The Marseille Blue Stars open their FFFA D1 Elite (Federation Francaise de Football Americain) season on the road when they face the Grizzlys Catalans in a battle between the number one and two teams in the French South conference in 2022.
The Blue Stars finished first in the South with a 10-0 record and reached the semifinal stage where they were beaten in a heartbreaker 28-27 by the Thonon Black Panthers. Catalans wound up second with a 7-3 record and were eliminated in the wild card round 35-34 by the Saint-Ouen Cougars. These two teams met twice in 2022 with Marseille coming out on top both times, 35-28 and 47-0.
The Grizzlys, under head coach Enver Ramovic are coming off of excellent season in 2022 where they made a strong run and qualified for the post-season. They have replaced quarterback Jake Puricha with Jagger Laroe a former Ohio State Buckeye quarterback who is joined by Canadian wide receiver Jonathan Breton Robert who had a standout career at Laval University, winning two Vanier Cups as a receiver. Robert should go well with last year’s DI leading receiver Idriss Ramky and a loaded receiver corps which includes Aymeric Guillemaud and Idriss Ramky (Stuttgart Surge, Wroclaw Panther – ELF).
The Blue Stars reached the semi-finals last season after dominating the Southern Conference last year with an undefeated record in the regular season. Marseille has signed Chase Andries as their quarterback for the 2023 season. The 6′, 190 pound Andries, who guided the Calanda Broncos to the Swiss Championship Game in 2022, is a native of Indianapolis, Indiana, and played at DePauw University (NCAA Div. III) where he threw for 5,699 yards and 50 touchdowns in his 31 games. Longtime Marseille head coach Bavuong Souphanthavong
Returning from last year’s talented squad are defensive backs Hadrien Lynda, Vincent Monteiro and linebacker Eddy Abdullah. Souphanthavong has added running back Emmanuel Ntoutoume-Etoughe and receiver Pedro Pires Da Rosa Fernandes, one of the leading pass catchers in France last season as a member of the Aix-en-Provence Argonautes.
This one is tough to predict. Both teams have signed new quarterbacks and it could come down to who made the best choice.
Marseille Blue Stars @ Grizzlys Catalans, Feb. 5, 12:30 CET (12:30 pm, 06:30 am ET)
