LG OLED Las Rozas Black Demons seeks to repeat the national title they won last year, in what will be the third consecutive final between the Madrid teams.
On April 20, LG OLED Las Rozas Black Demons hit the table by defeating Badalona Dracs in the spanish league semifinals played at Dracs' home stadium.
The feat was by no means a minor matter. Dracs had just had an immaculate season and presented itself as one of the most powerful teams in the league, with the brightest roster of import players in the competition. But the Black Demons dominated the game practically from the beginning, and despite the fact that the score ended up being tight and that Dracs may have had a chance to tie the game, the truth is that on the field the Madrid team clearly won. Not only because of this, but because of what they showed during the regular season, they are now the team to beat.
Black Demons' only defeat during the regular season came at the hands of Osos de Madrid, their rival in the Spanish Bowl, in a game in which Osos de Madrid did not have its starting quarterback, Russell Tabor. Perhaps it is the only blemish on an otherwise brilliant season in which the Black Demons have shown themselves to be a strong candidate to win the national title (which they already won last year against the Osos de Madrid themselves).
Thus, this edition of the Spanish Bowl is presented as a reissue of the two last ones, with one win for each team. Next Saturday, May 4, at 5:00 p.m. the Vallehermoso Stadium (which will be the home of Madrid Bravos in the ELF), will be the scene of this exciting final game.
A PERFECTLY BALANCED OFFENSE
To win the title, Black Demons presents itself with one of the best national rosters, which includes many of the names that Madrid Bravos fans will hear during the ELF season and that make up the backbone of the Madrid franchise.
The Black Demons offense is led by Canadian quarterback Theodore Landers. The 6'3″, 200 pound player from Burnaby (Vancouver) led the Black Demons to their first ever Spanish title in 2023 when they went undefeated in the regular season and then defeated Osos Rivas 22-13 to win the Spanish Bowl.
This season, Landers has 14 TD passes and 7 running TDs.
In the semifinal against Badalona, Landers played at his best level wreaking havoc on Badalona's defense with his scramble runs (scoring one running TD) and throwing for another TD to Jorge García-Valcárcel, who has undoubtedly become his go-to guy. With eight touchdowns during the regular season García-Valcárcel performance throughout the year has been outstanding.
But the attacking machinery of Las Rozas team, firmly based on an Offensive Line that works like a steamroller, has also proven to be extremely effective in the running game, able to dominate the game and control the clock. Daniel Romero, who also had an excellent performance in the semifinal against Dracs, Gonzalo Haro and the Northamerican Dominic Hoffman make up the most powerful RB corps in the league, and Osos will have to do a great job to stop them.
THE BLACK DEMONS WALL
On defense, the Black Demons have proven to be extremely efficient, holding their opponents to an average of 10.4 points during the regular season. But perhaps his best performance was in the semifinals, conceding only 15 points against a team that averaged 43 points per game, and also scoring a safety.
A front-seven in which names such as Sebastian Bowen, Diego Paz, Daniel López or Andre Luca stand out, is the core of the Black Demons defensive wall.
The secondary will be tested against one of the best receiver corps in the league. There shines the young Cornerback Álvaro Cansinos.
Special mention deserves the North American Defensiveback Nolan Corpening, a true ball-hawk. He could be one of the decisive players in the final, as we’ve already seen in the previous confrontations between Osos and Demons this year.
CONCLUSION
The Spanish Bowl is more open than ever. The previous games between Demons and Osos during the regular season ended in a victory for each team and both have followed similar trajectories during the regular season.
But the feelings that the semifinals left us make us believe that Demons can reach the final one step ahead of Osos.
The swords are raised, it only remains to see who is proclaimed champion this time.
Comentários