Despite the beating they suffered in Novi Sad, the Cowboys caught a lucky break during the last weekend of play, when their city rival the Wolves won in the same place. Though they still have to recover from the tough 56-20 loss and in the end beat a team to whom they lost so convincingly, the Wolves win left them not far behind in the standings.

Including this week’s rematch against the Dukes, the Cowboys have five games remaining on their schedule, while their opponent has four. Although they could theoretically lose and still make the playoffs, since it’s only the halfway point of the season, this weekend’s game is almost like a playoff game for the Cowboys, mainly from the standpoint of tiebreakers. That it’s an important game for them, the Cowboys proved by getting an immediate replacement for their quarterback Jack Lydic, currently back in the US, signing Travis Brody.

“Travis has had enough time to learn our offense and during the week we will work together so that by Saturday we will all be on the same page, so I am not worried about how Travis will perform. As long as we fix the mistakes we made last game and stick to the game plan we will win the game and that’s our main focus“, says the team’s leading rusher Andre Bynoe.

Bynoe, an import player from Canada, missed most of last year because of injury, but now after three games ranks 4th in the league in rushing yards, gaining 282. He scored a touchdown in each game and never gained 100 yards on the ground, being one of the Cowboys’ most consistent players. With a new quarterback, he’ll have to deliver again in this important game for his team.

“I really do feel that we need to win this game especially since they had just lost last week to the Wolves so we need to take advantage of the situation.“

“We had a lot of trouble stopping their offense and their passing game. Offensively we should have tried to control the ball and the clock more; that way we could have kept their offense off of the field.“

That’s easier said than done, considering not only this year’s loss, but they never beat the Dukes, losing all three games. But, after losing in Novi Sad basically in the first half, they showed improvement a week later going against the Gladiators. Since they lost 40-14 it might not look that way, but the loss came after their 7-14 halftime lead.

If they plan on beating the Dukes, they’ll have to keep up with them for more than a half, but their last game is at least some kind of a good start. Another thing in their favor is this will be their first home game, and that they’ll play four out of the last five at home. Of course, it all has to start this Saturday from 6PM.