The Budapest Wolves were dominant in their beatdown of the reigning champion Budapest Cowbells in the capital city derby, while the Fehérvár Enthroners came out victorious from the first ever Fejér County match-up against the DAK Acél Gorillaz.
Budapest Wolves (3-0) 37– Budapest Cowbells (2-1) 8 (17-0, 10-0, 10-0, 8-0)
Photo: Gabriella Kraus
Never had the Wolves beaten the Cowbells in the Hungarian Football League’s regular season before this past weekend. For the six time champion Wolves, this game was their best chance of removing this blemish.
In the first quarter, the Wolves offense dominated the game and got a marvelous head start with field goal by Ben Lyons and touchdowns from Ádám Elek and Darius Lewis. The Wolves held on to the momentum in the second quarter, as Lyons kicked another field goal and Ferenc Bartos made a spectacular one-handed TD grab to give the Wolves a 27-0 halftime lead.
The Cowbells are well-known for their second half performances, but this time the coaching staff did not have a cure for the Wolves’ offense which continued to dominate. First, Lyons kicked another field goal, then Elek converted Márk Bencsics’ pass for a touchdown. This activated the mercy rule that ended all hopes for the Cowbells to stage a miraculous comeback. Nonetheless, head coach Karim Trabelsi made a crucial change and replaced quarterback Tamás Váry with Márton Czirók. In the last quarter, Czirók’s performance boosted the Cowbells and the quarterback scored the squad’s first TD of the game, while Richárd Roják ran for a two point conversion making the final score look better.
Photo: Gabriella Kraus
Márk Bencsics had an outstanding performance giving 4 touchdown passes during the game, two of them to Ádám Elek who also had a good game. Darius Lewis maintained his good performances with a touchdown and an interception. On the other side, quarterback Tamás Váry performed poorly in the game, the switch with Márton Czirók could have been a game changer, if the Cowbells had made the substitution earlier.
Fehérvár Enthroners (1-2) 30 – DAK Acél Gorillaz (0-3) 24- (0-7, 9-0, 14-7, 7-10)
Photo: Bence Boda
The Gorillaz’s offense, which had been anemic and had not scored a point in two games, finally woke up against the Enthroners. However, this was still not enough for the first win of the year. The Gorillaz started off with a touchdown, Balázs Krasznai (QB) found Nick Ward in the end zone. The visitors answered in the second quarter. Jebrai Regan blocked a punt which resulted in the ball bouncing off the field through the end zone: safety. Fehérvár quickly turned things around after Antonio Roane’s rushing touchdown: Enthroners held a 9-7 lead at the half.
The Gorillaz got the advantage again in the third quarter with Airiss Hargrow’s run, but the Enthroners fought back with Roane’s second TD and Dávid Tóth’s interception return for a touchdown. The decision was left for the fourth period where József Beretka’s field goal rekindled the hopes of the Gorillaz. Nevertheless, Roane ran for his third touchdown of the game. Dunaújváros still had a lot of time for a comeback, Nick Ward even had a TD reception; however, the Enthroners defense could hold out until the end, and won the Fejér County derby.
Photo: Bence Boda
Antonio Roane was one of the best performers with three rushing touchdowns. In addition, newcomer Tim Mcgee became a perfect fit in the Fehérvár defense. Gorillaz’s quarterback Balázs Krasznai had a good game as well connecting with Nick ward for two touchdowns. The coaching staff in Dunaújváros did a good job in improving the offense. Nevertheless, the defense could not take up the challenge of the Enthroners offense.