SBB Vukovi crush their Serbian rival
11 April 2012
Blue Devils get the rematch
16 April 2012
The SBB Vukovi Belgrade survived a scare and beat the Ljubljana Silverhawks 28-25 for their third win in as many games this season. The away team came very close to winning in Belgrade — they led 14-25 midway the third quarter — but it was the same old outcome in the end, as the Vukovi recorded another win at home. They last lost at home in 2006, and never since they moved to their current playing field in 2007.
The Silverhawks’ new quarterback Anthony Gardner made an impressive debut, passing for four touchdowns. It looks like he already has his favorite target, passing to receiver Jernej Pavlič for the first three, including two very long ones. When he passed to Bojan Justin for another long, 44 yard long, touchdown in the third, the Silverhawks found themselves on the verge of a huge win.
The home team and Brandon McDowell, who scored three touchdowns, had other plans however.
Ljubljana led 7-13 at halftime, with McDowell running in for the only Vukovi score. The Silverhawks failed to convert on their first extra point attempt. They failed once more in the second half, and also on the 2-point conversion attempt on their last touchdown — three points, that ultimately decided the winner.
Filip Stojanović gave the Vukovi a 14-13 lead, returning the second half opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. The Silverhawks responded right away, took a 14-19 lead, and then took advantage of Lance Kriesien’s fumble, scoring one more time.
Kriesien, dominant in the games he played for the Vukovi up to this point, played his least convincing game of the season, passing for one touchdown only. But it was the touchdown that gave his team hope. He found Brandon McDowell to cut the lead to 20-25, and McDowell ran in for the touchdown at the halfway point of the fourth, a score that brought the Vukovi all the way back.
It was the last score in a game suddenly dominated by defense — it ended on this note as well. Ivan Nedeljković intercepted a long pass attempt from, until this point almost spotless, Gardner.
The SBB Vukovi are the last team remaining with a perfect record. They are at 3-0. The Silverhawks, 1-1, proved they’re a contender this season, despite the loss.
