LIVESTREAM Spain: Zaragoza Hurricanes @ Badalona Dracs, Jan. 14, 19:00 CET (7 pm, 1 pm ET)

AFI | American Football | 01/14/2023

Graphic: Igor Lazarevic

The Spanish National League of American Football league kicks off its first weekend of play with the 2021 Spanish champions, the Badalona Dracs playing host to the Zaragoza Hurricanes in a rare Saturday evening matchup.

The Dracs, 11 time Spanish title winners including five in a row from 2016 to 2021, were toppled from their throne in 2022 and will no doubt be looking for an explosive start to the season when they take on Zaragoza who finished the 2022 campaign with a 2-6 record.

Badalona were not the dominant force in Spanish football last season dropping a couple of surprising games during the regular season before being bounced out of the playoffs by the eventual champions, Osos Rivas.

Veteran Mexican head coach Román Villamontes a former Badalona player, looks to regain the title as the Dracs are going through a rebuild with several staff and personnel changes. At quarterback, the Dracs have signed former NCAA DI quarterback Kevin Doyle who ironically played for the Hurricanes in 2022. He finished as one of Spain’s best passers last year and also spent the summer with the Düsseldorf Panthers (GFL) and Rhein Fire (ELF) in Germany.

The Hurricanes are led by new head coach Fernando Renan Santana from Mexico. The new quarterback for Zaragoza will be Brazilian talent Luca Martinez who spent last season playing in Finland for the Rovaniemi Nordmen on the Arctic Circle. Prior to playing in Europe, Martinez played for Iowa Wesleyan Iowa (NAIA) and Washburn University (NCAA DII) in the United States.