LIVESTREAM CEFL: SBB Vukovi Beograd @ Parma Panthers, May 13, 14:00 CET (2 pm, 8 am EDT)

| American Football | 05/13/2023

In Italy, the Panthers Parma will host the SBB Vukovi Beograd in the Central European Football League (CEFL) quarterfinals Saturday, May 13, after narrowly missing out on a CEFL Bowl in 2022.

This will be the first time in CEFL history that the two teams have met and for Parma, it couldn’t be coming at a better time. After beginning the domestic season somewhat woefully with a loss to the Milano Rhinos, the Panthers have gone from strength to strength and have now firmly cemented themselves as league favorites following a convincing win over the Firenze Guelfi.

The Panthers are currently defined by an awesome defense that allowed just seven points in their giant-slaying victory over Guelfi a few weeks ago. Import defensive back Ryan Minniti has proven to be a solid running back and already tallied 617 yards in six games. Quarterback Anthony Paoletti has proven to be a little less effective on both the ground and through the air but has shown an ability to excel in short yardage situations.

Vukovi had a rocky start to the season losing in a tight game to the Wild Boars 42-35 but have shown to be a Serbian championship contender outside of that winning their other two games with relative ease. Dual-threat import quarterback Joshua Cartwright saw little action in college but played at the highest level earning him some excellent learning opportunities. He made his way to Europe last year in the Austrian second division and has been pivotal to the Vukovi’s success thus far.

Vokovi are not the dominant Serbian side they were in years past and Parma are currently at the top of their game. It will be a tough ask for Vukovi to get one over on Parma today on the road. Still, Serbian football has a reputation for being tough. If they can use this to clog up the middle and stop Parma running the ball, they may have a chance of getting one over on the 2022 CEFL Bowl runners up.

Parma Panthers vs Belgrade SBB Vukovi, May 13, 14:00 CET (2 pm, 8 am EDT)

Daniel Mackenzie is a Press Association graduate who works in journalism and communications in the third sector. Daniel began playing football for the London Warriors and Team Great Britain and has since played across Europe.