By Brad Duff
The Coslada Camioneros (2-5) will host Osos Rivas (5-2) Sunday, April 2 in the final regular season game for both teams in the Spanish National League of American Football.
Coslada are coming off a 48-21 loss to the Gijon Mariners, who Osos Rivas defeated 39-0 earlier in the season.
On top of this, the Camioneros are on a four-game losing streak, while the reigning Spanish champions’ only two losses this year came at the hands of an undefeated Black Demons side, with both matchups being intense one-score games.
Despite this clear gulf in performance this season, the Camioneros managed to hold Osos Rivas to just one score when the two teams met in February, with the game ending 7-3 in Osos Rivas’ favor.
Coslada, who are one of two new teams to the top tier of Spanish football, have struggled on both sides of the ball, conceding over 21 points-per-game on defense. Mexican quarterback Hector Hernandez has had a difficult time getting the offense to move and as a result they are averaging just 12 points a game.
The Osos Rivas offensive unit on the other hand has been a tough one to stop, with a backfield consisting of Italian back Ronald Tomasello and veteran Jocques Crawford, who scored eight touchdowns. and recorded upwards of 1300 yards from scrimmage for the ELF’s Berlin Thunder last season.
Defensively, however, is where Osos Rivas have excelled this season; an explosive front-seven led by including Mexican talents Johnny Escobar and Jorge Juarez and a consistently great secondary have kept their opponents to just 3.5 points-per-game.
As the game will have no bearing on the standings, the Camioneros could pull off a minor upset.
Osos Rivas @ Coslada Camioneros, April 2, 15:00 CET (3 pm, 9 am EDT)
