LIVESTREAM Spain: Mallorca Voltors @ L’Hospitalet Pioners, March 16, 16:00 CET (4 pm, 11 am EDT)

AFI | American Football | 03/16/2024

The Mallorca Voltors (3-2) will pay a visit to the L’Hospitalet Pioners (4-2) in a crucial battle for second place and a playoff spot as the Spanish League of American Football enters its third to last weekend of action.

L’Hospitalet has won two straight beating the Barcelona Pagesos 31-13 a week ago after downing the Zaragoza Hurricanes 21-19 two weeks ago before that. They had lost two in a row. They fell 34-28 to the Badalona Dracs and were beaten 13-7 by Mallorca. They opened the season by beating the Hurricanes 13-12 but were stripped of the victory and then downed the Pagesos 17-0.

Mallorca on the other hand defeated the Pagesos (12-0) and the L’Hospitalet Pioners (13-7) before also succumbing to the Dracs 50-7. They then were beaten by the Zaragoza Hurricanes 35-19 but rebounded to beat the Pagesos 26-25.

For Mallorca, quarterback Zahir Wilder (Montclair State) is the key. He threw three touchdown passes in the loss to the Hurricanes, hitting Santiago González, Calum Davidson and Jonathan Chele with scoring passes.

The Pioners latest additions, the brothers Garcia from Mexico have had an immediate impact. In the win against the Hurricanes, Alex Garcia stepped in as quarterback and threw three touchdown passes, one to brother Luis Enrique Garcia. The Pioners ground game has picked up and running back Daniel Belso has scored six touchdowns, good for second among all running backs in the league.

This is a key game as the season winds down. A Pioners win virtually assures them of a playoff spot while a Mallorca victory would keep the islanders in the playoff hunt.