The Italian Football League (IFL) opened the second half of the season last weekend.
Week 6 action saw the Legnano Frogs and Varese Skorpions both secure their second win of the season in hard fought battles, while the Ancona Dolphins and Firenze Guelfi steamrolled their opponents as they widened the gap with the rest of the league.
Legnano Frogs 25 – Milano Rhinos 14
Frogs QB Eystin Selum #11 preparing to throw in win over Milano Rhinos Photo: @Photowebpam
As mentioned in this week’s preview, the Rhinos recent loss of star quarterback Joey Baughman has left the team looking like a shadow of its former self and this week’s performance was further evidence of that. The Frogs by no means sport the strongest defense in the league and yet the Rhinos failed to score a single point after the beginning of the second quarter.
Photo: @Carola Semino
Throughout the game Frogs quarterback Eystin Selum was given ample opportunity to get points on the board. Despite a close contest in the first half, Selum’s ability to consistently keep the scoreboard ticking over is what led them to pull away in the second half and secure the win. Selum finished the game with 130 passing yards, 100 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.
Ancona Dolphins 41 – Verona Mastini 0
Photo: Germano Capponi
As expected, the Dolphins, arguably one of the strongest teams in the league, dismantled Mastini on Saturday night. In the first half alone, the Dolphins were able to put up 28 points as they skated up and down the field with ease.
All 41 points came in the first half with the starters hitting the bench after the third quarter. Di Galbo was almost perfect on the day with a 90% completion rate, 140 yards and three touchdowns. `
Varese Skorpions 21 – Emilia Stainless Steel Warriors 8
Photo: Matteo Carraro
The Skorpions came into this with a 1–2 record and a must-win mentality to save their season, and they did just that. The Skorpions running game exploded with Italian running back Dylan Auriemma having an absolute monster day making up 148 of the team’s 238 yards.
All 21 points came in the second quarter for Varese by way of import quarterback Calvin Brownholtz and newly acquired defensive back Ethan Weinstein (Weinstein caught a receiving touchdown from Italian quarterback M Piazzi).
Firenze Guelfi 56 – Lazio Ducks 22
The final game of the weekend, as expected, turned out to be one with lots of touchdowns. Firenze quarterback Jared Gerbino looks unstoppable. He is amassing around 300 yards each week on both the ground and through the air.
This week against the Ducks, Gerbino tallied 213 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. In addition to this, young Italian running back Cosimo Casati also ran riot, racking up 167 yards and four touchdowns for Guelfi.
Ducks quarterback Austin Albericci played admirably with 248 yards and two passing touchdowns. But with his defense hemorrhaging points, it was always going to be a losing battle.