LIVESTREAM Spain: Osos Rivas @ Murcia Cobras, Feb. 13, 17:00 CET (11:00 ET)

| American Football | 02/13/2021

The big football weekend in Spain continues Saturday, February 13 as the Osos Rivas will travel to Murcia to take on the Cobras. The home team Cobras are determined to get back on track this week with a win after losing to the Zaragoza Hurricanes two weeks ago.

The last time these two teams faced each other, in 2019, Murcia came out on top 64-41.

Osos Rivas won their first game of the season in the opening round of play defeating the Gijon Mariners 27-14.  That was exactly two months ago on December 13. Since then, a combination of snowstorms, holidays, and pandemic outbreaks have canceled the Madrid-based teams’ games. New head coach Ricardo Martin has been busy making personnel moves, gearing his team up for a championship run.

Osos Rivas @ Murcia Cobras, Feb. 13, 17:00 CET (11:00 ET)

On January 28, Osos Rivas announced they signed former Fitchburg St. (NCAA D3, Massachusetts)  quarterback Garrett Dellechiaie. The Massachusetts native threw for 81 touchdowns and over 8,000 yards, breaking several passing records at the college level. Dellechiaie spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons in Germany playing for the Ravenburg Razorbacks. In 2019, he helped the Razorbacks win the GFL2 South championship and throwing for 4,031 yards and 51 touchdowns. Look for him to make some big plays for his new squad.

Dellechiaie comments on his short time in Madrid:

“Since I got here in January me and my receivers have been on zoom meetings getting to know each other and how we play/the things we want to do. Up to this point I’m very impressed with the group we have here. Having our first game get cancelled gave us some extra time to get our timing down so We are all looking forward to this Saturday”

Another fresh face in Madrid will be Italian-American running back Mike Gentili. Gentili is an experienced running back having played college football at Bridgewater State and New Hampshire University. Since first arriving in Italy in 2018, the speedy playmaker has played for Lazio Ducks and the Italian National team as well as Finland’s Helsinki Roosters (2020) and Sweden’s Orebro Black Knights (2020). Gentili is also a versatile receiver out of the backfield who will certainly be a player to look out for in Spain this year. As if speedy Gentili wasn’t enough, Osos Rivas have added homegrown player Adrian Jimenez. Jimenez is a powerful running back and linebacker who has played in Spain, Finland, and recently the Hildesheim Invaders in Germany and the Triangle Razorbacks in Denmark (2020). Look for Gentili and Jimenez to create a thunder and lightning duo.

Gentili on the matchup:

“To win this week we need to spread the ball around on offense and not let them key on any one of our weapons – on defense I hope we’ll be able to create a few turnovers to give us extra possessions and get the edge.”

For the Cobras, they will have their hands full defensively against a loaded Osos Rivas offense. Their defense was burned two weeks ago by Zaragoza running back Denzel Duchenne in a 17-14 loss. Look for British defensive lineman Deon Mutsvanemoto to play a bigger role in this game as he continues to improve with his new team.  While the  Cobras offense played well for the most part, they had a few too many turnovers against the Hurricanes. Quarterback Robert Cuda will be looking for his Spanish weapons, Antoni Monton and Andy Vera, who both scored in their previous game.

Cuda talks about the chemistry he is starting to build with the offense:

“The connection with players is due to the fact that they want to learn. They ask questions and want to get better. In the end, we all want to win and in order to do that (especially with a bit of a language barrier) is to communicate constantly which we do more each week and I think that’s going to help us this week vs Osos.”

Look for this game to be filled with big plays as we have two experienced quarterbacks facing each other. For the Osos Rivas, who haven’t seen the field other than to practice due to snowstorms and a COVID-19 outbreak, since December 13, this is a long-awaited game day. This Osos Rivas team is certainly not the same one we saw in December. Meanwhile, the Cobras have played an extra game giving them a chance to gel on the field. And they are playing at home.

This one could be a toss up.

Watch the game live here. Osos Rivas @ Murcia Cobras, Feb. 13, 17:00 CET (11:00 ET)

 

Alex is a former NCAA and semi-pro American football player who is now located in London, where he works in digital marketing. His goal in writing for AFI is to stay involved with the game that has given him so much. Alex enjoys covering leagues and