Tigres defeat Olmecas 14-9 in Futbol Americano Asociacion title game!
[su_dropcap]M[/su_dropcap]ore than 1,500 fans in Perros Negros Naucalpan Stadium in Mexico City watched as the Tigres Oro SSP (Secretaria de Seguridad Publica) outlasted Olmecas Premier 14 – 9 this past weekend to win the FAMA (Mexican) 2014 Gran Final.
In a game that was supposed to feature offense, the defenses clearly ruled the day.
The Tigres Oro SSP and Olmecas Premier are bitter rivals, and have been since 2012 when Olmecas Premier beat the Tigres twice in the now-defunct semi-pro OMFA (Organizacion Mexicana de Futbol Americano) Mexican league. In 2012 and 2013, Olmecas won both games in close contests, but this last weekend that changed when the Tigres Oro SSP played a very tough, defensive ball game to eke out the win.
HIGHLIGHTS
[vsw id=”uGi7gKNz8GE” source=”youtube” width=”620″ height=”360″ autoplay=”no”]
Olmecas opened the scoring when quarterback Bruno Marquez (UNAM) tossed a three-yard touchdown pass to Jose Miguel Luna (Tec CCM) (the extra point was blocked). Neither team could mount much offense after that until Tigres quarterback Raul Mateos (IPN/Osos Rivas) connected on a 78 yard touchdown pass with his running back Mario Castelan (Monterrey Tech). Olmecas responded on the very next series when veteran kicker Juan Wong (Tec Laguna/Dallas Desesperados/Rhein Fire/Frankfurt Galaxy/Hamburg Sea Devils/New York Jets) hit a 37 yard field goal giving Omecas the lead 9-7.
After hurting his left arm, Mateos continued to play, visibly protecting the arm. Nevertheless he found Massimango Bubalama (Tec Toluca) for a three yard touchdown pass, which proved to be the winning score for the Tigres. With the score 14-9, neither team could find the end zone again, as in the second half both defenses stiffened keeping the other in check.
Raul Mateos (IPN/Osos Rivas) was named the MVP of the game.