savor the taste of fresh strawberries. Visit these U-pick farms and festivals a short drive from Birmingham and get ready for a berry delicious day.

Plus—we added an array of yummy ideas for things you can create or pair with your strawberry pickings!

Jerry Marsh Farms

Get to pickin’ at Jerry Marsh Farms, only a short drive from Birmingham. Not only do they offer our favorite sweet red berries, but tons of other yummy produce.

Berry Delicious Tip: Make strawberry shortcake skewers: Layer poundcake cubes, strawberries and whipped cream on sticks for a fun snack.

Sugar Hill U-Pick Farms

This family-friendly U-pick farm will have you planning an annual strawberry-picking trip. They have more than 200,000 plants to choose from, so take your sweet time.

Berry Delicious Tip: Blend fresh strawberries with yogurt and honey, then freeze in molds for a refreshing summer pop.

Alabama Strawberry Festival in Cullman: April 25-26

This strawberry festival is an exciting event for both strawberry lovers and concert goers. See artists like Russell Dickerson, Chase Matthew, Lauren Alaina, Kidd G and more! You’ll find talented artisans, crafters, makers and curators all in one exciting location. This festival not only has strawberries, but also provides a weekend of fun.

Berry Delicious Tip: Roast strawberries, add honey + serve over vanilla ice cream—fancy and fabulous.

Gadsden Strawberry Festival

It’s as sweet as strawberries at the Gadsden Strawberry Festival. Enjoy fresh Alabama strawberries, craft vendors, baked goods, food trucks, strawberry mimosas, live music and a day full of family-friendly fun—so pack a blanket, soak up the spring vibes, and leave with sweet memories (and maybe a basket of berries, too).

Berry Delicious Tip: Try a strawberry grilled cheese! Add sliced strawberries and brie to your sandwich for a sweet-savory twist.

Jimmy Durbin and Sunshine Farms

Load up your basket with homegrown strawberries at this iconic U-pick farm in Clanton (and come back in summer for peach season!). It’s about an hour’s drive from Birmingham, making it a perfect weekend family outing. Fun fact: This strawberry field has been in operation since 1990.

The berries are not quite ready, so be sure to check back in at the end of April. Be sure to call before you go!

Berry Delicious Tip: Drink a strawberry soda with your picks. My favorite is an Olipop!

City of Calera Strawberry Festival: April 26

This is a strawberry event filled with fun. Enjoy a day packed with local vendors, live performers, a fun-filled Kid Zone and special events the whole family will love. It’s the ultimate berry-good time for everyone.

Berry Delicious Tip: Sip a strawberry margarita: Muddle strawberries, add tequila + lime and simple syrup (or keep it easy and grab some margarita mix). Refreshing!

LouAllen Farms in Lawrence County

In addition to strawberry picking, they offer a wide variety of vegetable plants—like juicy tomatoes and spicy peppers, depending on the season—plus gorgeous, blooming flowers to brighten up your garden or table. It’s your one-stop spot for fresh fun and green thumbs.

Berry Delicious Tip: Whip up a strawberry-basil lemonade: Muddle strawberries and basil, mix with lemon juice and top with sparkling water.

Please remember to call ahead before planning your strawberry-picking trips. Closures may occur due to weather, crop status or other unforeseen circumstances.

For strawberry picking all across Alabama—check out our guide here!

Know of any go-to berry farms a short drive from Birmingham? Tell us about it @bhamnow!

Birmingham is the top city in the country for celebrating Easter, according to one website.

WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities based on factors that contribute to an ideal Easter celebration, using metrics ranging from the number of churches and the city’s Christian population to weather and the number of candy and chocolate stores per capita.

“The best cities for Easter cater to the religious nature of the holiday by offering plenty of opportunities for Christians to attend services, and they also provide the resources for people to have a great time with their family regardless of religious affiliation,” said Chip Lupo of WalletHub. “That means lots of places to get some sweet treats or dine out, as well as good weather conditions and nice open spaces for Easter egg hunts.”

Birmingham has the most churches per capita. There are seven times more churches per capita in Birmingham than in New York, which ranked last.

Here are the top 10 cities that are the best to celebrate Easter in 2025, according to WalletHub:

Other findings of the WalletHub study focused on the financial aspects.

WalletHub estimated that 47 percent of Americans will skip dyeing eggs this Easter due to the price of eggs, based on an online survey of 200 respondents.

Of course, there’s always the option of plastic eggs filled with candy.

Nationally, 68 percent of Americans identify as Christians, and 79 percent will celebrate Easter in either a secular or religious manner or both. About 45 percent nationally plan to attend church on Easter Sunday, which is the highest church attendance day of the year.

“Easter in the United States has undeniably shifted towards commercialization, a trend I would attribute to aggressive marketing tactics and consumer culture,” said Danielle Foster, assistant professor of marketing at Ohio Northern University, an analysis for WalletHub.

The National Retail Federation estimates there will be more than $21 billion in Easter-related spending, including clothes, candy and Easter baskets.

“Historically, Easter is a religious holiday tied to renewal and reflection,” Foster said. “The new commercial focus has pivoted from spiritual roots to an all-out consumer spending spree.”

Christians can keep the focus on the Resurrection of Jesus by church attendance and prayer. Many celebrate the secular trappings as well.

“Commercialization hasn’t fully erased the meaning of Easter,” Foster said. “It has just amplified the noise and created a billion-dollar holiday.”

Parking at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport is about to get more expensive for some travelers, but some 400 workers are in for an even bigger rate hike late this year.

Beginning Dec. 31, the Birmingham Airport Authority will require airline crew members to pay $10 a day to park in the economy lot, the commercial rate that’s charged to other visitors and passengers.

That’s a 900% jump from the $1 rate those 400 workers have been paying to park while they fly on the job.

“Ending the program is a necessity as we look to restructure parking rates that have not been increased in 16 years,” said the authority’s president and CEO Ronald Mathieu in a letter to the airport’s commuter parking participants last week. “We cannot, in good conscience, continue to offer $1 a day parking to a select group of customers, while asking everyone else to pay more.”

For years, through the commuter parking program, airline crew members who live in the Birmingham area and fly out of the airport have only had to pay $1 a day to park in the economy parking lot. The rate hike won’t apply to airport employees who work at the gates and ticket counters, said airport authority spokeswoman Kim Hunt.

In the April 8 letter, Mathieu wrote the airport is running out of parking because of increasing passenger traffic that’s rebounded since the COVID pandemic.

“More and more often, customers are left to scramble for a place to leave their vehicles,” Mathieu said in the letter. “This is obviously not what we want for customers who make the choice to fly out of BHM.”

He also pointed to infrastructure grants from the Federal Aviation Administration that could bar the airport from showing “preferential treatment to any group when it comes to how much we charge for serves.”

The airport is also increasing its parking rates for other travelers, for the first time since 2008. Starting July 1, the economy parking rate will remain the same at $10 a day, but hourly parking, daily parking and incremental parking will all go up.

Hourly parking will jump from $24 a day to $26 a day, daily parking will jump from $12 a day to $17 a day, and incremental parking will jump from $1 an hour to $2 an hour in all lots, per the airport authority.

“We understand that nobody wants to pay more. But here’s the dilemma that we have,” Hunt said. “We need to improve the customer experience, we need to grow capacity, we need to do a lot of hard work in the years to come.”

She added that the airport is preparing to introduce new projects to modernize its parking system that will cost between $40 and $50 million in the next several years.

“That is the reason why we had to raise rates, because we have to pay for all these improvements,” Hunt said. “As we go to our customers and ask them to pay more, it didn’t seem fair to ask one particular group of customers – and that’s what they are, they’re customers – to continue to pay a dollar a day.”

The airport authority barred new participants from joining its commuter parking program in 2024 while reviewing its parking operations for a year to figure out the best next step, Mathieu said.

“We understand that participants in the CPP have enjoyed the deep discounts offered by BAA for many years,” he said in the letter. “I have held on to this program for as long as possible even when it became obvious that keeping it was not in the best interest of the airport or the community. Sometimes, change is necessary.”

With Easter around the corner, WalletHub has released a new survey examining how inflation impacts traditional celebrations like egg decorating and which U.S. cities are the best place to celebrate the holiday in 2025.

Read on to see which Alabama city sits at the top of the best place to celebrate Easter and how the long-standing egg tradition is taking a hit.

Is inflation making Americans change Easter traditions?

Inflation is being felt nationwide as more than half of Americans expected tariffs to affect how they spend this Easter season.

According to WalletHub's study, 47% of Americans will skip the tradition of dyeing Easter eggs due to the price inflation of eggs.

In Montgomery, a dozen large white eggs at Walmart are priced at $4.97, while an 18-count carton costs $7.34. At Publix, a dozen large eggs are listed at $5.99.

For families planning to dye dozens of eggs, those prices can quickly add up, potentially damaging traditional Easter egg hunts.

With the rise of costs on everything, some Americans are rethinking Easter traditions altogether. In fact, WalletHub says that 41% of people believe that the Easter Bunny should start leaving money behind, much like the Tooth Fairy.

What Alabama city is the best place to celebrate Easter in the nation?

Despite its growing commercialization, Easter remains a deeply spiritual observance for many Christians who prioritize its religious significance over consumer trends.

For this reason alone, Birmingham, Ala., topped WalletHub's list of best places to celebrate Easter in 2025.

To get this ranking, WalletHub compared 100 of the largest cities and used metrics that measured churches per capita as well as how each city celebrates with traditions, weather and what activities are for children.

Birmingham has the most churches per capita. There are seven times more churches per capita than that in New York, which ranked last.

WalletHub also praised Birmingham for having flower and candy shops for consumers to shop at for the Easter holiday.

What cities are the best to celebrate Easter?

Here are the top 10 cities that are the best to celebrate Easter in 2025:

Jennifer Lindahl is a Breaking and Trending Reporter for the Deep South Connect Team for Gannett/USA Today. Connect with her on X @jenn_lindahl and email at [email protected].