Italy: Parma Panthers bounce back and the Milano Seamen steam on

As the dust settles on week 6 in the Italian Football League, three teams demonstrated their worth after convincing disposals of their opponent.

The Milano Seamen had no problems in downing crosstown rivals, the Milano Rhinos, while the Parma Panthers are starting to regain their 2021 form after beating the Lazio Ducks 45-28. Finally, the Ancona Dolphins rebounded from two straight losses, defeating the newcomers, the Verona Mastini, comfortably, to remain in third place.

Parma Panthers 45 (3-2) – Lazio Ducks 28 (2-2)

Among the victors were the Parma Panthers. Parma’s season initially started off shaky, going 2-2 after being beaten by the Seamen and then the Vipers. For the Panthers, this victory served not only to put them over .500, but also regain some lost momentum.

Despite some key players still missing for the Panthers, the offense returned to its old ways. Imports Nick Diaco and Dusan Dales both gave stellar performances, making plays at key points in the game to give the Panthers an early and insurmountable lead.

As head coach Marc Mattioli said earlier in the week, quarterback Brook Bolles was given far more freedom to run and show off his impressive skill set as a dual weapon. Time and time again, he gashed the Ducks defense, finishing the game with 143 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

On the other side of the ball, Lazio quarterback Calvin Stitt was unflinching in the face of a superior opponent. He too showed off an impressive ability to rush the ball and make defenders miss in open space. But ultimately, his supporting cast was unable to stand toe to toe with the Panthers.

Milano Seamen 52 (3-0) – Milano Rhinos 0 (0-4)

The battle for Milan turned out to be overwhelmingly one sided this weekend as the Seamen shut out the Rhinos with ease. There was little in the way of opposition from the Rhinos as Seamen quarterback Luke Zahradka completed 11 of 14 passes for 235 yards and five touchdowns.

Zahradka’s mind boggling numbers were backed up by a defense that allowed the Rhinos just 34 passing yards in four quarters, picking up five sacks and four fumble recoveries along the way.

Ancona Dolphins 35 (3-2) – Mastini Verona 6 (1-2)

The final blowout of the weekend saw the Ancona Dolphins dismantle the Mastini Verona. This game, unlike the others, was not a blowout by halftime however.

Despite early dominance by Ancona, the team was only up 14-0 at halftime. It was the defense that did the majority of the heavy lifting this week, limiting Mastini’s passing game to just 23 yards.

In the second half, quarterback Colin Di Galbo was able to come alive and pick up sizable chunks of yardage, finishing the game with 105 yards rushing, 62 yards passing and five total touchdowns.