Memphis Maniax 22 Birmingham Thunderbolts 20

Former Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam had a pair of first-half touchdown runs as Memphis edged Birmingham 22-20 in the XFL opener for both teams.

Marcus Crandell and Daryl Hobbs hooked up on a 49-yard touchdown pass and Jeff Hall booted a 40-yard field goal to account for the rest of the scoring for Memphis, which held on after taking a 19-0 advantage.

Salaam carried 27 times for 154 yards and opened the scoring with a 39-yard scamper just under 11 minutes into the contest. He added a one-yard score to make it 19-0 shortly after defensive back Rico Clark picked off Casey Weldon and returned it to the Birmingham 25-yard line.

Weldon got the Bolts on the board with a 15-yard scoring strike to Damon Gourdine to cap a 14-play, 75-yard drive with 1:13 to play in the first half.

The Bolts pulled within two points on Weldon's 33-yard TD strike to Quincy Jackson with 22 seconds remaining. But Receiver Darryl Hobbs recovered the ensuing onside