28 Countries in Europe Played American Football Last Weekend, Full Recap on Around the Continent
[tps_title]Around the Continent: Week 9[/tps_title]
Week 9 of the European edition of Around the Continent is filled with football action from Austria to Ukraine and every league in between.
We are a little late this week and apologize for that. We spend hours looking for and finding photos from the previous weekend’s action. Anytime you have a good set from your games please send them along. We try to make sure every photo is new from that weekend. We also strive to include any extra stats and info so please let us know. If a player you know has had an outstanding game, for instance, send us a message about it.
It was a wild week filled with football as in addition to all the regular season play, the Big6, IFAF Europe Champions League and the European Football League all featured games.
Many of the leagues are approaching the playoffs with only a weekend or two remaining in the regular season. The Spanish regular season will finish this weekend while Portugal is entering the semi-final stage of their playoffs. In France, one weekend remains in the regular season.
We would like to point out the great job that Amerikansk Fotball does in Norway as well as National Ligaen in Denmark. We rely on both sites as well as Gridiron in the Netherlands. We also want to thank Double Coverage in the UK for their excellent coverage. Lastly, we must acknowledge the fine work done by Football-Aktuell in Germany.
Otherwise, there is plenty of news from around the European continent. so make sure to check it out every week. Another shout out goes to Filippo Rostoni who is invaluable at gathering facts and keeping us on our toes. Also a special thank you to Tiberiu Anghelina from Romania for making sure we have our facts straight about American football in his country. Andre Amorim helps us out with news from Portugal. We thank him as well. Alexander Malyshev is great in getting us info from the Eastern League of American Football.
Make sure to read Luther Rommens game stories from Belgium. Our correspondent in Russia – Ilya Kravtsov – does an outstanding job of covering everything about American football in his country. If we have left someone out please remind us. And any and all contributions are welcome.
Germany, Spain, Portugal, France, Holland, Ireland, Belgium, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Austria, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Norway, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Slovenia, Slovakia, Turkey, the Ukraine, Russia and Denmark are all playing whether regular season or playoffs. However, the Finnish season does not start until June and the Croatian season gets underway in the fall.
We do everything we can to stay on top of developments in each country but cannot always keep up with it so this is where we need your help. Please keep us informed of events when they happen in your country. And please send us game photos from your most recent games.
Don’t hesitate to let us know if we have missed something or made a mistake. If we don’t respond quickly, keep trying. We are a tiny staff and we will eventually get your information posted. Also, if you have a tournament or new league write to us at [email protected].
Finally, if you can share on Facebook or retweet on Twitter we will spread the news even further.
Alpe Adria League
The Alpe Adria seven team league involving teams from Slovenia (Maribor Generals, Alp Devils) Croatia (Zagreb Patriots) Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo Spartans) and Serbia (Pancevo Panthers, Belgrade Blue Dragons) saw two games played this past weekend.
The Zagreb Patriots hosted the winless Sarajevo Spartans but dismantled them 29-6. Then the visiting Maribor Generals beat the Alp Devils 23-13.
The Patriots remain in first in the West division while the Serbian Pancevo Panthers still lead the East at 2-0.
Austria
Paced by receiver/kicker Clemens Erlsbacher’s three touchdowns and 23 points in total, the Swarco Raiders pulled away from the Graz Giants after a tight first half to win 50-34. The Giants had pulled to within 30-28 midway through the third quarter only to watch the Raiders score three more to secure the win. In the only other game, Prague Black Panthers quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero threw for 331 yards and four touchdowns, adding another 124 yards rushing and scoring three more touchdowns to beat the home team Danube Dragons 56-38.
The Vikings remain atop the standings at 4-1 while Swarco has climbed into second at 4-2. Prague occupies third at 3-2 followed by the Danube Dragons at 2-3. The Graz Giants have yet to win a game.
The Vikings suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns in Big6 action 47-23. Meanwhile the Swarco Raiders, playing in their second game on the same day, dispatched Switzerland’s Basel Gladiators 47-7 in the Battle4Tirol.
Baltic Sea League
The Baltic Sea League, featuring teams from Latvia, Estonia and Belarus was back in action this past weekend. The Tartu Titans dropped a 17-7 decision to the visiting Vitebsk Lynxes in Estonia while the Grodno Barbarians held on to defeat the Minsk Pagans 28-24 in Grodno, Belarus.
Belgium
Flemish conference (FAFL)
The Ghent Gators remain undefeated after beating the third place Ostend Pirates 20-12 at home. The Brussels Black Angels kept pace downing the last place Limburg Shotguns 50-0. Then the Izegem Tribes blanked the Antwerp Diamonds 24-0. The Ghent Gators are still undefeated at 6-0 and lead the conference followed by the Brussels Black Angels who are also without a loss and sit in second at 5-0. Brussels has rolled up 222 points in five games on offense.
French Conference (LFFAB)
The French conference was idle this past weekend. The Brussels Tigers still top the French conference at 5-0-1 followed by Liege at 4-1-1.
