Son Moix field has just witnessed the upset of the season in Spain in the first ever win of the Voltors against the Dracs.
Mallorca Voltors staff and players celebrating after the victory
/ Gabriel Rubert Rado (@rubertrado on Instagram)
Like every year, the Spanish LNFA (with new name, previously the LNFA Serie A) is the first league in Europe to put the ball in play. And just in the second week, Spain has witnessed the upset of the season in the first ever win of Mallorca against Badalona.
Sunday the 19th of January, the team from Catalonia traveled to Mallorca in their second game of the season after a blowout win against the L’Hospitalet Pioners. Everyone thought the same, or something similar, was going to happen against the Voltors, but nothing further from the truth.
Before this match, the two teams from the Eastern Conference had faced each other a total of 16 times since the origin of the LNFA dating back to 1995. The balance was 16-0 for the Catalan group, but this time, the team from the Balear Islands was able to outperform his opponents in an especially unforgettable 4th quarter comeback that ended up with a 24-22 score.
A Tale of History
Recency bias is definitely a thing, but not many in Spain can say that they have beaten the powerhouse monster of the 11 times national champions Badalona Dracs. That's why this may be the biggest win in Voltors’ history. The “Mallorquines” are always there and fighting for the playoffs but have never managed to win the Spanish title.
The game was played in Son Moix, historic field of the blue and orange squad for a historic event like this one. It was the first game of the season for the locals, and now they have sky-high hopes for the rest of the season.
Shooting Exchange in the First Half
In a match with a lot of homegrown talent at the quarterback position with Diego Lliteras (Mallorca) and Pol Singleton (Badalona), the locals started surprising with a great drive that culminated in a TD pass to receiver Matías Rojas, which was quickly responded with an absolute 60+yds bomb to Eloy Soler, the youngster Dracs RB that is making heads turn throughout the whole country.
In the second quarter, after a short run for a TD by local RB Juan Manuel Pascual with a failed 2 pt conversion, there was another 60 yd house call, this time to athlete Eric Gracia. The score was 14-12 for the visitors at the half.
After a third quarter without points and an unusual irregular game performance by the Dracs, everything was set up for history in the fourth.
Fourth Quarter Comeback for the Books
Singleton connected their last TD of the day to, again, Eric Gracia in yet again another deep ball. Then American import RB KeShawn Williams ran for 2 pts and the score was 22 to 12. It's in this moment where the magic happened and everything clicked for the Voltors with a stellar performance by both sides of the ball.
Very remarkable was the American WR of Mallorca Gabe Quigley, who in the last stages of the game made an unbelievable play catching a fade in double coverage for the TD and was one of the principal offensive assets on the field. That gave great hope to the locals and left everything set for the play of the day, and for now, of the season in Mallorca.
/ Gabriel Rubert Rado (@rubertrado on Instagram)
Two possessions later, the Dracs were moving the chains until, at around midfield, a bad exchange between QB Pol Singleton and RB KeShawn Williams led to a 60 yds scoop and score by the newly acquired American LB with D1 experience Fa'avae Fa'avae. He balled out throughout the whole game and was the heart of the defence. The place went absolutely nuts.
/ Gabriel Rubert Rado (@rubertrado on Instagram)
“A game we will always remember”
The end of the game was rather strange with a very poor clock management from the Dracs, who could have won with a Field Goal being deep into Mallorca’s red zone. But instead, the controversy came when the game suddenly ended, apparently without anyone of the Dracs staff knowing how much time was left (it's important to note that in Spain there is only one team, the Alcobendas Cavaliers, with on-field visible running clocks).
When the clock hit 0s, Son Moix turned into a big party between the staff, the players and all their fans in attendance who were still a little bit in disbelief. Everyone’s feelings were running high with even players crying and celebrating all over the place in an all time special evening in Mallorca. They have stated in their socials that it is “a game we will always remember”.
And just like that, after a great performance by both teams and QBs with 3 passing TDs each, the faceoff ended in favor of Mallorca 24-22 in the biggest upset in the Spanish American football landscape in recent history. Next week the Badalona Dracs (1-1) will try to bounce back against the Barcelona Pagesos (0-1) and Mallorca Voltors (1-0) will look to continue their winning streak against the L'Hospitalet Pioners (0-2).
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