After a long season in Spain only two teams remain. The defending champion Badalona Dracs and the Las Rozas Black Demons will be competing for the country’s ultimate American football prize, supremacy in the 2021 Spanish Bowl.
These two teams met in the last Spanish Bowl back in 2019 with the Badalona Dracs winning handily.
Badalona enters this year’s championship looking to win their fifth straight title. Their dominance however, was broken this season as they lost to the Black Demons back in February 29-7. The loss ended the Dracs historic 47 game win streak in the Spanish League of American Football. However, the Badalona squad bounced back strongly as veteran quarterback Sergi Gonzalo took over the reins and led the Dracs back to the Spanish championship game with an 8-1 record.
Last week in the semifinals, they shut out the Osos Rivas winning 21-0. Gonzalo and the Badalona offense will run the ball often as tailback Eduard Morlans has been one of the league’s best ball carriers all season. Expect the Dracs to use speedy Niko Lester as a receiver and wildcat quarterback, often allowing the German-Americans space for his elusiveness. In the passing game, Gonzalo will be targeting Spanish tight end Raul Cernuda and Austrian wide receiver Dario Dobrolevski.
Badalona Dracs v. Las Rozas Black Demons, May 15, 19:00 CET (7 pm, 13:00, 1 pm ET)
Five-time Spanish Bowl winner Sergi Gonzalo on being back in the title game:
“It feels amazing! We have been waiting for this weekend all year long. We know it’s another championship game, but we are excited as if it was the first one for us. We know it’s going to be a tough game because it’s the final, but we are confident in each other.”
Defensively, Badalona features one of the fiercest squads in the country. The combination of a relentless pass rush from imports Mike Taylor and Nikolas Knoblauch and a hard-hitting secondary, make this a intimidating unit for offenses to line up against. This was no more evident than last week as the Dracs shut down an Osos Rivas offense that was averaging over 30 points a game.
Defensive back Cesare Brugnani on the championship rematch with the Black Demons and their dynamic quarterback:
“So, now having all the cards on the table I just think the secret is we to have control number 12 (QB Chris Merchant) and make him uncomfortable. They have a great receiver core but our defense has gotten better and better every game and we were missing some key players in the game that we lost. So I think it’s going to be a great high level game.”
For the Las Rozas Black Demons, they enter the Spanish Bowl after a blowout semifinals victory over the Mallorca Voltors. In that game, Canadian quarterback Chris Merchant accounted for five total touchdowns as the Black Demons cruised to a 49-14 win. Merchant has been one of the league’s brightest stars, leading an exciting Black Demons offense that features a great offensive line and dynamic playmakers in running back Marcos de la Mata, receiver David Giron, and former Florida State tight end Mavin Saunders. Merchant will have to continue to find his talented skill players as the Dracs athletic defense presents a formidable opponent.
Merchant on the team’s mindset going into the big game:
“The team feels very good going into the championship game. We know we’ve put in the work to get here and now we just need to go out and play our best football. The key for us is going to be to continue to play as much mistake free football as possible as well as play with confidence. We know we can beat the Dracs but we also know it’s going to be a hard fought game from start to finish.”
The Black Demons defensive unit has bounced back since the late season departure of American imports Darius Robinson and William Lloyd. Talented Spanish players such as Felix Velasco and Pablo de Diego have stepped up in their expanded roles and made big plays down the stretch. In the trenches, defensive lineman Carlos Carrasco has been a force at the line of scrimmage. The 6’3″, 280 pound lineman will look to stop Badalona’s efficient running attack.
Carrasco on dethroning the Badalona Dracs, ending their reign atop the Spanish league:
“I like to think of it as a chance to finally reach our goal after many years. The Drac’s run has been amazing and they deserve the upmost respect as a team and franchise, but if they want this win they will have to take it from our dead bodies. We are in it to win it, end of story.”
This year’s Spanish Bowl has all the ingredients of being another exciting championship game. These two teams know each other well and match up evenly after splitting their regular season series 1-1.
The Dracs aim to extend their rule over the LNFA against a Black Demons team that finally has all the tools to take down the champs.
Watch the game live here. Badalona Dracs v. Las Rozas Black Demons, May 15, 19:00 CET (7 pm, 13:00, 1 pm ET)
Badalona Dracs roster
Las Rozas Black Demons roster
