The 0-2 Catalans Grizzlys travel to Marseille Sunday, February 23 to take on the 2-0 Marseille Blue Stars in the lone game this weekend in the French Federation of American Football Elite Division.
Marseille whipped the Aix-en-Provence Argonauts 50-12 and then manhandled the Montpellier Hurricanes 44-13 last week. Catalans, newcomers to the Elite league this year, have not had an easy time of it losing to the defending champion Thonon Black Panthers 55-14 and also to the Grenoble Centaures 38-17.
Blue Stars quarterback Kaleb Scott threw for 157 yards and four touchdowns two weeks ago in the win over Aix-en-Provence. Wide receivers Vincent Monteiro and Brandon Camara caught two apiece while Florian Monduc and Florian Angelini each rushed for one touchdown. Expect a well-rounded offense again today that will test the Montpellier defense. In last week’s win over Montpellier, Scott threw for 183 yards and three touchdowns with Vincent Monteiro catching two of those scoring passes and Florian Angelini hauling in the other. Running back Florian Monduc rumbled for 86 yards rushing and a touchdown while Angelini had 44 yards on the ground and the other rushing touchdown. Offensive lineman Nasser Assoumani recovered a fumble for a touchdown while defensive back Hadrian Lynda picked off a pass and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown.
Catalans, the youngest team in the league, formed only eight years ago, will have a tough time surviving this year. Still, they have added beef upfront in offensive linemen Rasmus Johansson from Sweden and Denmark’s Nicolas Moller-Hansen. These two will protect QB Jonny Brown, new to the team this year. So far, Brown has thrown for 309 yards and two touchdowns in the two games played while scoring another one on the ground. His leading receiver, Sean Boswell, has caught 12 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown.
The Marseille offense is already looking potent. The Grizzlys will be in tough playing on the road.