Dominant defense boosts Juventude over Foz da Iguaçu

Juventude F.A. – 21
Foz da Iguaçu – 8

Campo do Vila A – Foz da Iguaçu, Parana

The Juventude defense was smothering and dominant in their season finale, pacing Coach Wesley Mota’s squad by forcing five turnovers, two of which were fumble recoveries for touchdowns by Alisson Martins.

‘’Our defense had another great game,’’ said Mota, specifically citing the performance of veteran DT, Kawan Pivatto, defensive end, Eduardo Pereira and rook DT, Alexandre Vanz, who had multiple tackles for losses in his first game. Vagner and Vinicius Pachecho both bogarted interceptions, as did Luis Alves, whose fourth quarter pick in the end zone sealed the game for the Big Green.

‘’Alisson (Martins) was the MVP of the game. He’s a rookie and has played well all year,’’ said Mota of Martins, who, in addition to his two fumble recoveries for scores, led the team in tackles and added two pass break deflections.

‘’We feel like we improved a lot from the beggining of the year and we have great things to build on for the next season,’’ said Mota, of his team as they move into the offseason.

AFI’s take: Mota is one of the shining stars in the stable of talented young coaches currently developing in Brazil. It’s tough to get wins in Conferencia Sul, but things look bright for Juventude’s future.