The defending Spanish champions and winners of the last four titles, the Badalona Dracs, open the 2020 season by playing host to Osos Rivas from Madrid, Sunday, January 12.
In their only meeting in 2019, Badalona disposed of Osos Rivas 49-7.
The defending champion Dracs, under the guidance of head coach Oscar Calatayud, have won the last four titles and 10 overall and look poised to defend their crown again in 2020. Calatayud will have Sergi Gonzalo as his starting quarterback and has signed wide receiver Marquese Surrell (Adams State) along with Danish National Football League MVP Niko Lester (Triangle Razorbacks). Calatayud has also added big offensive/defensive lineman Matthias Stockamp, also a member of the Danish title-winning Razorbacks.
Lester is the joker here. He makes an impact wherever he plays. He has won a German title with the New Yorker Lions in addition to the Danish crown last year.
However, Osos Rivas’s head coach Jesus Sanchez has also been busy and made perhaps the biggest signing in Spain for 2020 in bringing in World Champion quarterback Kevin Burke. Burke won the 2015 World Championship with Team USA and helped the Dacia Vienna Vikings win the 2017 Austrian title and was named Austrian Bowl MVP.
Sanchez has also added two Mexican players, free safety Jorge Luís Juárez and lineman Juan Antonio Escobar. Other key additions include defensive back Jorge Juárez and defensive lineman Johnny Escobar, both from Mexico. Spanish wide receiver Mario Flores who played for both the Schwabisch Hall Unicorns and Hildesheim Invaders in the German Football League could be an impact player for coach Sanchez.
Watch the game live here. Osos Rivas @Badalona Dracs, Sunday, January 12, 12:30p CET (6:30a ET)
