It was billed as a battle between the top two Danish teams, a rematch of the last two Mermaid Bowl championships and a taste of what fans missed out on last year due to the canceled Danish playoffs.
In the end, the result was far from a clash of titans. The Copenhagen Towers rolled through the Triangle Razorbacks with relative impunity on Saturday, notching a 44-13 statement victory over their chief national rival.
Copenhagen’s dominance began early in the outing. Receiver Jakob Green put his team in position with a 24-yard one-handed catch in traffic and running back Anton Witmeur scampered in from six yards out to finish an impressive opening drive. Michel Konate added the two-point conversion and the Towers took an 8-0 lead.
The teams traded long drives that resulted in turnovers on downs inside each other’s ten-yard line, but eventually the Razorbacks made a fatal mistake. Backup quarterback Peter Linnemann stepped under center for a few plays and immediately made a dangerous throw over the middle that was deflected and picked off by Kenneth Larsen-Ledet. Towers pivot Randall Schroeder made them pay with a 34-yard dagger to Magnus Jensen and Konate added another two-point conversion.
Triangle starter Reed Gottula returned under center with a vengeance, marching the field with the help of Johan Bang. With seconds remaining in the half, he took three shots at the endzone from the six-yard line, targeting import Jeremy Cornelius each time. Jakob Baekgaard broke up each pass with a flourish and Triangle was held scoreless.
The Razorbacks finally broke the donut on their first drive of the third quarter. A tough fourth down catch from tight end Mark Meter with a face mask penalty tacked on put the team in the redzone and Gottula found Jacob Callesen for a five-yard touchdown.
Copenhagen Towers DB Eivind Rølles #3 Photo: SBC Photo
The two-point attempt was incomplete, but the Razorbacks had more in store. Driving once again, Schroeder didn’t see Christian Kvist Nielsen in coverage and sent a short pass right into the linebacker’s hands. The quarterback couldn’t stop him and he raced 57 yards to paydirt to make it 16-13.
Now up just three points after the rapid momentum swing, the Towers worked quickly to pull away. Schroeder found Jakob Green in a hole in the zone and a perfectly timed block from Oliver Tribler sent him off to the races for a 58-yard touchdown. On the next drive, Schroeder looked deep on fourth down and found Magnus Jensen free for a 37-yard score. Both two-point attempts failed, but Copenhagen took a 28-13 lead into the final frame.
The onslaught continued in the fourth quarter. Gottula’s pass for Cornelius was undercut by Kasper Johansen for a big interception, providing excellent field position. Schroeder found Green on the naked bootleg for a two-yard score and Anton Witmeur tacked on the two-point conversion. Backup quarterback Mads Jakobsen took over on the final drive to add a 13-yard jump ball touchdown to Philip Nielsen and Green notched a final two-point conversion to ice the 44-13 blowout.
Despite playing from behind for almost the entire game, the Razorbacks mustered most of their offensive production on the ground. Mads Lorenzen had 17 carries for 86 yards, while Johan Bang ran 18 times for 72 yards. Reed Gottula finished 10 of 22 passing for 109 yards, one touchdown and one interception, with Mark Meter and Jacob Callesen each bringing in five catches for 65 and 39 yards respectively. Import Jeremy Cornelius was rendered a non-factor, managing just one catch for 13 yards to go with a couple of drops.
The Towers were a different story, with Randall Schroeder putting on an aerial display. The import pivot completed 21 of 27 passes for 299 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Jakob Green was his busiest target, notching 11 receptions for 155 yards. Magnus Jensen wasn’t far behind with seven catches for 111 yards and both added a pair of touchdowns. Anton Witmeur rushed 12 times for 75 yards and a score.
The decisive win establishes Copenhagen as early favorites to take back the Mermaid Bowl crown from the Razorbacks, but a lot of football remains before a national title can be awarded. Both teams head into a bye this week, before Triangle heads on the road in two weeks against the Aab 89ers. The Towers will not return for three weeks, when they’ll test their undefeated record against the only team they have yet to face, the Søllerød Gold Diggers.