Madrid Bravos (3-0) beat Cologne Centurions (1-2) this Saturday in Cologne to maintain their unbeaten streak and remain as the sole leaders in the complicated Western Conference.
After surprising everyone by defeating the current champion Rhein Fire on the German's field, the team from Madrid arrived as favorites for their game in Cologne. The team coached by Rip Scherer has managed to establish itself in the competition and went to Cologne with the intention of proving it against a team that presented with a 1-1 record: with a win against the Enthroners and loss against Rhein Fire on the opening week.
BRAVOS STARTED STRONG
The game started with a scoring drive by Bravos. The team from Madrid took the lead on its very first drive. The former Panthers quarterback, the North American Steve Duncan, replacing the injured Chris Helbig, had a good drive connecting with wide receivers Mario Flores and Jean Claude Madin-Cerezo and tight end Raúl Cernuda. An outstanding Dwayne Obi (159 total yards, including 123 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns) helped with runs in a drive where Duncan himself scored on a QB sneak from the 1-yard line.
Madrid's defense maintained its usual level and gave Cologne no options. After regaining possession of the ball, Dwayne Obi scored for a 14-0 lead. The Centurions shortened the gap on a personal play by Gerald Ameln, who crossed the field in one of the few mistakes made by the Bravos defense. A field goal shortened the distance even more but, before halftime, Dwayne Obi managed to score again to put Bravos up 20-10. An interception by Madrid cornerback Jalen Embry from Isaiah Weed practically closed the first half.
CENTURIONS REACTION
The second half seemed to get complicated for Bravos who found it difficult to advance and did not seem to be as comfortable in attack as could be expected. The punt team took the field for the first time, stopped by a good Centurions defense. The next drive, centurions risked a fourth down leaving Bravos in a good field situation. This time Duncan connected with Jean Claude Madin-Cerezo, and the Spanish receiver scored his first TD of the season.
The fourth quarter reached a comfortable 27-10 lead for Bravos. But a blocked field goal was returned by Michael Muntu for a TD. On Centurions' next drive, Isaiah Weed found Ben Fröhlich in the diagonals to close the gap, leaving the game just 3 points apart. Despite the close score, the Bravos delivered another TD, with Willie Patterson scoring again to leave the final score at 35-24. Luke Glenna intercepting on the next drive practically sealed the win for Madrid.
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