The Kragujevac Wild Boars staged a thrilling 24-16 come from behind victory over the GAT Novi Sad Dukes to win Serbian Bowl XIII and capture their seventh Serbian title and second in a row in front of 2,000 spectators at Čika Dača Stadium in Kragujevac.
The Wild Boars found themselves trailing 16-0 in the first half before kicking into a higher gear, scoring 24 unanswered points to beat the Dukes.
Quarterback Dalton Oliver threw three touchdown passes, two to Philip Nedeljkovic and one to Strahinja Stepovic. Petar Goic kicked all three extra points and a field goal.
Running back Jermichael Selders scored both touchdowns for the Dukes and Goran Zec added an extra point and a field goal.
Novi Sad Dukes RB Jermichael Selders scored 2 TDs Photo: Igor Lazarevic
Novi Sad opened the scoring on a field goal by Zec and then added to their lead in the second quarter as NFL prospect Selders got untracked, scoring two straight touchdowns. Although the Wild Boars reached the red zone twice they could not score and late in the second quarter, Novi Sad held an impressive 16-0 lead.
That changed late in the half as Oliver connected with Nedeljkovic from 16 yards out and Kragujevac was finally on the board, trailing 16-7 at the break.
In the second half, the complexion of the game changed as the Wild Boards defense led by game MVP Milorad Novakovic, stiffened while Oliver found his rhythm first hitting Stepovic on a nine yard slant for a touchdown and then catching Nedeljkovic in stride for a 29 yard touchdown giving them their first lead, 21-14.
With both defenses playing well there was no scoring in the fourth quarter until Goic hit a 34 yard field goal to put the game away.