Madrid Bravos shut out Cologne Centurions for dominant home win

The Madrid Bravos returned to the win column this past weekend after blanking the visiting Cologne Centurions 37-0 at home in Madrid in the European League of Football’s 10th week of action.

The Bravos opened the scoring with just under 10 minutes left in the first quarter as quarterback Steven Duncan punched the ball in from the one yard line after running back Eduard Molina had scampered 21 yards to put the ball in position.

After Centurions quarterback Isaiah Weed tossed his first of four interceptions, Duncan marched his team from his own 12 yard line down to the Cologne 12. Running back D’wayne Obi capped the drive, weaving his way through traffic to score and give Madrid a 14-0 lead still in the first period.

Neither team could find the end zone in the second in the sweltering heat and the Bravos went into the break leading by two touchdowns.

After guiding his team down to the Cologne one yard line early in the third quarter, Duncan powered his way into the end zone to extend the Bravos lead to 21-0.

The Madrid defense forced a turnover on downs at their own 42, and Duncan orchestrated another scoring drive, finishing it with a four yard scoring pass to Raul Cernuda to boost the lead to 28-0 with seven minutes remaining in the third stanza.

Then, on Cologne’s very next possession, disaster struck as Bravos defensive back Alvaro Cansinos stepped in front of a Centurions receiver at the Cologne 40 yard line to pick off an errant Weed pass and raced 40 yards for a touchdown and suddenly the lead was 35-0 with six minutes still left in the third.

On the ensuing possession, the Centurions suffered through another dismal sequence ultimately giving up a safety as the center snapped the ball over the head of the punter and Madrid’s lead increased to 37-0.

The fourth quarter saw both defenses rise up as the Centurions halted Madrid as they were on the verge of scoring again from the two yard line, forcing a fumble. However, Weed threw his fourth pick of the day, this time on the Bravos two yard line and Madrid came away with the shutout victory.

With the win, Madrid remains in playoff contention sitting in third place in the ELF West with a 6-2 record. Meanwhile, the Centurions fell to 3-5 with four games left.