Brazil’s Superliga Opening Weekends Marked By Upsets

[tps_title]Brazil’s Superliga Opens Strong[/tps_title]

Brazil’s Superliga, the top American football league in Brazil, kicked off their 2016 season over the past two weekends.

All across the country clubs began their quest toward the very first unified title for the Confederação Brasileira de Futebol Americano (CBFA) Superliga.

The weekends were marked by upsets of defending champs, and familiar faces in new places. Let’s review this exciting Brazilian American Superliga football action.

Cuiaba Arsenal 26, Corinthians Steamrollers 7

A crowd of over 10,000 filled the seats of Cuiaba’s Arena Pantanal to see what the home fans have become accustomed to over the years, a dominant Arsenal performance.

After trading punts to start the game, Cuiaba’s multi-faceted speedster, Brandon ‘’The Rocket’’ Watkins found his groove. Watkins exploded for multiple big plays throughout the contest. The Arsenal defense swarmed all night and contained the Steamrollers devastating runner, Joc Crawford. The defense made it difficult for Steamrollers to get the ball to all-everything wideout, Victor Hugo. Cuiaba defensive back and head coach, Ken Joshen, contributed a pick six.

After this impressive win, expect to see Cuiaba as an early season favorite for the Superliga title.

Juventude 13, Curitiba Brown Spiders 7

Running back Bruno Castro rumbled 21 yards for a score, and quarterback Eduardo Cauzzi linked up with talented receiver, Vinicius Pacheco on a 77 yard strike to lead the way for a Juventude victory.

‘’It was a tough game and both offenses struggled in the rain and cold,’’ said Juventude head coach, Wesley Mota. ‘’We were able to adapt to their scheme and take advantage of their mistakes to hold on for a very important win,’’ he added.

Vasco da Gama Patriotas 62, Rio Branco Cabritos 0

The 2015 Torneio Touchdown national finalists continued their dominant ways by beating up the scoreboard and dominating defensively. Vasco’s Romulo Ramos made the most of his three carries, only stopping when he reached the end zone, scoring three touchdowns and racking up 112 yards. Patriota’s quarterback Daniel Gazelle led the air attack, with 256 yards and 4 TDs on 14 of 22 passing.

Defensively, the Patriotas smothered the Cabritos. Vasco’s Juan Senra had two picks and returned one of them for a touchdown, and it was ‘’new jersey, same result’’ for newly acquired cornerback Bruno Rosa (formerly of Flamengo and the Jaragua Breakers), who also added an interception.

Vasco head coach (and Brazilian National Team head coach), Gabriel Mendes says the biggest difference he sees in his team this year, from their Torneio Touchdown national finals team of a year ago, is aggressiveness on defense.

‘’The most impressive thing (about the game) was the defense imposed by our new defensive coordinator, Steve Gifford. The defense was much more aggressive and trying to steal the football as much as possible,’’ said Mendes.

Vasco is bringing its winning tradition from the TTD to CBFA’s Superliga. They will be a team to be in the newly formed league.

[tps_title]Brazil’s Superliga Opens Strong[/tps_title]

Botafogo Reptiles 35, Minas Locomotiva 33

With 12 seconds remaining in the game on 4th and 5, the Reptiles quarterback Ramon Matire found wide receiver Loan Felisardo in the end zone to clinch the win over the 2016 Minas Gerais state champions.

Locomotiva head coach and offensive lineman Italo Mingoni will look to simplify things in the coming weeks.

‘’We did some things well, specifically our short passing game and gap runs, but we tried to run too many things for a first game and got away from our ‘feijao e arroz’ (authors note: ‘feijao e arroz’ means ‘beans and rice’ in Portuguese and this phrase is the equivalent of ‘bread and butter.’),’’ he said.

‘’We game up a big play at the end to two of the best players in the country. We have to finish games,’’ Mingoni added.

Recife Mariners 21, Recife Pirates 7

The Mariners continued their dominance of the inner-city rivalry, and Mariners head coach Lucas Cisnero was not surprised to see his squad demonstrate the good and bad that often comes from a season opener.

‘’It was clearly the first game of the year, with both teams missing assignments and making some mental errors, but our guys stuck together and overcame a lot of adversity,’’ said Cisneros.

This game also marked the Brazilian debut for Mariners quarterback Alex Niznak, fresh off a successful run in Sweden for the Tyresö Royal Crowns, who completed a nifty shovel-pass for a touchdown to running back Lucas Adolfo. Adolfo also added a rushing touchdown in his efforts.

‘’Lucas ran with purpose and took advantage of every gap the OL opened up. He was the key for us to push our late lead,’’ said Cisneros.

Cisneros also cited key receptions from wide receiver Julio Acioly in holding on to the lead in the second half.

“Julio had a rough start but got back into the game with some really key plays late.”

The Mariner line ruled the day for their defense, keyed by moving a traditional defensive end to the interior of the line where he was disruptive throughout the game. Mariners nose tackle Nelson Ferreira anchored the middle of the line while end Tulio Albuquerque was his usual disruptive self.

The Mariners winning here is not surprising. The club has been a mainstay in the CBFA’s Superliga Nord-Este. Tougher opponents lie ahead.

[tps_title]Brazil’s Superliga Opens Strong[/tps_title]

Ceara Caçadores 42, Joao Pessoa Espectros 31

The Caçadores and first time head coach Mike Lima overcame a scorching hot start from the defending CBFA national champions to notch what might be the biggest win in program history.

The Espectros biggest off season acquisition, play-making wide receiver, Heron Azevedo, formerly of the Cuiaba Arsenal, didn’t waste time in making his presence felt. Azevedo took the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and followed that up with a touchdown catch from quarterback Rodrigo Dantas. Azevedo‘s second touchdown was on the Espectros’ first offensive play from scrimmage and make the score 12-0 very early in the first quarter.

From that point on, the momentum shifted, and the Caçadores, led by talented young quarterback Romario Reis, started making plays. The club rattling off 25 unanswered points and heading into half time with a 25-17 lead that they never relinquished.

‘’We took our foot off the pedal. The Caçadores were very competent to take advantage of that and took the lead and never looked back,’’ said Azevedo, a veteran of as many big games as just about anyone in Brazil. I like the way our guys fought until the end, but unfortunately, it was too deep of a hole to come out of.”

Caçadores Athletic Director Bruno Rocha:

‘’As expected, it was a great game against one of the best teams in the country. We managed to stay calm and execute our game-plan well.”

This is the first time that Reis has come out as the victor when battling against fellow highly-touted quarterback Dantas. Reis was 9 of 17 passing, for 150 yards, 2 touchdowns (one to Talon Roggash and one to his younger brother, Marlos Reis) and 2 interceptions. Romario also carried the ball 5 times for 19 yards and a touchdown, but the star of the Caçadores running game was running back Luís Eduardo who rumbled through the daunting Espectros defense for 116 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.

The Caçadore defense, although surrending 29 of the 31 points scored by the Espectros, made several big plays to hold and extend their lead. Roggash and cornerback Paulo Alberto both had interceptions, as did TB Battle, who returned his for a second half touchdown. Rocha singled out Caçadore defensive player Kaleo Melo for being disruptive due to his versatility.

‘’Kaleo had a great game playing linebacker, but we were also able to line him up at defensive end in passing situations,’’ he said of Melo, who finished the game with 5 tackles (3 for a loss and 1 sack) and 4 QB pressures, according to Caçadores statistics.

Caçadore kicker Danillo Arais added 11 points, including a 52 yard bomb of a field goal.

Azevedo is confident that the Espectros will build from the frustration of losing the season opener. ‘’It is good that we face this kind of adversity early in the year. It will make us stronger and our guys have already shown signs of that during the last week in practice,’’ he said.

Sao Jose White Sharks-Istepos 21, Timbo T-Rex 19

Led by some huge defensive plays late in the game, the White Sharks-Istepos (WSI – a co-op of what used to be the Sao Jose Istepos and Itapema White Sharks) handed 2015 Torneio Touchdown National Champions their first loss in about a year and a half. Pick-sixes for both WSI linebacker Ramon Franco and WSI defensive end Vinicius Zanon, one minute apart from each other, were catalysts for the win.

For Zanon, WSI’s victory was a result of the excellent practices that the team had leading up to the game.

‘’(The game) challenged our mental toughness. We couldn’t stop them (T-Rex) at the beginning of the game and we just couldn’t get our defense off the field,’’ he said.

‘’ With all the emotion of the game, and the exhaustion of your body, that is when your good practices show themselves.’ All of those repetitions gave us the chance to be in the right place a half second earlier, make a big play, and have our team in a position to come out with a win.’’ said Zanon.

These two clubs are looking to establish themselves as teams to be feared in the new Superliga. This has to be a setup for the Timbo T-Rex, who often dominate their regional opponents.

[tps_title]Brazil’s Superliga Opens Strong[/tps_title]

Curitiba Crocodiles 10, Parana HP 3

Curitiba running back Bruno Santucci scored the difference maker as his Crocodiles, featuring a few new faces, won a defensive struggle against their cross-town rival. Only days earlier the HP had snapped the Crocodiles’ state title winning streak at 7.

Former Recife Mariners quarterback Drew Banks, lined up behind a Crocodiles‘ offensive line that featured massive and talented offensive lineman, the 6’5, 310 pound, Dhiego Taylor, formerly of the Lusa Lions.

‘’HP is a good, athletic team and the game was not easy. Our defense carried us,’’ said Banks. ‘’We just all have to get on the same page (offensively) and when that happens, we will be dangerous,’’ he added.

America Bulls 12, Vitoria All Saints 0

The Bulls, of the city of Natal, blanked the All Saints, of the city of Salvador, in the Superliga opener for both teams. Despite the loss, Vitoria offensive lineman and assistant coach Chad Malphrus thinks that his squad has some positives to build on.

‘’I thought our defense was outstanding. Our offense had some great plays, but we still have some things to work out. We can move forward and this team will get better and be a contender,’’ said Malphrus.

These small-market clubs are excited to be a part of the CBFA’s new Superliga. Look for them to challenge some of the larger clubs in Recife and Fortaleza this season.

Flamengo FA 49, Vila Velha Tritoes 28

The club from Rio de Janeiro started off hot, up 28-0 at one point, and never looked back. The closest the Tritoes came was a score of 28-14 at halftime.

Flamengo’s legendary quarterback KC Frost targeted two different teammates for touchdown passes (Tight end Felipe Liera and wide reciever Patrick Tavares), and the Flamengo running game had a balanced performance, with rushing touchdowns coming from Yolandus Pratt (2 TDs), Raffael Garcia (1 TD) and Felipe Florêncio (1 TD).

Flamengo looks to continue steady growth in the coming weeks. ‘’We didn’t use 60% of our playbook (offensively),’’ said Tavares, who caught one of Frost’s TD passes.

‘’We expect to continue playing our style of game (in the next contest),’’ he added.

Flamengo, along with Vasco, is a strong club coming from the TTD. The talent and tradition in the club brings great depth to the Superliga. They will be a force to be reckoned with as the season unfolds.