The Calanda Broncos will be looking for capture their third straight Swiss title and 10th overall Saturday, July 13 when they take on the Geneva Seahawks in Swiss Bowl XXXIV at Stadion Ringstrasse Chur, in Chur, Switzerland.
These two teams met in last year’s final with Calanda coming out on top with a convincing 44-12 win. In the two regular season matchups this year, the Broncos and Seahawks have won one each. Geneva won the first game 14-12 while Calanda came back with a 30-20 victory in the second game.
To reach the final, the Broncos defeated the Basel Gladiators 32-20 while Geneva got by the Bern Grizzlies 24-7.
The Broncos are led by QB Conner Manning who has been masterful. His main target has been Lukas Lütscher but Calanda has a host of other weapons though including running backs Tino Muggwyler, Erik Rageth and Steffen Haenelt . Running behind a big and nasty offensive line featuring Bastian Pereira, Jan Henrik Bogan, Michel Derungs and Andre Mathes, the Broncos have been a model of consistency in their ability to wear down the opponent and dominate the ground. Calanda has top receivers as well in Adrian Sunderhof and Lukas Lutshcher
The team finished first in the Swiss National League with a 9-1 record.
Calanda had by far the best offense in Switzerland this year scoring an average of 34.9 points a game in the 10 game regular season. They are facing the stingiest defense today as Geneva gave up an average of 14.4 points a game.
The Geneva Seahawks ended the regular season in second place in the Swiss standings with an 8-2 record. They won the final two games of the season beating the Luzern Lions 60-12 and downing the Bern Grizzlies 24-7 to avenge an early loss to Bern.
Seahawks quarterback Kyle Graves has played extremely well this year and in the regular season threw for 1,576 yards and 22 TDs this year against only four interceptions. With Graves, Geneva was a well balanced pass first offense, throwing on 60% of their snaps this year, but with running back Morgan Nkule who is a north/south runner with great cutback ability, they can hurt you on the ground too. The main receiving targets for Graves today will be Kevin Saibou and Mateo Horber, both of whom are deadly.
Click here to read a complete breakdown of the game with an analysis of both teams by Wayne Jacobs.
This could be the best Swiss Bowl in a very long time.
Watch the game live here. Swiss Bowl XXXIV – Geneva Seahawks v. Calanda Broncos, Sat. July 13, 6p CEDT (12p EDT)
Watch the Swiss Junior Bowl live. Geneva Seahawks v. Thun Tigers, 2p CEDT (8a EDT)
