Kameron Goodwill
 |  Special to The Detroit News

Detroit — In a showdown between two of the top offenses in the UFL on Star Wars Day, the force was strong with the Michigan Panthers as they put up a season-high in points to defeat the DC Defenders 38-14 in front of 11,653 fans at Ford Field.

Beating the Defenders was no small feat for the Panthers, as DC entered with a league-best 4-1 record and the third-best offense in total points scored. But with the Panthers winning, both teams now sit at 4-2.

The Panthers offense looked as dangerous as the Death Star, their 38 points being the most any UFL team has scored this season. They’ve put up over 20 points in five of their six games, the only team in the UFL to do so, a credit to coordinator Marcel Bellefeuille’s offense.

Michigan was led again by Bryce Perkins, who looked like a Jedi master and enhanced his reputation as one of the most exciting players in the UFL this season. Continuing his UFL MVP campaign, Perkins finished 13-for-18 with 188 passing yards and two touchdowns, and he added 76 yards and one TD rushing.

“Bryce Perkins played an outstanding football game. All the stats don’t need to be mentioned, you guys can look them up, but as you well know, he played lights-out,” said Panthers head coach Mike Nolan. “I thought he made a tremendous amount, just your athletic ability and things like that, you know, things that you don’t really draw up on the play.”

Perkins again showed why his dynamic playmaking makes this offense so dangerous. In a third-and-11 during the second quarter, Perkins evaded three Defenders pass rushers, staying on his feet to find Cole Hikutini for an electric 35-yard touchdown.

Then on the first drive of the third quarter, facing third-and-20 after a holding penalty, Perkins held the ball until the very last second before splitting two Defenders players and running for 31 yards. That electric run set up a Nate McCrary 1-yard touchdown.

BOX SCORE: Panthers 38, Defenders 14

Perkins continued to fool the Defenders defense like Obi-Wan on the next Panthers drive, first when he scrambled right with a defender in face and threw up a pass to Gunnar Oakes for a 35-yard completion. Just a few plays later on second-and-goal, Perkins again scrambled right to avoid more rushers, running down the sideline before spinning away from another tackler for a 5-yard rushing touchdown.

It’s not just his speed, but the balance he’s able to keep while scrambling and running, that has set him apart this season.

“Just trying to stay strong in the lower half,” Perkins said. “My family, my brother and my pop, both running backs, so I kinda have my father’s legs.

“But really, it’s important just trying to stay strong in the lower body because when contact happens, you gotta keep your feet moving and kinda go about it like that. And also when you’re escaping, keeping your eyes downfield, and the guys did a great job getting open and staying alive.”

Every Jedi needs help, as Michigan put up 214 yards on the ground. Along with Perkins’ 76, Toa Taua led with 94 yards and McCrary added 44 with each running back finding the end zone once. Six different players had a catch, with Hikutini’s 63 yards on three catches leading all receivers.

It wasn’t just the offense, as the Panthers defense limited the Defenders to their lowest scoring output this season, just one week after giving up 32 points to the St. Louis Battlehawks. The Defenders only had two plays that gained 20 yards or more, but one was a 65-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.

“We gave up another explosive play, a really big pass, and they got a touchdown out of it,” Nolan said. “But other than that, our defense held in there pretty good. We had a lot of bumps and bruises in this game; they’re a physical team.”

The Panthers return to action Saturday at 1 p.m. at Arlington. It’s the first of three consecutive road games.

Kameron Goodwill is a freelance writer.

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