The promise of excitement in the last regular season game of Sportklub CEFL Championship was missing. Kragujevac Wild Boars took the floor from underneath Budapest Cowbells in the first period and never looked back. With this win, they go to CEFL Bowl XII to play against SWARCO RAIDERS Tirol.
The Wild Boars blasted off right from the start. Their offense didn’t lose any steam after swapping quarterbacks a couple of weeks ago. Dalton Oliver led his team down the field from the very first drive with passes to sure-handed receivers Filip Nedeljković and Strahinja Stepović. It took just five plays for the latter player to catch a rocket pass of 33 yards and take it the distance. Petar Goić was good on the try and the scoring session was open.
Cowbells had Váry Tamás under center who got flushed out of the pocket and answered with a lob into coverage that found its way to his own receiver. Running back Roják Richárd kept the markers moving, but it was the uncovered Szabolcska Balázs who was the recipient of another one of Váry’s spirals, sprinting into the end zone for a 60 yard touchdown. Szentirmai Zoltán was accurate for a singleton, tying the score one last time.
It was all Wild Boars from there. In their following drive, running back Laurent Tshimanga breaks off for 30 yards over the middle and gets taken down by opponents’ safety. His alternate, Mihailo Novaković grabs a screen pass and rumbles to the end zone breaking tackles, chased by the whole defense for a 60-yarder of his own.
Visitors start their next offensive series with a short pass that gets intercepted and returned for a 23 yard touchdown by Predrag Šćekić. Goić plays a trick on the defense for a 2-pointer. Cowbells take the ball again and get pushed ahead by defensive pass interference. Roják runs a couple of times before another Váry’s pass ends up in the hands of the wrong team. Allen Ramsey is the beneficiary this time, returning it to the end zone for 35 yards. That’s the end of the first period and the game is pretty much over before it properly started.
Cowbells advance the ensuing kickoff to their 38 yard line, their rushes lead nowhere and they punt. Next, Nedeljković gets his gloves full with three catches for 30 yards. His teammate on the right sideline, Stepović peels off from his defender downfield and snags a 25 yard pass for another score.
Hungarian team is reduced to passing plays at this point. Váry gets the ball, looking to his weak side for a couple of seconds trying to locate his first option, but home team’s rusher strips the ball which luckily ends under one of his linemen. His next passing attempt ends the same way, this time Szabolcska grappling on to a long pass all the way to Wild Boars’ 30 yard line. The ball gets batted from behind but is again recovered by the offense. Roják rushes for 18 yards and his team is stonewalled. After a three and out they cause a couple of false start penalties but go for it anyway, chasing a big differential. Ball is deflected near the end line for a turnover on downs.
Oliver – Nedeljković is a combo that does go through for a screen pass and gets big yards in the next drive. The same play is repeated with Stepović who gets the road paved by the offensive line if front of him. Ball’s placed on the 9 yard line and Stepović is again in the end zone as the target of another pass for a score. The kick splits the uprights as the last play in the half that ends 43-7.
The sequel is fast forwarded by mercy rule. Cowbells go for it first, with Roják rushing twice for a total of 25 yards, but they grind to a halt and punt. After a 3 and out of their own, the Wild Boars punt themselves. Hungarian team gets ahold of the ball again, but can’t convert and punts to Ramsey who returns it to their 11 yard line. Tshimanga runs straight through the middle for another touchdown.
Cowbells try to reduce the pain over Váry’s rainbow pass to Takács Bence who gets wrestled down inside Wild Boars’ red zone. Next, Zax Norbert grabs a 16 yard pass in the end zone and Fóra Kamilló holds on to one himself on the conversion, for the final score 50-15.
The final regular season game in the Western group of CEFL Cup was also a battle for the divisional champion. At home, Sarajevo Spartans were chasing Kranj Alp Devils’ 16 point difference to get to the top position.
Both the Alp Devils and the Spartans came out with their offenses raring to go. Matic Hudovernik opened the scoring session for the Alp Devils over the ground, and Spartans’ Dženan Brigić answered in suit. Fruitful drives continued and the teams tacked more points to the scoreboard. Spartans took the lead by a pass from Caleb Hecox to Amar Brigić. Alp Devils lost no time and equalized over another Hudovernik’s run. With seconds left before halftime Spartans recovered an onside kick and Hecox connected with Jasmin Salihović to make it 21-14 going into the recess.
The second half was a complete reversal, as both teams’ defenses stepped up their games. Neither team was allowed a touchdown. Both quarterbacks were intercepted and the scoring bonanza became a punt fest. Spartans were only able to get Salihović near enough to make the field goal with 80 seconds left on the clock.
Spartans’ win by ten points wasn’t enough to secure the division title. The teams are now expecting the last game in the Eastern group when Belgrade Blue Dragons and Novi Sad GAT Dukes play for their poll position. The winner of this game will play at the Alp Devils’ for the CEFL Cup champion, while the other one will go to Sarajevo and play the Spartans for the 3rd place.