After an intense matchup with high stakes in game, the Paris Musketeers top off an amazing performance that favors it's position in the playoffs.
July 21st is the date the Madrid Bravos have faced the Paris Musketeers at home for the 2024 season at the Vallehermoso stadium. Under the strong Spanish heat of 35° Celsius at 13:00 (CET) both squads have met with the same record coming into the game, 5-1, in a big matchup with playoff implications fighting for that #2 spot in the Western Conference, only behind the powerhouse of Rhein Fire.
This was a game marked by important injuries in both teams. These were very similar, as the Bravos were missing Spanish LB Javier Carrasco and big name American corner and one of the interception leaders in the league Ja’len Embry due to an ankle injury the week prior. On their part, Paris played without also big time playmaker and leader of their defense Chandler Jones, the US import who is on IR. Another import missing for Madrid was LT Jonas Hagerup, instead it played newly signed Spanish talent Miguel Ángel Kabankaya, coming previously from the Barcelona Dragons.
Head to head
The first half was marked by the parity between both squads. The French opened the score after a blocked punt returned for a TD by Amir Kilani on the own 10 yd line of Madrid. After that, still in the first quarter, the answer of the home team came by the hands of Willie Patterson scoring a 33 yd receiving TD on a slot fade from Steven Duncan.
The second quarter was a little bit more quiet, highlighting a couple of plays like the forced fumble from Bravos' DL Daniel Xabier López recovering the ball to Madrid after what seemed a pretty successful drive on the ground by the Musketeers offense. That began to anticipate what would end up happening in the second half, establishing the run game with a couple of big plays from Zack Edwards and his receivers. At the end of the quarter, Paris made a clutch FG after converting a 4th down and 7 with 5 seconds on the clock to end up going 10-7 into halftime. In general it was a much more productive half on air by Madrid and on the ground by Paris.
Paris seals the deal
In the second half the story was very different. Although It started very well for the Spaniards with a pick from Luke Glenna and a good return, the Bravos couldn’t capitalize and they missed the game tying FG. That was the closest Madrid was to Paris on the scoreboard the rest of the game.
After that, the game was controlled by the Musketeers with an unbelievably dominant rushing game. That thanks to the OL and RB Chris Voumbo, who had a breakout performance. The Bravos offense couldn't stay much on the field, resulting in the wear and tear of the Spanish defense against the Parisian ground attack. But they weren’t done and they managed to score one more time thanks to a spectacular catch down the seam from Spanish TE Raúl Cernuda who is making a name for himself in the league this year.
There was a crucial moment in the game in the 4th quarter when Madrid was only 10 points behind and they had ball with several minutes left, but a strip sack from Stanley Zeregbe followed by a scoop and score from Dauson Dales sealed the deal for the visiting squad and ended with the final score of 29-13 for Paris.
Keys of the game and future matchups
At the end of the day, the rushing offense and defensive wall of the Musketeers were too much to handle for Madrid. On offense, aside from a couple of big plays and a good passing game in the first half, the Bravos couldn't run the ball against the Parisian front 7 and that made the big difference, with also a questionable game from Madrid QB Steven Duncan who didn't have his best performance and made not the best decisions in some crucial situations. With that, the Spanish attack couldn't stay much on the field, which worn out an already thinned defense who played hard until the very end. That made it easy for Paris to control the game clock with their established rushing offense which left QB Zack Edwards without having to worry much about passing the ball.
Next week the Madrid Bravos (5-2) will host the Cologne Centurions (3-4) at home, and the Paris Musketeers (6-1) will travel to Germany to play against the Rhein Fire (8-1) in what will be their biggest game of the season so far. Both squads won’t meet again until their matchup on August 17th in the French territory of the Stade Jean Bouin.
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