Experience the excitement as the Milano Rhinos gear up to face off against the Bologna Warriors in a pivotal Week 3 showdown. Despite a challenging 1-2 start to the season, Milano is eager to capitalize on their recent momentum and secure a crucial victory at home.
Milano is More than Ready Now
Milano opened the season with a heartbreaking overtime loss on the road against Torino Giaguari, Torino converted a 2-point conversion to win 43-42. Next, they traveled to Rome and came out with a hard-fought victory 27-16 against a solid Lazio Marines team, the game went back and forth until Milano was able to pull away at the end. Last week Rhinos played their home opener against Parma Panthers which ended with the Rhinos on the losing side of a valiant effort. After being down 26-0 in the first half, Milano battled their way back into the game with big offensive plays by Lorenzo Nuzzi and defensive pressure on Parma`s Quarterback. Milano eventually lost 33-26 to the defending champs. Milano will want to continue their momentum from the second half of their last game and get a win against a struggling 0-2 Bologna Warriors.
Defense is Confident
The Rhinos have played 3 games decided by 10 points or less and are looking to put together a complete game on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Heading into this game Milano's defense will have something to prove, even though they have outscored their opponents 95-92 they have 2 losses giving up 43 points and 33 points in those one score games. The defense has 7 turnovers in 3 games but still average giving up 30.6 points per game. Bologna has only scored one touchdown in 2 games so this could be a game where Milano can build some confidence on the defensive side of the ball.
Offense Will Score, Eventually
I believe they will create turnovers and give up less than 30 points against Bologna. The Rhinos offense led by Hamish McClure will need to get out to a fast start as they struggled to do so only scoring 7 first quarter points in 3 games. McClure has thrown for 654 yards and 9 touchdowns on 52% completion. You would like to see his completion percentage be higher, but he has shown he will rarely turnover the ball with just 1 interception in 115 passing attempts. 8 of 9 McClure’s touchdown passes have been caught between wide receiver trio Pulsinelli, Escobar and Bentley. Milano`s run game will need to be a threat to help their pass game and not become a one-dimensional offense. Rhinos Running backs have combined for 115 rushing yards on 44 attempts, McClure has 105 yards on 25 attempts so the running backs and offensive line groups will need to improve in the run game.
Game Prediction
Overall, Milano is 1 or 2 defensive stops and a slightly more balanced offensive away from possibly being 3-0. They have proven they can compete but, can they end up on the winning side of these close games remains to be answered. I look for the Rhinos to get back on the winning side this week against a Bologna Warriors team that have lost their first 2 games by a combined score of 97-7.
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