Finland: Porvoon Butchers dominate Seinäjoki Crocodiles to win 7th Finnish title.
The Porvoon Butchers made their third and final game of the Finnish Maple League season against the Seinäjoki Crocodiles truly count as they used a dominant second half in Maple Bowl XLIV to defeat the Crocodiles 27-7 to capture their seventh Finnish title.
The Butchers had lost both regular season games against Seinäjoki, which made this win that much sweeter.
The game had a strong defensive presence through all four quarters but particularly in the first half as neither team could put points on the board until late in the second quarter.
Butchers WR Luukas Eerola scored 3 TDs. Photo: Laura Helminen
With five minutes left in the half, the Butchers were able to string together some momentum as quarterback Brandon Gwinner marched his team on a nine-play 48-yard scoring drive following a Crocodiles fumble. Porvoon would cap it off with a two-yards rush from running back Brandon Wellington to take a 7-0 lead.
In the second half, Seinäjoki would finally get some points of their own and tie the game at 7-7 after running back Christian Powell capped off an eight-play, 75 yard drive by pounding the ball in from the seven-yard line. However, this would be their only score of the game as it was all Porvoon after that until the final whistle.
After the ensuing drive, the Crocodiles would have a chance to get more points but fumbled on the punt return giving the ball right back to the Butchers. Three plays later, Gwinner connected with Luukas Eerola for a 73-yard score to give Porvoon a 14-7 advantage.
Crocodiles RB Christian Powell Photo: Jari Turunen
The story of the rest of the game was Crocodiles turnovers and the Butchers connection between Gwinner and wide receiver Luukas Eerola. Seinäjoki could not seem to keep the ball out of the Porvoon defense’s hands, and the Butchers offense took advantage of the turnovers each time.
After an interception and a fumble from Seinäjoki, Gwinner and Eerola would connect for two more touchdowns, which led to the 27-7 final score. Gwinner threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns, all to Eerola who finished with 129 yards off of four receptions.
The player of the game would go to Brandon Wellington. Not only did he score the opening touchdown of the game at running back, but he also dominated on the defensive side of the ball leading the Porvoon defense with 10 solo tackles and eight assists, while forcing a fumble late in the game to fully seal the victory for the Butchers.
