France: Thonon Black Panthers sign championship QB Clark Evans

| American Football | 11/05/2018

France’s Thonon Black Panthers have signed quarterback Clark Evans for the 2019 season.

The Black Panthers have reached back-to-back French championship finals for the past two years and won the title in France twice, in 2013 and 2014.

The 6’4″. 240 lb Evans has played for Switzerland’s Calanda Broncos for the past two seasons, helping them win two straight Swiss championships and in 2018 led them to an undefeated season. He played for Germany’s Dusseldorf Panther in 2016 and spent the 2015 season with the Ljubljana Silverhawks of Slovenia. A native of Tustin, California, Evans played his college football at the University of Hawaii and also one year at Colorado.

AFI:  You have won back-to-back championships with the Calanda Broncos in Switzerland. Why the move to France and the Thonon Black Panthers?

Evans:  The reason I did not return to the Broncos is because they decided to move on to another QB. I am still on good terms with my teammates and the organization.

AFI: This will be the fourth country in Europe you will have played in. Can you compare football in the other three?

Evans:  I think each country I have played in has been vastly different. The first year was in Slovenia and it was strange because I was going to a place without a full schedule and where I was playing only five games. In Dusseldorf the level of competition was by far the best but the organization had a tough time trying to play up to the level of the GFL. The last two seasons in Switzerland the level of play was much lower than the top of the GFL but I feel that competitively we played together like no other team I had been on which is what made any game we played in very winnable.

AFI: Have you had a chance to travel?

Evans: I have traveled a little bit each year i have been over here but I much prefer to learn everything about the city I live in and spend less time traveling and more time focusing on working out and football.

AFI: Any new favorite dishes?

Evans: After my 4th year i think i have tried most types of food in Europe one of my favorite was Chevapchichi which is a Serbian dish, and of course most any Kabob place i have tried in any city.

AFI: How much has football in Europe developed since you arrived?

Evans: I think football since i have been here has grown a little each year and this year more with IFAF being fixed and hopefully it continues to grow and get to a place where it can be recognized by each country on a national level so that media and other outlets give it the attention needed to expose a larger number of people to the game.

AFI: The Black Panthers has been one of the best clubs in France over the past decade. What are your expectations for 2019?

Evans: My expectations for this season are to work harder than I ever have before to make sure my teammates and i are as prepared as possible for every game we play in in order to give us the best possible chance to win.

Check out Clark’s highlights from the 2018 season

Highlights from 2016 season in Dusseldorf

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Roger Kelly is an editor and a writer for AFI. A former PR Director the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League for 7 years, he now lives in Sweden writing about and scouting American Football throughout the world.