France hits midseason with a battle of unbeatens as feature game
The FFFA D1 Elite (Federation Francaise de Football Americain) league reaches the midseason point this weekend with six games on tap including a battle of the unbeatens.
In the Northern Conference, the undefeated Thonon Black Panthers (4-0) will play host to the unbeaten La Courneuve Flash (4-0) while the winless Saint-Ouen Cougars will pay a visit to the equally winless Amiens Spartiates (0-4). In other action, the Tous Pionners (2-2) will visit the Asnieres Molosses (2-2), the Nice Dauphins (2-1) and Aix Argonautes (1-3) will clash in Nice. The Marseilles Blue Stars (3-0) will put their unbeaten streak on the line in Marseilles against the Toulouse Ours (2-1-1), while finally the winless Grenoble Centaures travel to Catalans to face the Grizzlys Catalans (2-1-1).
Saturday, March 18
La Courneuve Flash (4-0) @ Thonon Black Panthers (4-0)
This is definitely the game of the season so far in France, as two undefeated teams square off in Thonon. The Black Panthers, 2022 runner ups in France, opened the year with four lopsided wins, beating the Saint-Ouen Cougars 38-14 and the Amiens Spartiates 49-7, then rolling over the Asnieres Molosses 35-6 and Amiens Spartiates 59-0. The defending champion Flash beat the Molosses 26-14 and the Cougars 47-6, and then blanked the Spartiates 64-0 before getting by the Tours Pionniers 34-28.
The last time these two teams met was in the 2022 title game when the Flash came away winners, beating Thonon 16-10.
Watch the game live here. La Courneuve Flash @ Thonon Black Panthers, March 18, 19:00 CET (7 pm, 2 pm EDT)
Saint-Ouen Cougars (0-4) @ Amiens Spartiates (0-4)
Amiens lost to the Pionnieres 28-24 and then to Molosses 44-33 before being annihilated 64-0 by Thonon and 59-0 by the Flash. The Cougars were dropped by the Panthers 38-14 and then hammered by La Courneuve 47-6. They then were downed by Tours Pionniers 27-13 before being edged 7-6 by Molosses.
Watch the game live here. Saint-Ouen Cougars @Amiens Spartiates, March 18, 19:00 CET (7 pm, 2 pm EDT).
Aix Argonautes (1-3) @ Nice Dauphins (2-1)
The Nice Dauphins opened the year by beating Grenoble 36-3 but lost 20-15 to the Grizzlys before downing Toulouse Ours 13-6. Meanwhile, the Argonautes lost to Toulouse 17-7 and to the Marseilles Blue Stars 36-0 before rebounding with a 15-0 shut out over Grenoble. However they dropped a 14-7 decision to Catalans last week.
Watch the game live here. Aix Argonautes @ Nice Dauphins, March 18, 19:00 CET (7 pm, 2 pm EDT).
Tours Pionniers (2-2) @ Asnieres Molosses (2-2)
Asnieres lost to the La Courneuve Flash 26-14 but then beat the Spartiates 44-33. However, they were no match for Thonon losing 35-6. Last week though they edged the Cougars 7-6. The Tours Pionniers opened the season by beating the Amiens Spartiates 28-24 but went down to defeat against the Thonon Black Panthers 49-7. They came back with a 27-13 win over the Cougars and then pushed La Courneuve but finally lost 34-28.
Tours Pionniers @ Asnieres Molosses, March 18, 18:00 CET (6 pm, 1 pm EDT)
Sunday, March 19
Toulouse Ours (2-1) @ Marseilles Blue Stars (3-0)
The Blue Stars downed the Catalans Grizzlys 26-14 to open the season and then handed the Aix Argonautes a 36-0 shellacking before whipping Grenoble 40-9. The newly promoted Toulouse Ours started the 2023 season by beating the Argonautes 17-7 and then whipping the Grenoble Centaures 40-2. However, they tied the Grizzlys 21-21 before losing 31-6 to the Nice Dauphins.
Toulouse Ours @ Marseilles Blue Stars, March 19, 14:00 CET (2 pm, 9 am EDT)
Grizzlys Catalans (2-1) @ Grenoble Centaures (0-4)
Grenoble is off to a dismal start to the 2023 season and has dropped four in a row, losing 36-6 to the Nice Dauphins, 40-2 to the Toulouse Ours, 15-0 to the Argonautes and finally 40-9 last week to the Blue Stars.The Grizzlys looked solid in their two games losing to Marseilles 26-14 but then beat the Nice Dauphins 20-15. They played Toulouse to a 21-21 tie before beating the Aix Argonautes 14-7.
Grizzlys Catalans @ Grenoble Centaures, March 19, 19:00 CET (7 pm, 2 pm EDT),
