It might not have been the coldest, the windiest or the rainiest CEFL game, but all those factors combined put the Vukovi and the Gladiators in one of the hardest game conditions in recent time. Performance suffered, and of the two teams, the defending champions were the ones that couldn’t get started, scoring only a consolation touchdown on a sneak by Bernie Kamber, when the game was already well out of hand. The final score was 23-7.
On the other hand, the Vukovi’s play could hardly be called dominant, as it was at the beginning of last year. Still though, once they scored the first 2 points on a safety, and subsequently increased the lead to 9 points on Andrej Tasić’s touchdown catch early in the second quarter, they never looked back.
Tasić, along with teammate, offensive lineman Petar Vitorovic, returned to the team in triumphant fashion, after spending some time in the US last year — but it was their running back Uros Milić that did the most damage, especially in the first half. Milić played more than it was expected, as Brandon McDowell didn’t suit up because of, what the team says is, a light injury, and scored to put the game away in the third quarter.
Offensively, he carried the load for the Vukovi with returning quarterback Jordan Green, who despite being not so efficient passing — as was Kamber, likely because of the weather — picked up a few first downs rushing. Along with Tasić, he connected with the ever more reliable youngster Mario Lugonja a few times, including a first half touchdown that gave the Vukovi their first double digit lead.
The Gladiators scored once and threatened once more in the end, but overall, despite the fact their turnover number was kept in check, played one of their poorest games. Especially because they came to Belgrade with just under 30 players, unlike some other away games in the past, when they barely fielded a team.
Like in the final last year, the credit goes to the Vukovi defense, as they held the Gladiators for one touchdown yet again — the difference was that their offense scored points this time around.
“It was a good game – we’re behind, because I came late; so we’re going just step by step. But it was a good start, we didn’t have Brandon [McDowell] and that kind of thing”, says the Vukovi’s coach, John Harper. “No, it’s just a muscle thing [McDowell’s injury]. Yeah it was a good game; I had a chance to play everybody, which was great for me. [The cold] Is good for football players because they stay cool. What’s worse is when you play in July and it’s like a 100 degrees, that’s 40-something for you.”