France: La Courneuve Flash get by a stubborn Diables Rouges squad to stay unbeaten

The La Courneuve Flash were pushed hard by the newest member of the French D1 Elite league, the Villepinte Diables Rouges, but a solid second half of football carried them to a 16-7 victory at Géo André stadium in Paris this past weekend.

La Courneuve quarterback Léo Crémandes threw for one touchdown while scoring the second on his own in leading his team to a key victory.

The Flash trailed 7-0 before the offense finally kicked into gear in the final half of football.

The first two quarters of play turned into a defensive battle for the most part with neither team able to penetrate the red zone. However, with two minutes left, Rouges quarterback Badis Grami capped a 69 yard drive that ate up five minutes on the clock by running untouched into the end zone from two yards out to give his team a 7-0 lead.

That touchdown was a wake up call for the home team as with less than two minutes left in the first half, Crémandes marched his team from his own 29 yard line down to the Diables Rouges two. But time ran out on a third and goal before the Flash could snap the ball leaving the visitors in the lead going into the break.

However, La Courneuve picked up the momentum again to open the second half as Crémandes orchestrated a nine-play 96 yard drive capping it with a 25 yard touchdown pass to Noa Badibanga deep in the corner of the end zone. A missed extra point left the score 7-6 in favor of the visitors.

With the Flash defense keeping the Villepinte offense bottled up, Crémandes went back to work on the very next possession. He took his team down to the Diables Rouges 17 yard line and Mathys Dupont booted a 34 yard field goal to give La Courneuve a 9-7 lead with six minutes remaining in the game.

Then, with just under two minutes to go, Flash running back Jason Bofunda made a spectacular play, breaking three tackles and then racing 27 yards to the end zone to give his team a seemingly secure 16-7 lead.

The visitors were not quite done yet though. The Diables Rouges kick returner Hugo Schwartz gave his team a chance returning the ensuing kickoff 70 yards to the Flash 30 yard line with a minute and a half to go. Grami moved his team down to the four yard line but got no further as the Flash defense rose up thwarting a fourth and goal attempt with seconds left.

With the win, La Courneuve remains unbeaten after four rounds of play and sit atop the North Conference standings. The Diables Rouges fell to 1-3.