Three games were played again last weekend with Nis Imperatori playing host to Budapest Cowbells in the Eastern Conference, while Zagreb Patriots greeted Domzale Tigers and Sarajevo Spartans hosted Kranj Alp Devils in the Central Conference.
The game in Nis was the southern-most game any Hungarian team has ever played. The Cowbells seemed to enjoy their trip t the south as they played an impressive game against Imperatori. Peter Cseperkalo put the first points on the board with a 12 yard run, followed by Tamás Váry’s 11 yard pass to Boros Laszlo for another touchdown. Alex Tibbles raised the score with a 1 yard run and Váry passed for another 10 yard touchdown to Peter Kocsis. At the end of the half, Zoltán Szentirmai kicked a field goal and the score 0-30. After the break Váry didn’t let go and passed for another three touchdowns of 18 yards to Kocsis and two to Márton Czirók for 5 and 12 yards. Cseperkalo rushed for an encore as well and the final score was 0-58. Cowbells slate their first win, while the hapless Imperatori add one more game to their streak of 3 total losses.
Sunday’s game between the Patriots and the Tigers was much different than the final score suggests. Tigers turned the ball over in opening drive and it seemed that the game will go Patriots’ way after scoring first. However, Tigers were fighting hard and went to intermission leading by a point, 13-14. Second half was a much different scene after Patriots’ adjustments lead to them scoring 32 unanswered points to end the game with a final score of 45-14. It should be noted that Patriots running back, John Halloway kept his average of 3 touchdowns per game. The game was also marked by many injuries on both sides. The two teams remain on the opposite ends of the standings with this being Patriots’ fourth win in as many games, while the Tigers mark their fourth loss.
In Kranj, Spartans scored on the first drive with a 7 yard pass from Caleb Hecox to Ognjen Bravo. Alp Devils’ offense was overwhelmed by Spartans defense in the first half, while theirs kept churning. At the end of the half Hecox connected with Bravo again for a 30 yard touchdown this time and the score 13-0. Opening the second half, after a 30 yard run by Rok Milek, Matic Hudovernik found the end zone with a 5 yard run of his own, for Alp Devils’ single touchdown. The rain put a stop to both offenses next, while defensive teams had a field day. Before the end of the game, Alp Devils’ linebacker Matej Črne intercepted Hecox’ pass and returned it to Spartans’ 30 yard line. With two minutes left on the clock, the Alp Devils had a chance to score, but Spartans defense managed to stopped them and secure a second win in a row. Final score was 13-7, which was the same point difference as these teams’ first mutual game. That might prove to be very important by the end of the season if tiebreakers decide Central Conference bowl game participants.