Barcelona Dragons (2-2) and Helvetic Mercenaries (0-3) faced each other this past Saturday at the Estadi Municipal de Badalona in very different situations, but both in need of a win.
The Barcelona team had defeated Mercenaries away from home on the first week, in a game in which they had achieved a hard-fought victory that showed their strengths (in the hands of the A-import quarterback Levi Lewis) and their weaknesses, a defense that had a hard time containing the running game of the north American quarterback, Carlton Aiken Jr and that had problems in the passing game. After that first victory, the Dragons had lost in the first Spanish duel against Madrid Bravos in Vallehermoso and had suffered a heavy defeat against Tirol Raiders in their debut in Barcelona that left the franchise wounded and with serious doubts.
For its part, Helvetic Mercenaries had given the impression of being able to beat Dragons in its premiere in Switzerland. Although they trusted all their success in their dual threat quarterback Carlton Aiken Jr. and his connection with wide receiver Anthony Brown, the game could very well have fallen on the Mercenaries' side. In the third week, in Milan, the Mercenaries had fallen to the Seamen who also achieved their first victory thanks to a solid defense (with Zachary Blair leading) and the connection of their quarterback, the north-American Zach Bronkhorst, with a gifted national receiver corps. In a league with two absolutely different levels, the Mercenaries' season needed a win in Barcelona for the season series to not be considered unsuccessful.
A DIFFERENT GAME
The game went very differently from what we had seen in the first week. Barcelona maximized its opportunities and managed to score twice through a quarterback sneak from Levi Lewis in a Dragon’s own version of Philadelphia Eagle’s tush push. The extra points went up on the scoreboard, ultimately proving decisive.
The Swiss contained the Dragons offense, well led once again by linebacker John Falk. The secondary, which included Kevin Fortes and Ken Hike Jr. (who added a lucky INT) and Barcelona's own mistakes dropping easy catches, kept the Dragons with a poor 86 passing yards. Imoni Donadelle left the field due to injury, leaving the Catalan team without options in the passing game for practically the entire second half of the game.
BARCELONA'S DEFENSE TO THE RESCUE
It was the veteran reliable Dragon’s defense who came to the rescue. Aiken ran and found his receivers, but in the crucial moments the front seven (with Alex Posito, Cesi Brugnani, Jorge Hernández, Dani Franco and a Derrick Brumfield -who was a nightmare for the Mercenaries OL-) stopped the Swiss team with a mixture of both forcefulness and rage. Also, Jordi Brugnani coming back and playing cornerback gave the team the best minutes with Dominic Shelton that played well as safety.
Failures in the extra plays left Mercenaries with only two points from behind. Mercenaries were able to win the game on two occasions in the last quarter, attempting a couple of field goals, but Dragons' special teams managed to block or pressure enough so that the Swiss kicker could not win the game for his team. The last of them, with just 1:55 on the clock, was very celebrated in the stands as it closed the franchise's second victory of the season, the first at home.
NEXT GAMES
The Barcelona Dragons receive the Milano Seamen in a game that is expected to be close, between two franchises with an identical trajectory (big losses against Tirol, narrow victories over Mercenaries).
For its part, Mercenaries sees its chances of ending the season with a victory receding, and will have to wait for the Seamen visiting their fiefdom to achieve this. This week, Mercenaries receive Tirol Raiders in Switzerland.
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