Portugal Mid-Season Review: Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Americano (LPFA)

The Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Americano (LPFA) started in the beginning of January.

Twenty-four games have been played and 17 games are yet to be played before the regular season to ends, and this is the current standings for both groups and what we can expect for the playoffs:

South Group

In the South Group the Lisboa Navigators have been dominating the competition and are with a record that stands at 6-0-0. They have beaten the Crusaders CFA and Devils twice and have established themselves at top of the South Group with no chance for the others team to take the lead from them.

The Crusaders CFA and Algarve Sharks are both with 2-2-0 and seat to meet in the next weekend with the winner getting advantage in the fight for the second place. The Crusaders have been playing great football and command the second best offense in the league.

The Algarve Sharks, a rookie team, won two games against their local rival the Pirates and have yet to prove themselves against the other teams in the group.

The Devils, the other team from Lisbon, are with a 1-3-0 record where they have lost twice against the Navigators and once with the Crusaders. Their first win came against the Pirates on Superbowl day.

The Algarve Pirates, last team in the group, have yet to win a game and are with a 0-4-0 record but still with a chance to get in the playoffs.

North Group

In the North Group the Porto Mutts are the only team still undefeated. Right now they are in first place with a record of 4-0-0, have the best defense in the league – only giving up 13 points – and are seat to take the first place in the group.

However both Porto Renegades and Braga Warriors are coming in from behind to try to take the lead from them. Both teams are with a 2-1-0 record and are set to meet in this next weekend with the winner taking the second place in the north group.

The Parades Lumberjacks have started poorly losing two games but right now are standing at 2-3-0 record and in the hunt for the playoffs.

The last place goes for the Maia Mustangs that have still to score a touchdown in the current edition of the league and are standing at a 0-5-0 record. This two last teams will face in this next weekend where the Mustangs will surely try to reverse their season that has been taking a wrong path.

Overall

Overall the South Group has been dominated by the five time champions, Lisboa Navigators, the Crusaders CFA remain the favorite for the second place and Algarve Sharks and Lisboa Devils fighting for the third place. The Algarve Pirates have to improve in order to get back in playoff hunt. In the North Group the first place is still open for almost every team but the Porto Mutts take advantage. The Braga Warriors and Porto Renegades are seat to face off for the second place but the Parades Lumberjacks have been performing great in the last few games. The Maia Mustangs really need to change the direction of their season in this next game or they are out of the playoffs.

If we are set to compare both groups we find that in the South Group we have more productive offenses with 90 touchdowns scored in a total of 631 points. On the North Group we find that defenses are tougher and the offensive production from the five teams stand at 34 touchdowns scored in a total of 228 points.

If the playoffs where today this would be the picture: