Bucharest Rebels roll past Timisoara 89ers to capture Romanian Bowl X

The Bucharest Rebels romped to a 34-14 victory over the Timisoara 89ers in Romanian Bowl X on Saturday night in Ghiroda behind a 269 yard, four touchdown passing performance from Stan Bedwell.

The win marked the fourth Romanian championship for the Rebels and the first since 2016. Bedwell celebrated his fifth European title since arriving in 2008.

The game started ominously for the 89ers as QB Charles Babb fumbled the ball away on the third play from scrimmage after being sacked by Codrin Cuciurea. Radu Ionescu was there to fall on it at the 19 yard line. Three plays later, Bedwell hit Daniel Marcu in the back of the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown. Bedwell’s two-point conversion pass to Bogdan Brindusa gave the Rebels an early 8-0 lead.

Minutes later, the turnover woes continued for Timisoara  as an errant snap on a punt attempt gave the Rebels the ball with favorable field position once again. A 24-yard completion from Bedwell to Brindusa on 4th-and-15 from the 89ers 25-yard line set up a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Rashad Dillard to give the Rebels a 14-0 lead.

 

The 89ers finally started to come to life in the second quarter as Valentin Cocrean made a fantastic diving interception on a Bedwell pass. This set up a 6-yard touchdown run by Jeron Jones to mark a halftime score of 14-6 in favor of the Rebels.

After struggling for over two quarters, the Rebels offense came alive late in the game scoring on their final three possessions. First, Bedwell hit Marcu on a 42-yard scoring pass then tossed the conversion pass to Brindusa to take a 22-6 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

In the final stanza, Bedwell threw long touchdown strikes to Brindusa (40 yards) and Silviu Ionut (63 yards) to complete the scoring for the Rebels. In between the Rebels fourth quarter touchdown drives, Babb connected with Cocrean from two yards out and hooked up with Remus Baizath for the two-point conversion to close out the 89ers scoring.

Brindusa led all receivers with 7 receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown. Marcu added four grabs for 73 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also had a crucial interception in the end zone to help close out the game in the fourth quarter.

Babb threw for 118 yards and ran for 48 yards to pace the 89ers offense. Jones was a workhorse for Timisoara carrying the ball 22 times for 78 yards and a score.

Vlad Sorici led the Rebels defense with 6.5 tackles and 3 tackles-for-loss. Kurtis Ovesen added 4.5 tackles and an interception for the champions.

Photos: First down