Korean National Football League in full swing
The seven-team Korean National Football League has completed the first two rounds of play in a season which will stretch into November.
The heavy favorites are the Deagu Phoenix who are the defending champions and finalists in both 2015 and 2014. They won their opening game of the season trouncing the youngest member of the league, the Seoul Carnivores 61-2.
The Seoul Vikings won the championship in 2012 and 2013 and for the last three years they have reached the Final Four. Led by head coach Park Jung Il, they could be the dark horse of the competition. Offensive Coordinator Kent Clement and assistant Kyungbae have revamped the offense for the 2017 season and are looking to triple yardage and points per game. The defense is led by Coach Insoo, defensive captain of the Korean National Team for four years and during the 2015 world championships. He is assisted by Jun-pil, who also plays on Team Korea. The Vikings special teams coach is Sung-Jin Choi and defensive coordinator Insoo Jung, both legends of the Korean national team. The Vikings defeated the Bluegons 48-12 in the opener.
The Geoje Blue Storm won the KNFL title in 2014 and were semifinalists in 2015 and for the past five years always manage to advance to the final four . They won their season opener, defeating the Busan Gryphons 21-9.
The Seoul Golden Eagles, won the title in 2015 and lost in the semifinals in 2016. They were also vice champion in2013. They opened the 2017 season with a solid 28-12 win over the Bluegons.
The Busan Gryphons last won the title in 2007 which was also the last final they played. While struggling over the past 10 years, they have shown great potential recently and proved it with a good battle in their opening game loss to the Blue Storm.
The Busan Bluegons have a lot of great individual talent. They had a good season last year with a win against the Phoenix being a high point. However, this year they opened the season with disappointing losses to the Vikings and Golden Eagles
The Seoul Carnivores are a development team and joined the KNFL in 2014 as a young team with potential. Even though they suffered a lopsided loss to the Phoenix during the first week they intend to put up a better performance in their upcoming game (June 11) against the Golden Eagles.
