There aren’t many stranger matchups in the CEFL than the one between the Vukovi and the Wolves. Ever since the Wolves joined the league in 2007, there has been a rivalry between these teams, initially only because vukovi means wolves in Serbian. Now, mostly due to their 2007 matchup in the final, it’s hard to imagine these teams liking each other too much. The strange part is, although the games between them are usually close and competitive, the Vukovi remain unbeaten in the four Wolves’ tries.

It can be said that the Vukovi stole one win away in 2007, but last year saw a change for both teams. The Vukovi were a better team, unlike the Wolves, who went through a quarterback change, and mostly played without CEFL’s best offensive player from 2007, Péter Cseperkáló. All this led to, not easy wins, but comfortable, much more than before.

With the league cutting down on the number of games, now eight per team, and along with the addition of the Blue Devils, that turned the group into a two team race for the second spot, the game is more important than it appears so early on. Though it might not be so respectful towards the Thunder, it’s doubtful they are ready for either of the two, and with a win Saturday, the Vukovi would find themselves one foot in the playoffs, making their nail biting win in Novi Sad all the more important.

After playing the Blue Devils in the season opener, Cseperkáló appears to be back, and if he plays, it will certainly help his team to do what they haven’t done before. The Vukovi joined them in a way this season, adding a dominant running back of their own, which is something they haven’t exactly had in all the years they’ve been competing, and after rolling over the Dukes their import Brandon McDowell is deserving of the praise.

Problems surprisingly emerged on defense for the Vukovi this year — last year they won in large part because of the defense’s contribution. Against the Gladiators, it looked as good as last year, but it wasn’t pretty against the pass happy Dukes five days ago in Novi Sad, as the home team moved the ball passing almost at will.

The good news is, the Wolves were never a particularly strong passing team — they infamously passed 8 and ran 44 times in their first trip to Belgrade, though it was with a third string quarterback. For the Vukovi, tough schedule or now, they started off well — Saturday from 5PM in Belgrade, they’ll be in position to move closer to playing in October.