Italy: Ancona Dolphins whip Skorpions, Warriors-Frogs game postponed

Week 10 in the Italian Football League (IFL) saw just two games on the slate but only one went ahead, the Ancona Dolphins vs Varese Skorpions. The second, the Emilia Warriors vs Legnano Frogs was postponed due to poor weather conditions.

The Frogs cancellation will be significant for them as they were in the hunt for a playoff berth. They are currently sitting at 3–3 and a victory – which would have been likely against the winless Warriors – would have put their playoff destiny firmly in their hands in the final weeks of the season.

It is yet uncertain whether the game will be rescheduled in the bye week before the playoffs get under way.

Ancona Dolphins 35 – Varese Skorpions 13 

Due to each teams’ recent performance and the fact that they’re both still fighting for a playoff spot, the Ancona vs Varese game was set to be an exciting one. But there was little action from the offset as a deadlock and multiple punts from each side consumed the first quarter.

The second quarter on the other hand saw a flurry of Ancona scores, but only one came from their offense. The other two came from the defense via a 31-yard pick-six from Vale Rotelli and then another in the way of a 27-yarder from linebacker Kristian Giardinieri (whose brother, Karim, led the team with seven tackles).

Italian wideout Antonello Giuliani added a second touchdown to his stat sheet in the third quarter with a 37-yard touchdown catch on a pass from Dolphins’ quarterback Colin Di Galbo. This was immediately followed by the Skorpions as quarterback Calvin Brownholtz finally got his team on the board with a 60-yard bomb. 

The fourth quarter rolled in with Ancona up a dominating 28–7. At this point, they were simply running the clock down. Both teams managed to get another score in before the end of the game but it was Ancona’s defense that really stood out.