The Warsaw Mets kicks off their Polish Football League season by hosting the Silesia Rebels (0-1) on Sunday, April 25.
The Rebels head to Warsaw after a nail-biting loss 21-20 loss to the Krakow Kings last week, while the Mets look to start their promising season off on the right foot. The last time these two teams met was in the final regular season game of the 2020 season with Warsaw earning a 35-20 victory.
The Warsaw Mets enter 2021 looking quite different from last year’s team which struggled, finishing with a 1-4 record, with an offense that scored 42 points in total with 35 coming in that final game. The Mets addressed this issue as new head coach Jake Hale has brought in former University of Texas (NCAA D1) quarterback David Ash. With the Longhorns, Ash threw for 4,728 yards and 31 touchdowns in 28 games. The Houston, Texas native chose to retire in 2014 due to repeated concussion issues, but has since mounted a football come back playing in The Spring League and participating in training camp with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. Look for Ash to target veteran polish receiver Jan Omelanczuk early and often in this matchup:
Silesia Rebels @ Warsaw Mets, April 25, 15:00 CET (3 pm, 09:00 am ET)
Defensively, linebacker Zachary Blair joins the Mets. Blair might be familiar to fans of the Polish Football League as he was a standout for the Bialystok Lowlanders back in 2018 and 2019. Blair joins a defense led by a solid core of Polish veterans including defensive back Jedzej Smolarski and defensive lineman Daniel Tarnawski.
Blair on the Mets preparation for the season:
This preseason has been a little hectic to say the least. Playing in the capital city we’ve had more restrictions and more lockdowns than most cities in Poland. But the Mets organization has been top notch in getting things ready and making sure we will be prepared week one. For me personally I’m the longest tenured import in Poland this year. So I know a lot about the league and how things go. The Mets made a lot of off-season moves and this isn’t the same team it’s been in the past. I’ve loved seeing the rankings and a lot of people have been counting us out. I think we have the ability to surprise a lot of people this year!
Silesia lost a heart breaker last week 21-20 to the Krakow Kings. The Rebels forced two turnovers and scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to almost pull off the miracle comeback after trailing . Silesia quarterback Jon Mullin threw a touchdown pass with less than ten seconds left to make the score 20-21. After the score, coach Saleski and the Rebels opted to go for two and the win. After a pre-snap penalty the Rebels were backed up to the eight-yard line, where Silesia called a quarterback sweep using speedy Devion Young. unfortunately for the Rebels the play was unsuccessful and led to the one point loss.
The early season loss may have a silver lining as the Rebels showed a tremendous amount of grit and flashed their talent in order fight their way back into the game. Looking at their matchup with Warsaw, the Rebels defense forced three turnovers and will need to play well against what projects to be a capable Mets passing attack.
Last week’s star Devion Young emphasizes the Rebels attention to detail in their upcoming game:
“We’re focused on doing the little things right going into the next game, and working to perfect our crafts, and being a step better than we were last game. We respect the Mets because we know they’ll put up a fight, so we can’t take our foot off the gas on neither sides of the ball because they have a great QB, WR core and a fundamentally sound offense, and defense they have one of the most athletic LB cores in my opinion, so we’re looking to focus on doing little things right, and going into this game humbled and hungry.”
The unsuccessful 2020 season has pushed the Warsaw Mets to bring in a new coach and an intriguing quarterback. The mysterious new look Mets should match up well with a Silesia Rebels team that was just a few yards away from winning last week.
Watch the game live here. Silesia Rebels @ Warsaw Mets, April 25, 15:00 CET (3 pm, 09:00 am ET).
Warsaw Mets roster (Click to enlarge)
Silesia Rebels roster (Click to enlarge)
