Battle For Playoffs Heats Up In Portugal

The Portuguese League of American Football wound up its ninth week of play and playoff berths were definitely on the line. The Lisboa Devils solidified their spot at the top of the standings while the Maia Renegades and the Black Knights improved their situations.

In Lisbon

Lisboa Devils 45 – Braga Warriors 13

In Lisbon, the Lisboa Devils hosted the Braga Warriors and the score doesn’t reflect  what happened on the field. The Devils started very well with a very successful drive that ended in a Willian La’Prado run for 1 yard touchdown. The extra point was missed. The Warriors replied with a very strong drive that ended with a 5 yard touchdown run by quarterback Tiago Ranhada. The extra point was good and the Warriors jumped into the lead.

After that the Devils offense scored three more times before the half with quarterback Joey Bradley throwing two touchdown passes to Collin Franklin and one to Pedro Flores. The Devils defense was able to adjust to the Warriors offense and didn’t allowed any more points on the first half.

In the second half the Warriors come out shooting scoring on their opening drive. The extra point wasn’t converted.
The Devils then scored two more touchdowns with Bruno Cardoso hauling in a pass from Bradley and Jerónimo Sebastião rushing for another touchdown. The final result was 45-13.

In Paredes

Black Knights 20 – Paredes Lumberjacks 6

In the city of Paredes, the Paredes Lumberjacks played host to the Black Knights in a match where the loser was most probably out of playoff contention. The game started in favor of the home team who scored first on a pass from Bruno Tunes to Cody Davis. The extra point wasn’t converted.

After that the Black Knights took over the game and the main figure was Tiago Carreira. He scored three touchdowns. The first one was on a blocked punt by defensive end João Miquelino, the second on a run in the second quarter and the final one on a run in the last quarter.

The defense for the Black Knights also played outstanding with three interceptions by André Vilaça one of them stopping the home team from scoring another touchdown. The final result was 20-6 for the Black Knights in a stunning victory that sends the Lumberjacks out of playoff contention and keeps the Black Knights in the hunt.

In Maia

Maia Renegades 33 – Cascais Crusaders 21

The most anticipated game of this weekend was between the two oldest teams in Portugal, the Maia Renegades and Cascais Crusaders. Historically, the Crusaders have the advantage over the Renegades and both teams only had one loss prior to this game so we knew we were looking for a big matchup. The Renegades started better with a touchdown in the first offensive snap with Brian Gessel passing to Awal Umaru. The second touchdown was scored by Michael Campbell on a run play.

In the meantime the Crusaders answered with a run by Juzz Tiny. However, the Renegades didn’t let down and Awal Umaru had an interception and took it all the way back for a touchdown. The Crusaders answered with quarterback Manuel Farano passing to Alexandre Álvaro.

The Renegades added two more passing touchdowns in the second half, one to Miguel Vasconcelos and another one to Awal Umaru. The Crusaders scored a late touchdown on a run by Duarte Antunes but it was too late to alter the score. The final result was 33-21 to the Renegades who jumped ahead of the Crusaders in the standings for now.

Next weekend

Three more games are scheduled for next weekend. The Lisboa Navigators will take on the Paredes Lumberjacks in the first contest. The second game will feature the two teams from Algarve, the Sharks and Pirates. And the third game will be the battle of Porto between the Renegades and Mutts.

Week 9 standings