Week 2 of the 2023 Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional season is now a thing in the past and like last week, there was some consistent play from some and others played more inconsistently.
The Reds CDMX, Caudillos de Chihuahua and Jefes de Ciudad Juárez have continued to impress their new LFA competitors since the move and they have tried to react with various degrees of success. The former two came away as big victories this week, while the Jefes lost a close one to the Fundidores de Monterrey. Meanwhile, the Mexicas CDMX won their first game of the season and the Reyes de Jalisco continued their hot start.
Reds (2-0) 32 – Dinos (1-1) 7
This game felt very similar for the Reds. After not doing much in the first half, they blew the doors off their opponents in the second half with quarterback Marco Duran leading the way, while their defense didn’t allow any points at all. The only difference is that instead of the Fundidores, it is the Dinos, another championship contending team. It is very clear that the Reds are for real and have a real goal of winning back-to-back championships in two separate leagues. As for the Dinos, despite keeping the game close for the first three quarters, they fell apart in the fourth quarter giving up several back-breaking touchdowns. If they are going to win a championship, they have to play their A-game from beginning to end.
Reyes (2-0) 23 – Raptors (0-2) 16
Talk about an anomaly of a game. All of the touchdowns scored in this game were the result of taking advantage of a turnover, whether it was an interception or a kick return. This was the reason the Reyes were not involved in the first half, as Shannon Patrick’s interceptions were hurting the team. Fortunately for him, his team’s defense handled their business in the second half and Jalisco is 2-0 for the first time in their young history. Meanwhile the Raptors are 0-2 for the first time since the 2016 season. With more competition in the LFA since then, they have to act quickly next week if they want to keep their playoff streak alive.
Mexicas (1-1) 17 – Gallos Negros (0-2) 14
Querétaro was so close, but in the end, it wasn’t meant to be. The Gallos Negros controlled the game and had the lead for most of the game with their offense scoring their first points of the season. However, their defense allowed 11 unanswered points in the second half, including what ended up being the game winning touchdown with 48 seconds to go. Clark Hazlett lead the Gallos Negros in a position to kick a game-tying field goal to send it into overtime, but the attempt was blocked and the Mexicas won their first game of the season.
Caudillos (2-0) 51 – Galgos (1-1) 16
After getting their first win in team history last week, the Galgos followed that up by getting crushed from top to bottom by the Caudillos, essentially reverting back to their old ways. The only consistent bright spot for Tijuana this week was their field goal defensive special teams, who returned two extra points for safeties. But outside of that, it was a very forgettable performance from them. The Caudillos meanwhile have the highest scoring offense in the league piloted by quarterback Jeremy Johnson, who is looking like an early MVP candidate and like the Reds, seem to have not been shaken from the switch from the FAM to the LFA.
Fundidores (1-1) 28 – Jefes (0-2) 21
The Fundidores and Jefes were both keeping it close until the very end and gave the most consistent duel from beginning to end this week. Shelton Eppler and David Perkins played better this week and their passing games look to improve as the seasons go along. But right now, despite their records, these teams can compete with anyone, but due to their frequent turnover issues lately, they still have a long way to go.
