Round one of the “Clash of the Wolves” went to the Belgrade side, and almost with unexpected ease. Although the Budapest Wolves were in it until late in the game, the Vukovi Belgrade appeared in control most of the time taking the win 31-20, and handing the Wolves their first loss of the season.
Troubles for the visiting team began long before the game and continued throughout the rainy afternoon. Starting their third quarterback Bálint Michaletzky because of various problems, and without 14 starter on both offense and defense, the Wolves struggled with the bad conditions much more than the Vukovi, fumbling several snaps on offense, two on punts, and also missing an extra point. They completed just two passes, although out of just eight attempts.
Belgrade’s game plan was completely different, and despite the heavy rain in the first half their only American player, quarterback Briton Burge passed and kept passing to help his team build a 17-13 first half lead. Good omen for the Vukovi were also their first points, or actually the way they scored, with their kicker Milan Matović converting his first field goal this season. The Wolves responded with a 45 yard touchdown pass to Krisztián Piros, but that turned out to be their only lead in the game.
Jovan Golušin got the lead back with a three yard run, and Belgrade pulled away for the first time with a 84 yard pass from Burge to Ivan Ristić. Though Mihaletzky cut the lead to four points with a rushing touchdown of his own, Belgrade kept pulling away in the second half.
First on a two yard touchdown run by Burge, and on another one in the fourth quarter by their closer this year, Uroš Milić, who ran for 37 yards and a 18 point lead. The Wolves stopped Burge just once, intercepting him in the second half, but even with that his numbers were impressive – over 300 yards passing, 100 yards rushing, two touchdowns and one interception.
Mihaletzky eased the loss with another short yardage touchdown run in the final seconds of the game.
“We worked hard in the week before, practicing, and our coach had a good plan for the game. The rain made it a little difficult but we made due. The passing game worked and it was a well rounded performance”, said Burge after the game.