The regular season has come to an end. Four teams of Mexico’s Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA), are ready to define who is going to play the ‘Tazón México’ April 30, but first, they have to eliminate each other in the semifinals or the conference title in order to get to the final. The Dinos, Raptors, Eagles and Mayas will now get set to battle for the national championship this year.
Eagles 31-16 Condors
For second time this season, the Eagles faced the Condors in one of the most interesting games this campaign. Both squads needed the victory to get their playoff’s pass punched. As soon as the game started, it was clear which team was searching the victory the most and the result was in their favor. The Eagles defeated and took revenge from the third week when the Condors upset them 24-20, but this time was very different.
The start was rough for the Eagles. On the kickoff, one of the receivers touched the ball but did not grab it and the Condors took advantage of the situation with the recovered fumble. Fortunately, they only got a field goal and the Eagles’ defense was able to stop Arturo Sánchez and his offense. In spite of this, emotionally and mentally, the odds were in favor of the black and gold team in the beginning.
In the second half and with a 13-10 score in their favor, the Eagles managed to get into the end zone after a series of errors by the Condors’ offense and defense. With a pick-six, the Eagles took advantage rapidly in the third quarter and instantly made their way to the end zone again to end with the Condors hopes. The final score was 31-16 and with this situation, the Eagles will face the Mayas in the semifinal of their group.
Mayas 33-14 Fundidores
For the first time this season, the Mayas flew to Monterrey in the north of Mexico in order to close their season facing the Fundidores. The game was practically another one in the schedule for the reigning champions as they were qualified before this game to the playoffs as group leaders. On the other hand, the Fundidores had two jobs: win to access postseason or receive less points than the Dinos (in case they also lose) in order to slide past the Dinos in the standings by having a better defense.
The locals started the game with the hope that the Mayas were not going to play at their best as they were already qualified and would rest players for the playoffs. They were completely wrong. The white and blue Mayas demonstrated why they are the best team of the league and defeated the Fundidores by a final score of 33-14. The result was never in doubt, but the Fundidores had confidence that their defense would not allow too many points and give them the playoffs ticket as the Dinos were losing to the Raptors also.
Raptors 19-6 Dinos
While the Fundidores were trying to stop the Mayas’ offense, the Dinos were also doing this job against the Raptors. Unfortunately, the Raptors from Mexico City in the middle of the country beat the Dinos for the second time this season although, like the Mayas, they had already qualified for the playoffs. This meant they had nothing to play for but their pride to close the season as they started it: with a victory.
Although the Dinos wanted the win and to finish with fewer points against than the Fundidores, in the end they only needed to keep the Raptors from scoring too much since the Fundidores had lost to the Mayas. The Fundidores finished with 146 points against while the Dinos allowed 137 in the seven games. With the same number of victories and games lost, the third criteria to determine which team was going to the semifinals was the points allowed and so the Dinos scraped through with a nine-point defensive record than the Fundidores.
Semifinals
The LFA semifinals will take place on April 22-23 giving the four teams one week to rest and prepare for the playoffs.
Saturday April 22
Dinos vs Raptors
Sunday April 23
Eagles vs Mayas