Hungary: Győr Sharks stage huge comeback victory; Fehérvár Enthroners get shutout win

The Hungarian Football League featured a pair of excellent football games this past weekend

The Győr Sharks found themselves trailing 21-0 in the first quarter against the Budapest Wolves but roared back for a huge win. Meanwhile, the defending Hungarian champions, the Fehérvár Enthroners, took a 20-0 halftime lead and then held on against the Budapest Cowbells for the win.

Győr Sharks  35 – Budapest Wolves 28

In the first quarter, the Budapest Wolves took full advantage ofa string of yellow flags against the  Shark, scoring three unanswered touchdowns. Wolves running back Darrell Tate opened the scoring with his first rushing touchdown after his return, while wide receiver Márton Czirók converted two of Márk Bencsics’ passes: one for 75 yards, and another for 23 yards. Although Sharks linebacker J.D. Crandall had a first quarter fumble recovery, it seemed the Wolves were on the way to finishing the game early.

That’s when things changed. The Sharks players atoned for their mistakes, playing better football, and quarterback Chris Jeffrey scored a pair of touchdowns to close the gap before the break to 21-14.

The home team held on to the momentum in the third quarter and equalized on a Péter Keller touchdown reception. Although the Sharks could not take advantage of a Máximo Sanchez interception, they were still able to turn the game around. Local running back, Kende Ráthonyi ran for an 80-yard score almost untouched, thus, taking the lead for his team for the first time during the game. (28-21).

The stunning comeback woke up the Wolves in the final period of the game. After Wolves defensive back Norbert Hunka picked off a Sharks pass, the visitors equalized with a Tamás Varga touchdown catch. The Sharks responded though with Ráthonyi scoring his second touchdown of the game and giving Győr the lead again,35-28.

Although the Wolves still had a chance to take it to overtime, a J.D. Crandall interception closed down the game sealing an outstanding comeback victory for the Sharks.

Fehérvár Enthroners 20 – Budapest Cowbells 0

The Enthroners started out strong with rookie wide receiver Kevin Boruzs’ touchdown grab. Meanwhile, the Cowbells’ offense struggled early on while the defense was keeping Budapest in the game as  former player of the year, Tamás Törzsök recorded his first interception of the year. Still, the Enthroners were much more precise on offense and with Rashad Still’s two touchdown catches built a bigger gap for the break (0-20).

In the second half, the Cowbells tried to rely more on their running game, but the Fehérvár defense held strong, allowing Budapest to get close to but not cross the goalline. With the win, the Enthroners move into sole possession of first place in the HFL.