The French D1 Elite Championship league has reached the midpoint of the season with the Catalan Grizzlys (3-2) visiting the Grenoble Centaures (1-4) in a Conference B matchup.
These two teams faced each other two weeks ago with Catalan coming away with a solid 34-12 win at home.
Before blanking the last place Montpellier Hurricanes 37-0 two weeks ago, Grenoble had lost four straight games, starting with their opener, a 10-6 loss to the Toulouse Ours. They followed that with a 26-13 loss to the Aix Argonautes before being shut out 48-0 by the Marseille Blue Stars. They then lost to Catalan.
Centaures quarterback Loic Caruso has only thrown for 517 yards so far and 171 of those came in the win over Montpellier. Leading rusher for Grenoble, Derritt Potts has carried the ball only 38 times in four games rushing for 152 yards. In fact, Grenoble is the lowest scoring team in the conference having put up 68 points in five games. They could be in tough against the high scoring Grizzlys who have the third best offense in the league.
After losing 49-35 to the Argonautes, Catalan won three in a row starting with a 31-28 victory over Montpellier. They followed that up with a 48-13 beat down of the Ours and then beat the Centaures 34-12. In the matchup of the week two weeks ago, they pushed the unbeaten Blue Stars but ultimately succumbed 35-28.
The Grizzlys have the league’s top passing attack with quarterback Jacob Purichia having thrown for 1,490 yards and a league-best 17 touchdowns in five games for an average of 298 yards per game. Additionally, the top two receivers in the league play for Catalan. Idriss Ramky is having an incredible season so far, with 38 catches for 590 yards and five touchdowns with Sean Boswell in second place with 478 yards and nine touchdowns. Zaire Ugapo has been a standout on defense, as he is second in the league with six sacks.
The Centaures have the home field advantage but against a powerful offense like Catalan’s, they will likely need more than that.
Watch the game live here. Catalan Grizzlys @ Grenoble Centaures, April 9, 19:00 CET (7 pm, 1 pm ET)