It was almost exactly to this date last year that the Vukovi played the Kragujevac Wild Boars in the first SELAF Bowl. Without that year’s Offensive player of the Year, Andrej Tasić, Belgrade was no match for the team from Kragujevac – though they put up a fight, they lost 23-12. The player that did the most damage, and the one that the Boars were clearly intent in stopping all afternoon that day, was his younger brother Pavle.

He finished 2006 before the final with 314 yards receiving – fine numbers that made him a top receiver in the league, but not quite outstanding. This year, in seven games compared to eight in 2006 no less, he has 565, including an 8-catch, 211 yards and two touchdowns outburst in his team’s season opener in Novi Sad.

And those, in comparison to other receivers in the league, are some impressive numbers. The only one that came close to matching his overall performance is the Gladiators’ Manuel Houtz. Since Houtz also played on defense this year, they might see each other face to face on Sunday, when the Vukovi host the Gladiators in the second semifinal.

“Not much to say about it – it’s the semifinal and a win is the only thing we’ll accept. I would very much like to make it to the final, and that is what we expect”, says Pavle Tasić.

The only thing more surprising than his numbers is his age. Only 20 years old, he is without a doubt the most promising young player in Serbia if not in the whole of SELAF.

Still, it would be foolish to put the team’s success this year solely on him. New coach, new quarterback, and a defense that looked much better than last year, guided this team to first place in the conference, playing better football overall against tougher opposition. With the new quarterback Briton Burge, his brother Andrej moved to receiver and made the offense even more dangerous. Plus, this year they also had running back Jovan Golušin for the entire season.

But like Cseperkalo is the leading rusher and Kamber is the leading passer, so is Pavle Tasić the leading receiver for 2007 and that won’t change no matter what happens Sunday.

“I didn’t expect it, but it surely feels good. The most important thing is that we get the result we want”, adds Tasić.

The Gladiators may have set their sight on getting back at them for that first game in the spring, but for the Vukovi this game is the first step they have to take to get the trophy they couldn’t win last year.