The Polish Liga Futbolu Amerykańskiego, LFA, heads into the Polish Championship Game this weekend with the Bialystok Lowlanders and the Wroclaw Panthers gearing up to face each other in the title game for the third straight year.
The Panthers were unbeaten in the regular season and then blanked the Bydgoszcz Archers 56-0 in the semifinals. Bialystok lost only one game, to the Panthers, and defeated the Tychy Falcons in the other semifinal, 41-20.
Saturday, November 14, Wroclaw Panthers (6-0) v. Bialystok Lowlanders (5-1)
This is truly a game of titans in Polish football. The sole loss the Lowlanders suffered was at the hands of Wroclaw. In that game, the Panthers used a dominant third quarter to down Bialystok 37-13.
Both teams have playmakers on both sides of the ball. For the Lowlanders, running back Glen Toonga is a key. He was the leading scorer in Poland this season with 11 touchdowns while quarterback Brandon Gwinner had five rushing and threw for six. Two Lowlanders receivers were among the top 5 in TDs. Rafal Krolewski had four while teammate Konrad Marianski caught two receiving touchdowns. Other weapons at Gwinner’s disposal include receiver Eryk Makowski who caught the opening touchdown against Wroclaw and Michal Spiczko . Lithuanian defensive lineman Laurynas Orlovicius and Daniel Tarnawski along with German linebacker David Muller anchor the front seven which also includes linebacker Liatkouski Yahor and linemen Konrad Paszkiewicz and Damlan Wesolowski.
The secondary includes Team Poland’s Mateusz Dzioban as well as Jedrzej Smolarski.
Meanwhile, the Wroclaw offense features running back Ryan Tuiasoa who was the second leading touchdown scorer in Poland despite usually only playing half of each game. Quarterback Bartosz Dziedzic led the league in touchdown passes during the regular season with 16 with one of his receivers, naturally, Wictor Zieba tops with eight scoring receptions. Dziedzic’s arsenal includes wide receivers Jakub Wasiel and Jakub Mazan while running back Damian Kwiatkowski has proven to be an outstanding replacement for Tuiasoa when needed.
The Panthers defense, which allowed just 20 points in total during the regular season, is impressive. The defensive front seven is anchored by Winnipeg Blue Bombers DE, Thiadric Hansen along with Robert Rosolek, Jacek Wszol and Kacper Pawlak. Linebackers Przemyslaw Lewszyk and Filip Kloskowski add to a formidable unit.
In the secondary, safety Krzysztof Wis heads up a unit that also includes corner Adam Lary as well as Szymon Romanowski and Marcin Osumek.
This is the game everyone has been anticipating all season. This is the third straight year these two teams have faced each other in the Polish final. Wroclaw won last year’s game 28-14 while the Lowlanders took the title in 2018, edging the Panthers 14-13.