LIVESTREAM France: Villepinte Diables Rouges @ Thonon Black Panthers, March 29, 19:00 CET (7 pm, 2 pm ET)

AFI | American Football | 03/29/2025

Graphic: Dante Bustos

The Thonon Black Panthers (5-1) will play host to the Villepinte Diables Rouges (2-1-3) as the Northern conference of the French D1 Elite enters the seventh round of play Saturday, March 29.

This is the second matchup between these two teams this season. Thonon edged the Diables Rouges 10-8 earlier in the season.

After an opening day 6-5 loss to the La Courneuve Flash, Thonon came back a week later with the win over Villepintes. In week 3, the Black Panthers rolled over the Cougars 56-0 and then handed the Leopards a 45-0 drubbing. Three weeks ago, the Black Panthers found themselves trailing the Asnieres Molosses with two minutes left but behind mounted a last minute drive and scored with 39 seconds left to win the game 28-27. Thonon finally got their revenge for the opening day loss by blanking the Flash 17-0 two weeks ago while allowing them only 37 yards of offense.

The Rouges opened the season, their first in France’s top league, by beating the Cougars 20-6 but then dropped a narrow 10-8 decision to the defending champion Thonon Black Panthers in Week #2. A week later, however, they were overwhelmed by the Asnieres Molosses 33-7. The Flash then handed the Rouges a 16-7 defeat. They picked up their second win in beating the Rouen Leopards 26-9. However, they only managed a 0-0 tie against the lowly Saint-Ouen Cougars in their most recent outing.

This will be a tough matchup for Villepinte. The Black Panthers have improved their consistency and with a defense that totally dismantled the Flash, they will a very difficult challenge for the visitors.