The Legnano Frogs pulled off the upset of the week in the Italian Football League this past weekend coming from behind to defeat the defending champion Parma Panthers 24-21 at home in Legnano.
The Panthers opened the scoring though as tight end Dario Zatti hauled in a five yard pass from quarterback Robbie Patterson on the game’s opening drive to take a 7-0 lead.
Legnano responded as quarterback Luke Zahradka orchestrated a 75 yard drive capping it with a five yard touchdowns strike to wide receiver Dayan Almeida early in the second quarter.
Legnano Frogs RB Danny Kittner #11
Patterson wasted no time marching Parma from their own 40 down to the Frogs two yard line. Running back Jaylin Parnell finished it off by pounding his way into the end zone to give the Panthers a 14-7 lead. The drive included a fake punt that Patterson converted into a 30 yard completion to tight end Carlo Tassan.
With just over a minute left in the first half, Zahradka equalized pushing his way into the end zone from a yard out.
However, the Panthers regained the lead with 20 seconds left in the half as Patterson called his own number racing into the end zone from 11 yards out.
Parma Panthers QB Robbie Patterson #1
The Frogs equalized on the opening drive of the second half as Zahardka first hit Niccolo Pulsinelli for a 35 yard gain down to the Parma one yard line and then punched the ball in himself to make it 21-21.
The Legnano defense did the rest, keeping Parma out of the end zone the rest of the game. Midway through the fourth quarter, Lorenzo Masini booted a 30 yard field goal to give the Frogs a 24-21 lead they would not relinquish.
With the win, Legnano remains unbeaten at 3-0 and sit atop the A Conference.