Madrid Bravos trounce Hamburg Sea Devils in Croatia to secure final playoff berth

By Tanner Vinski, Fourth Down Fiasco

Playing in Croatia, on the idyllic shores of the Adriatic Sea, the Madrid Bravos found themselves in one of the most crucial positions that any sports franchise can face. Win and punch your ticket to the big dance with the dream of winning the European League of Football Championship or lose and go home empty handed. Thankfully for Madrid, they found a way to put a tremendous cap on their inaugural season by blowing out the Hamburg Sea Devils 63-13.

With the win, Madrid grabbed the sixth and final playoff spot, bumping out the Raiders Tirol who lost to the Munich Ravens.

The Bravos took charge of the game from the opening whistle. Madrid quarterback Steven Duncan threw a 21 yard strike to wide receiver Madin Cerezo at the 11 minute mark in the opening quarter for the first points of the game. Shortly after, Madrid found themselves in the red zone with six minutes remaining in the first quarter. Duncan threw a toss out to wide receiver Eduardo Perez and he outraced the defense for a 17 yard touchdown. After a successful two-point conversion, the Bravos jumped out to a 14-0 lead. Hamburg was not able to respond until early in the 2nd quarter when kicker Eric Schlomm booted a 48 yard field goal to narrow the lead to 14-3. Despite this effort, Madrid running back D’Wayne Obi responded with a decisive eight yard scoring run with just over 11 minutes left in the second quarter. With another two-point conversion, the Bravos took a 22-3 lead.

On the next possession, Duncan connected with Cerezo again for a score, this time from 11 yards out to boost the lead to 29-3.

The Sea Devils moved into field goal range a few minutes later and Schlomm kicked a 41 yarder to reduce the lead to 29-6.

Then, with 20 seconds remaining in the half, Duncan found Emilio Ibáñez Cordero for an 18 yard touchdown to give Madrid a 36-6 lead going into the break.

The second half saw Madrid rely on its formidable ground game. Running back Eduard Molina found a seam  and sprinted 48 yards to increase the lead to 42-6 with five minutes left in the third. With just over a minute remaining, William Patterson scored from 10 yards out to make it 48-6.

Hamburg did not find the end zone until early in the fourth quarter, where Sea Devils quarterback D’Angelo Fulford connected with Torin Justice for a 22 yard redzone fade. This would set the score to 48-13 after a successful two-point conversion.

D’Wayne Obi scored again on a two yard run to make it 56-13 with the two point conversion. Running back Eduardo Perez Perez added the final touchdown with just over a minute left in the game, scampering into the end zone from 10 yards out to finalize the score at 63-13.

With the win, the Bravos finish a hugely successful inaugural regular season clinching a playoff spot as newcomers to the league winding up with a highly respectable record of 8-4. Although the Bravos needed help from the Munich Ravens who beat the Tirol Raiders, they joined an elite company of first year sport franchises that have made the playoffs. Looking at the Big Four American sports leagues, only three teams since 1930 across all four leagues have made the playoffs. This list includes the 1966 Chicago Bulls (NBA), the 1967 St. Louis Blues (NHL), and the 2017 Las Vegas Golden Knights (NHL). Now the team looks onwards to a rematch in the playoffs with the Rhein Fire. The series between these two teams currently sits at 1-1 allowing their playoff matchup to decide the 2024 series.

The Hamburg Sea Devils came into this season with high hopes Just two years ago, this franchise made its second consecutive championship game appearance. However, two straight championship game losses will negatively impact any franchise. After a disappointing 4-8 regular season in 2023, the Sea Devils have cut their wins in half for 2024 to finish with an abysmal 2-10 record. If head coach Matt Johnson is retained for the following season he has his work cut out for him to see Hamburg return to their former glory.

International Game a success

With this new foray into the Balkans, the European League of Football has once again found the opportunity to market their budding league by hosting their first international game in the iridescent city of Šibenik. Marketing to the Croatian fans can only bring positive omens to furthering American Football on the European continent. Expanding to the Balkans has the possibility of bringing in more viewership to the exciting young league and as the game clock diminished alongside the serene setting sun, hopefully some in attendance found love for the greatest sport on planet Earth.