1st Place: Parma Panthers
We got to see the Parma Panthers show off their weapons a bit more in week 2 as they won 34-15 over the Milano Rhinos. The most impressive part was Parma’s defense, allowing little to nothing against a dangerous Rhinos offense full of stars. The backfield was particularly impressive, led by Simone Alinovi, even helping close the first half at 18-0 with an amazing pick-six by Luca Montaresi. Another key component that’s setting the Panthers apart is the former ELF Kicker Matteo Felli, who’s probably the only player in Italy that actually specializes only in kicking. On offense we see the import QB Patterson keep taking advantage of the huge Italian talent on his side, this time we saw the WR Cebotaru get a lot of looks and also the TE Zatti who received two TDs Saturday night. The Parma Panthers will be looking to prove themselves as the top team in the Girone A next week against the Legnano Frogs.
2nd Place: Firenze Guelfi
The 42-13 final score doesn’t tell the whole story, but the Firenze Guelfi were still able to put up crazy amounts of points and climb to 2-0! In the first half we saw a struggling Firenze team that we’re not used to seeing, even though that’s more than likely related to them getting to the stadium 15 minutes before kickoff because their team bus broke down. They put up 7 points early in the first quarter with a 97 yard kick-off return by Cosimo Casati, but after that only a late deep pass by QB Fimiani completed for a TD to Mibelli gave them a 14-13 lead going into halftime. In the second half Firenze’s team came to life though, not allowing any more points even when Lazio reached the red-zone and scoring 4 more TDs of their own, one in particular on a pick-six by Giovanni Scialdone, who finished the game with 3 interceptions. Next week the Firenze Guelfi will host the Varese Skorpions to try and hold the top spot in the Girone B.
3rd Place: Legnano Frogs
The Legnano Frogs are here to compete for the league title in 2025! The organization proved that by going out to get WR Dayan Almeida in the week prior to the matchup against the Bergamo Lions, which ended 34-7 for the Frogs. That proved to be the right move since Almeida scored 2 of the 5 TDs produced by the amazing Frogs offense, all thrown by Luke Zahradka who just keeps executing stunningly with his arm. Danny Kittner and Niccolò Pulsinelli continue being a huge part of the Frogs offensive game with the latter also scoring 2 receiving TDs. In week 3 the Legnano Frogs will host the Parma Panthers in an exciting matchup that could show us whether they really are in this title race or not.
4th Place: Torino Giaguari
The Torino Giaguari did not play in week 2 and they’ll stay in 4th position after the Milano Rhinos and the Legnano Frogs switch positions. In week 3 we’ll see the Torino Giaguari host the Ferrara Aquile when they’ll hope to prove themselves as a top team in the Girone B.
5th Place: Milano Rhinos
The Milano Rhinos are not yet quite ready to be a contender, so close yet so far. After the dominant win in week 1 they have been brought back down to earth by the reigning Italian champions, in their 15-34 loss on Saturday night in Milano. The Rhinos were struggling on offense through the whole game against an amazing Panthers defense and had to rely on their two ELF-caliber players Jordan Bouah, with an 82 yards TD, and Tamsir Seck, with a great kick-off return, to put up their only points. The real problem for Milano was the amount of flags and the timing of them, especially in the first half the Rhinos lost great plays and gave up great opportunities to the opposing offense with penalties that just need to be cleaned up. The Milano Rhinos will be back on the field in week 4 against the Ancona Dolphins following their bye week.
6th Place: Ancona Dolphins
What a dominant performance by the Ancona Dolphins in week 2 who won 47-0 in their home-opener, completely bouncing back from their week 1 loss. Remarkable performance by Blake Eaton the new import QB, who was able to throw a touchdown to five different receivers, with Tyler Terhark being the only one of them to receive two. Strong performance by the defense who was able to shut down Bologna’s offense with the help of four interceptions, three of them recorded by the Dolphins’ LB Kristian Giardinieri. The Ancona Dolphins have a bye week now which they’ll use to prepare for the key matchup in week 4 against the Rhinos Milano.
7th Place: Skorpions Varese
The Varese Skorpions did not play in week 2, the reason for them going down is more related to the Ancona Dolphins’ impressive win in their home-opener. In week 3 we’ll see the Varese Skorpions take the field again though, when we’ll see them try to keep their regular-season win streak alive in a tough matchup against the Firenze Guelfi.
8th Place: Ferrara Aquile
The Ferrara Aquile did not play in week 2, the reason for them going down is more related to the Ancona Dolphins’ impressive win in their home-opener. The Torino Giaguari will host the Ferrara Aquile for their week 3 game. We’re still unsure on the availability of import QB Aaron Allen as he looked to have suffered an injury in the last play against the Varese Skorpions, our best guess is he’ll be kept on the sidelines for this one to allow him to be healthier further into the season.
9th Place: Lazio Marines
The Lazio Marines fail to keep up the pace in their week two loss to the Firenze Guelfi. The Marines looked like two completely different teams in the first half compared to the second. First we get a team who’s deciding the tempo of the game, managing to score two TDs against a tough Guelfi defense and falling just short of finishing the second quarter with a lead. Unfortunately for the home team, in the second half they were not able to put up any points despite getting even inside 5 yards of the endzone. Lazio’s offensive lines looked to be physically exhausted, which led to the run game not working anymore and the Guelfi being able to apply heavy pressure on the import QB Josiah Norwood, who was forced into throwing 3 interceptions by the end of the game. We'll see the Lazio Marines trying to get their first win of the season in week 4, when they take the field against the Albisola Pirates following their bye week.
10th Place: Bergamo Lions
The Bergamo Lions fell again in week 2 against the Legnano Frogs, another tough opponent and another tough loss, the final score was 34-7. All through the first half Bergamo had no replies to the stacked Frogs’ offense and were struggling to gain some first downs of their own. The third quarter started with a defensive stand for the home team, followed by a great offensive drive that culminated with the receiving TD by Luca Aldrighetti to put the Lions down by two scores at 20-7. That was the only bright light though because after that the Frogs took back control of the game and made sure a comeback wasn’t on the table anymore. The Bergamo Lions will host the Bologna Warriors in week 3, and will be looking to get their first win since being promoted back to the IFL.
11th Place: Albisola Pirates
The Albisola Pirates did not play in week 2, the reason for them going up is more related to the Bologna Warriors having to lose a spot after losing 2 games by large margins. They won’t be back on the field until their home-opener in week 4 against the Lazio Marines.
12th Place: Warriors Bologna
Not many great signs by the Bologna Warriors in their first two games of the season, 47-0 on the road in week 2 against the Ancona Dolphins. The only bright lights were on defense where we saw an interception and a fumble forced and recovered respectively by Masi and Junior De Jesus. The Warriors need to find solutions fast on offense as they haven’t been able to score a point yet through two games. They’ll look to break this negative record and find their first win in week 3 against the Bergamo Lions in a matchup that could later have meaningful impacts in the race to stay away from the playdowns to be demoted to the IFL 2.
CLOSING OUT WITH A DIVISIONS RANKING
Disclaimer: This ranking is aimed at the present. It’s heavily based on what was seen on the field this week and it will be like that for future weeks as well. Therefore if a team has a bye they might fall. Of course there is influence from previous accomplishments and future expectations, but as I said, it is based on the present!
GIRONE A:
Parma Panthers =
Legnano Frogs +1
Milano Rhinos -1
Ancona Dolphins =
Bergamo Lions =
Bologna Warriors =
GIRONE B:
Firenze Guelfi =
Torino Giaguari =
Varese Skorpions =
Ferrara Aquile =
Lazio Marines =
Albisola Pirates =
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