Lisboa Devils, Maia Renegades close regular season with victories; playoff picture set in Portugal

The last weekend of games of the 8th edition of the Portuguese League of American Football offered up thrilling action with playoff positioning up for grabs.

In Cascais

Lisboa Devils (9-0) 35 – Cacais Crusaders (6-3) 16

The Cascais Crusaders played host to the Lisboa Devils in a match between two teams that are used to playing each other and provide great games to watch. The Crusaders opened the game with a strong offense and they were able to move the ball and get into the red zone. However, on two consecutive drives they turned the ball over (first on a fumble recovered by linebacker Bruno Fonseca and then on an interception by Danny Tam). In the meantime, the Devils scored on a deep ball for Collin Franklin from quarterback Joey Bradley.

In the second quarter the Devils scored two more times and again on two passing touchdowns. The first was to Bernardo Solipa and the second to Franklin. Before halftime the Crusaders were able to cut the lead on a pass by Manuel Farano to Vinicius Moreira.

The Devils scored after the halftime with the third connection between Bradley and Franklin. However the Crusaders are a very resilient team and in the second half they came with full power and scored on a rushing touchdown by Juzz Tiny. On the ensuing offensive possession, Crusaders cornerback Manuel Matias picked off Bradley and giving Cacais great field position.

However the Devils defense was able to make a stand in their red zone and prevented another home team touchdown. Before the game ended it was Willian La’Prado who visited the end zone on a running touchdown and the final score was set after a two point conversion pass from Bradley to Pedro Flores. The final result was 35-16.

In Porto

Porto Mutts (6-3) 20 – Lisboa Navigators (1-8) 6

The Porto Mutts played host for the Lisboa Navigators knowing that the win was the only thing that matter for them to move up to third place. The Navigators were only fulfilling the schedule since they were already out of playoff contention for the first time in their history.

The game started balanced but the Mutts scored first on a pick six by linebacker José Ferraz. The Navigators replied and added points on the board with a field goal by Bruce Furtado. The Mutts scored again one a touchdown by Francisco Ferreira and the score at halftime was 13-6.

In the second half both teams exchanged drives but the only points came late in the fourth quarter when Ricardo Alves visited the end zone. Kicker Hélio Reis made 2/3 extra points and the final result was 20-6.

In Maia

Maia Renegades (8-1) 34 – Black Knights (4-5) 0

On the last Sunday of February the Black Knights visited the Renegades in a game that had everything on the line for them. They needed to win to make the playoffs and take the Warriors out of the picture. However the Renegades that didn’t had nothing on the line were playing to their fullest strength and they were not letting down.

The final result ended up being a 34-0 shutout win for the Renegades with Brian Gessel tossing three touchdowns passes, two for Michael Campbell and one for Miguel Vasconcelos. The back up quarterback João Amaral also made is debut on the scoring sheet with a pass for Marcos Mitt. The final touchdown was on a run play by Michael Campbell.

Playoffs

Now it is playoff time in Portugal and we only have 5 games to go before we have the championship game in April 8^th.  Below find the scheduled for the playoff season.

Game 1- Quarter-Final – 11^th  March (Algarve Sharks @ Caisais Crusaders )

Game 2- Quarter-Final – 12^th March (Braga Warriors @ Porto Mutts)

Game 3 – Semi-Final – 25^th/26^th March (Winner Game 1 @ Lisboa Devils)

Game 4 – Semi-Final – 25^th/26^th March (Winner Game 2 @ Maia Renegades)

Game 5 – Final – 8^th/9^th April (Winner Game 3 VS Winner Game 4)