The 2-0 Fujitsu Frontiers, defending X League champions, take on the 0-2 Nojima Sagamihara Rise, Saturday, September 21 in early round X League action.
These two teams faced each other once in 2018 with Fujitsu coming out on top, 41-22.
The Frontiers opened the season with a 55-13 shellacking of the IBM Big Blue and two weeks ago downed the Panasonic Impulse 45-27.
Meanwhile, the Rise were blanked by the Impulse 24-0 in their season opener and were then beaten by IBM Big Blue, 41-35.
Fujitsu, the defending and four time XLeague champions, enter the game healthy following two lopsided wins. Quarterback Michael Birdsong leads the league in passing after two games having completed 32 of 50 passes for 454 yards and six touchdowns. Samajie Grant has caught 10 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns with Clark Nakamura behind him with 10 catches for 147 yards and two touchdowns. The versatile Grant is also the Frontiers leading rusher with 17 carries for 145 yards and a score.
Frontiers linebacker Akio Yamagishi is the leading tackler in the X League with 11.5 in two games.
Rise quarterback Jimmy Laughrea is right behind Birdsong with 435 yards and five touchdowns. His leading target, Yuhei Yagi, tops the league wit 14 receptions for 167 yards. Takashi Miyako leads all rushers for Nojima Sagamihara with 121 yards gained on the ground. Toru Sakuma has 8.5 tackles to his credit, good for sixth overall.
The Frontiers should be able to earn a comfortable win in this one unless Laughrea can unleash the Rise offense. However, Birdsong in his second season and winner of the league’s Rookie of the Year trophy in 2018, and Grant, have proven to be a deadly combination.
Watch the game live here. Fujitsu Frontiers v. Nojima Sagamihara Rise, Sat. Sept. 21, 2p (7a CEDT, 1a EDT)
