La Courneuve Flash capture 11th French title

The La Courneuve Flash defended their FFFA – Fédération Française de Football Américain title – Casque de Diamant – a week ago and won their 11th overall by defeating the Thonon Black Panthers 20-14 in a hard fought battle.

The Flash took a 13-0 halftime lead and held on for the win.

Game MVP Flash quarterback Paul Durand threw a touchdown pass to Sofiane Mahmoudi while running backs  Nicolas Khandar and Jason Aguemon each scored touchdowns on the ground.

For Thonon, quarterback Kyle Bohem, the second leading passer in France, threw a touchdown pass to  Ohtan Tulay while running back Stephen Yepmo also scored.

La Courneuve opened the scoring in the first quarter as Khandar, the third leading rusher in France, found a seam outside and raced 35 yards to give the Flash a 7-0 lead.

The Flash offense continued to dominate in the second quarter with Durand throwing pinpoint passes. Midway through the quarter he connected with Mahmoudi on a 25 yard touchdown pass to increase the lead to 13-0.

La Courneuve extended their lead in the third quarter to 20-0 as Aguemon capped a 40 yard drive plunging in from the five yard line.

Thonon, unable to penetrate the red zone earlier in the game, was finally able to score in the third quarter with Yepmo finishing a drive with a 10 yard run.

Late in the game, Bohem then found Tulay on a 15 yard touchdown pass to pull within six, 20-14

That was as close as they could get La Courneuve held on for the win.

Paul Durand was named Game MVP which is fitting as he is retiring from football following the IFAF European Championships in late July.

Watch the highlights here.