Sportklub CEFL Championship is entering its final stage with two semifinal games this Saturday. Both are played in France and the challengers come from Austria and Switzerland. Three national champions and last season’s CEFL Bowl winners guarantee an exciting semifinal game day.
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Danube Dragons ViennaCEFL Championship, Semifinal 1
Saturday, 1 June, 18:00 CET
Thonon Black Panthers – Danube Dragons Vienna
Live stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLWWvVjAtog
The daily program will open with a game in Thonon, where the French champion Black Panthers will receive the Austrian league winner, Danube Dragons. The home team will try to replicate their last year’s success, when they played in the finals. The Viennese have already improved on their performance from their first appearance two seasons ago and now they’ll try to do one better.
In the second round the Black Panthers have dominated another Austrian team, Graz Giants by 30-6, scoring from all three phases of the game. Their defense completely shut down rival’s aerial attack, reducing them to 61 passing yards. Everything’s going well for the Black Panthers in the national league as well. French regular season has just ended and they’ll host the wild card round next.
Import quarterback K’Hari Lane was playing behind the center for the French team in the second round. He led the offense with three passing touchdowns to as many receivers. Another import, tight end Odell Turnbull was on the receiving end on one of them. Liam Ward and Kevin Dessaux were his other two scoring options and Adel Bafdile put points on the scoreboard on the punt return.
The Danube Dragons were very effective in their second round win against Guelfi Firenze. They took the early lead and never let up, winning every quarter of the game to finish 45-20. The sailing was not as smooth for them domestically, where they stand at 4-3. Even so, their playoff aspirations shouldn’t come in question as they meet opponents from the bottom half in the 3 remaining weeks.
Austrian team’s homegrown signal caller, Alexander Thury posted three touchdowns on the Guelfi defense. On the scoring plays he connected with Bernhard Ruscher and Lukas Gold, as well as import all-rounder Madre London. Another American, Hakeem Kinard, added points over the ground stepping out of his regular LB position. On top of that, DB Paul Schachner returned a fumble to the house too.
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Calanda BroncosCEFL Championship, Semifinal 2
Saturday, 1 June, 19:00 CET
Flash de La Courneuve – Calanda Broncos
Live stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUTgf5Y921k
The evening slot is reserved for the matchup in La Courneuve. Swiss best, Calanda Broncos will visit the Flash, who are the reigning CEFL Championship trophy holders. The French team is going for a repeat of last season’s accomplishment. At the same time, the guests will try to reproduce their greatest success from 2019 when they played in CEFL Bowl XIV, bowing to Swarco Raiders Tirol by 4 points.
The Flash had a near miss in the second round against Stockholm Mean Machines. The visitors rallied after 4 unanswered TDs in the first half, only to lose by an incomplete 2 point conversion in the final seconds. It was a fascinating game which grew increasingly more thrilling as it progressed. Parisians are at the top of their domestic league conference and they’ll host the semifinals there as well.
French quarterback Badis Grami tossed 3 passing touchdowns for the Flash against the Swedes. He linked up twice with an American tight end Darius Dawsey and wide receiver Yassine Sifeddine scored the third one. Running backs François Pion and Judson Saint Louis both added a rushing touchdown each. DB Fara Mendy recorded an interception as well as the last defensive play for the win.
The only semifinalist which has played in both previous rounds are the Broncos. They’ve greeted Copenhagen Towers in the first, handily beating them by 33-10. After journeying to meet Parma Panthers in the second round, they returned home with a 14 point victory. The Swiss are leading their national league with 7-0 and 3 games still to go. Sure enough, they’re a shoe-in for the national league semifinals.
Taking snaps for the Broncos is their own 21-year-old prospect Robin Sennrich. He scored three times in both rounds, each time twice through the air and once with his legs. American import Maxwell Gray was good for three touchdowns in the first round too and one in the second. His compatriot, Andre Blackett Jr. who’s usually playing linebacker, added to the production with a rushing score in Parma.
