Recap

Duane Butler scored on a timely 98 yard Interception Return with less than two minutes remaining to give Birmingham Bolts a 14-3 victory over Chicago Enforcers in less than 40 degree temperatures (fahrenheit) which left the attendance at 17,582, down almost 20,000 on the Bolts home opener where over 30,000 attended.

Birmingham’s other touchdown was a 2 yard run by James Bostic with 1:36 left in the first half, and meant they led the Enforcers by less than a touchdown following Chicago’s Field Goal. With Chicago pushing for the winner, the Interception was crucial for Birmingham.

Mistakes were the hallmark of the game, Chicago giving up three turnovers in total, all three in Birmingham territory, including one by leading rusher John Avery who had 96 yards on the day. Chicago were limited to 164 total yards by the Bolts defense, their sole score coming in the first half with Andy Crossland’s 33 yard Field Goal.

Linebacker James Willis of Birmingham, the leagues leading tackler, had 11 tackles on the night. Bostic had 82 yards on 23 carries and QB Casey Weldon completed 16 of 27 passes for 152 yards.

The win left Birmingham on 2-1 and second in the East Conference, and dropped Chicago Enforcers to 0-3, the only winless team in the XFL after week 3.

Scorers

1st Quarter

CHI – Andy Crossland 33yd FG (0-3)

2nd Quarter

BIR – James Bostic 2yd Run PAT Good (7-3)

4th Quarter

BIR – Duane Butler 98yd Interception Return PAT Good (14-3)

LOGO REFERENCES

[1] Official XFL Wayback Machine (2001) Xtreme_Logo1 [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20011024192051im_/http://www.officialxfl.com/images/smalllogos/Xtreme_Logo1.gif [Accessed 11 August 2021]

LOGO REFERENCES

[2] Las Vegas Outlaws Wayback Machine (2001) oultaws_logo1 [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20010301185743im_/http://www.lasvegasoutlaws.com/images/oultaws_logo1.gif [Accessed 11 August 2021]

[3] Official XFL Wayback Machine (2001) Xtreme_Logo1 [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20011024192051im_/http://www.officialxfl.com/images/smalllogos/Xtreme_Logo1.gif [Accessed 11 August 2021]

[4] Official XFL Wayback Machine (2001) Maniax_Logo1 [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20011024192051im_/http://www.officialxfl.com/images/smalllogos/Maniax_Logo1.gif [Accessed 11 August 2021]

[5] Official XFL Wayback Machine (2001) Demons_Logo1 [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20011024192051im_/http://www.officialxfl.com/images/smalllogos/Demons_Logo1.gif [Accessed 11 August 2021]

[6] Birmingham Pro Sports (2021) logo birmingham thunderbolts [Internet] Available from: http://www.birminghamprosports.com/birminghamthunderbolts/logo%20birmingham%20thunderbolts.jpg [Accessed 11 August 2021]

[7] Official XFL Wayback Machine (2001) Enforcers_Logo1 [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20011024192051im_/http://www.officialxfl.com/images/smalllogos/Enforcers_Logo1.gif [Accessed 11 August 2021]

[8] Official XFL Wayback Machine (2001) Hitman_Logo1 [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20011024192051im_/http://www.officialxfl.com/images/smalllogos/Hitman_Logo1.gif [Accessed 11 August 2021]

[9] Official XFL Wayback Machine (2001) Rage_Logo1 [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20011024192051im_/http://www.officialxfl.com/images/smalllogos/Rage_Logo1.gif [Accessed 11 August 2021]

REFERENCES

NEWSPAPERS

[10] First Down (2001) XFL February 8-14, 2001. pg. 22

[11] First Down (2001) XFL February 15-21, 2001. pg. 20

[12] First Down (2001) XFL February 22-28, 2001. pg. 14

[13] First Down (2001) XFL March 1-7, 2001. pg. 14

[14] First Down (2001) XFL March 8-14, 2001. pg. 16

[15] First Down (2001) XFL March 15-21, 2001. pg. 16

[16] First Down (2001) XFL March 22-28, 2001. pg. 16

[17] First Down (2001) XFL March 29-April 4, 2001. pg. 17

[18] First Down (2001) XFL April 5-11, 2001. pg. 

[19] First Down (2001) XFL April 12-18, 2001. pg. 

REFERENCES

IMAGES

[20] Birmingham Thunderbolts (2001) XFL Logo [Internet] Available from: https://www.birminghamprosports.com/birminghamthunderbolts/logo%20xfl.jpg [Accessed 20 July 2019]

WEBSITES

[21] Remember the XFL (2017) XFL Final Standings [Internet] Available from: http://sites.google.com/site/rememberthexfl/standings [Accessed 3 February 2017]

[22] Remember the XFL (2017) Weekly Results [Internet] Available from: http://sites.google.com/site/rememberthexfl/weekly-results [Accessed 31 December 2019]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to Donie, Nigs, Ian Breathnach, Alan Gray, Mark Mahon, Mark, Denis Culhane, Willie Winters

ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 13 August 2021

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2020-2021

You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved. The Logos and Photos used in this article remain the property of the organisations and individuals which own the copyright and are used here for educational and information purposes only.