The Portuguese League of American Football finished its third weekend of play for the 2016-2017 season and favorites are beginning to emerge.
On Saturday in Portugal, the Algarve Sharks hosted the Maia Renegades in a highly-anticipated clash. Both teams followed the Lisbon Devils lead from last season and recruited import players. The home team Sharks added Preston Bailey, John Holloway and Edson Santos to the lineup. Meanwhile, the Renegades brought in head coach Les Szeredi and players like Brian Gessel, Michael Campbell and Awal Umaru.
The final outcome of this game was a win by the Renegades by 30-7. The game was tight in the first half but in the second half the Renegades jumped into the lead and never let the home team get back into the game.
On Sunday, the Lisbon Navigators traveled to Portimão, Portugal also in Algarve, to face the Algarve Pirates. Both teams were coming off of losses last week and were hoping to turn around on the second game of the season. The game started very disputed but once the Navigators took the lead their defense was able to hold off the Pirates offense. The Navigators ended up winning 15-0 to earn their first win of the season.
Also on Sunday, the Mutts traveled to Braga to face the Black Knights. The Mutts started the game using their running game and took the lead.
Porto Mutts cornerback #6 Ricardo “Wedge” picks off a Black Knights pass and returns it for a crucial TD after the Mutts were trailing 6-3.
The Black Knights battled back but the Mutts dominated all the three phases of the game. The final score was 49-12 for the Mutts to give them their second win of the year.
