France: Thonon Black Panthers pull off upset, beat Flash to wind up regular season
In the last game of the regular season in the French D1 Elite Championship league, the Thonon-les-bains Black Panthers pulled off the biggest upset of the year, defeating the La Courneuve Flash by a score of 38-21.
The Flash came into this game undefeated at 9-0 but were unable to complete their perfect regular season. With the win, the Black Panthers moved to 9-1 and into a tie for first
place with the Flash.
Photo: (c) Guillaume Mouchet – La Ferme du Pecheur
The Black Panthers got off to a fantastic start on the day, taking a 21-7 lead into halftime thanks to three touchdown passes by quarterback Brett Hunchak, each one going to a different
receiver. Running back Akiva Wedge punched in a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half, extending the Thonon lead to 28-7, which was exactly what they needed in order to
prove the first half was not a fluke. After a pair of touchdowns from the Flash made it 28-21, the Black Panthers responded with another touchdown, a strike from Hunchak to running back Nicolas Khandar, to ensure their lead would not slip away. A late field goal brought the score to 38-21, the final score of the match.
These teams will now move on to the playoffs, which begin next week.
Flash WR #2 trying to escape Thonon defender Photo: (c) Guillaume Mouchet – La Ferme du Pecheur
La Courneuve still retains the 1st seed position in Conference A despite the loss, they had defeated Thonon 35-0 to start the season and thus have a better internal points differential.
With this, the Flash will have a bye week next week while the Black Panthers will host a wild card game against the Toulouse Bears who finished third in Conference B.
