Ljubljana Silverhawks won their first game in this year’s CEFL, defeating Zagreb Thunder 26-7. It was a very windy game, so both teams relied heavily on their running game.
Silverhawks struck first, when fullback Luka Potočnik marched into the end zone, but the lead didn’t last long as Zagreb scored on the ensuing kickoff. Silverhawks were quickly forced to punt, and Thunder got the ball back at midfield — QB Alen Keranovič moved his team extremely well and they quickly got to the 3 yard line, but disaster struck for the home team when Jan Lipovec and Rok Štamcar of Ljubljana got to Keranović, resulting in a broken thighbone for Zagreb’s number one quarterback. After he went out, Zagreb struggled for the rest of the game; the Silverhawks withstood at the goal line and even managed to block the field goal try.
Štamcar made two additional big plays before the half, scoring twice, once on a reception and once on the defensive side of the ball, after intercepting a pass. His touchdown catch was also the first touchdown pass for their new quarterback, Ryan Rodgers.
Ljubljana’s fourth touchdown came after a nice fade pass from Rogers to Dejan Rep, after which Ljubljana used the clock and finished the game off.
Silverhawks head coach Uroš Valant was happy with the result, but said, that his team has a lot of room for improvement: “Our defense played a great game. The only weak moment was during the drive when their QB got hurt. I’m also very happy with our o-line, they protected our QB well and opened some huge holes for our running backs. Our weak link is at special teams. We trained a lot, but it seems not enough. We need to upgrade this element of our game, because our next opponent from Austria won’t be merciful in punishing our mistakes.”