There is a special magic playing an american football match in the Slovenian border town of Lendava. There is one of the best stadiums in the country and people belong the the nicest ones you can find in Slovenia. There is a vast Hungarian minority living in the area, so the Slovenia – Hungary match seems like a perfect fit. In the last two years it turned out to be just that.

The Silverhawks lost in the first match in 2011 and the trophy went to Budapest for a year. On Saturday at 7pm it was waiting for a new owner. Silverhawks and Wolves were squaring up again in front of several hundred spectators to become the Lendava bowl champion.

It was the Wolves who opened up the game, but the first offensive series was short lived. After a quick three and out, Silverhawks got the ball and started with a determined and steady drive to the Wolves’ endzone. Wolves’ defenders were holding their own ground rushing the passer and covering the perimeter, but they were leaving huge holes to run. Anthony Gardner and Matej Pavlič were merciless in their rushing attempts. Matej Pavlič scored in a great run when he pulled right, got rid of several defenders and then weaved all the way left in to the endzone. Milan Narat scored a PAT for 7:0.

Wolves did no better in the next offensive attempt while Anthony Gardner had his day running around the field. The second touchdown was right through the middle when he ran 20 yards virtually untouched.

The scoring frenzy continued in the second half. First it was Gardner to Justin on a short seam pass that Justin managed to convert it into the 70 yard streak across the field into the endzone. Shortly after that Gardner found another receiver. Jan Jakus scored his first TD this year for 28:0.

Budapest Wolves are known as a very resilient team that never gives up. Even though they came with a depleted squad they tried hard to change their fortunes. In the middle of the second quarted the also switched the quarterbacks. David Recsey was replaced by Sandor Madarasz and they changed their offensive strategy to the pass oriented attack. But Madarasz made two identical ill fated decisions in two consecutive offensive drives. He fell for a trap on his right and both passed were intercepted by Marko Bates. Not only intercepted, but also returned for a touchdown. Two pick sixes and a score of other defended passes earned him the MVP of the game title.

Wolves were also making a lot of other mental mistakes. A fumble on a kickoff return was picked by Andrej Jan Šadl and the entire stadium was cheering for a local hero from Murska Sobota, a town about 20kms from Lendava. The first half ended up with a surprisingly high score 49-0.

The beginning of the second half started the same as the first one ended. Matej Pavlič scored his second touchdown of the day with a long run across the field while Milan Narat missed his only PAT of the game. After the score of 55-0 the Silverhawks started sending in their reserves and Lovro Gmajner took over from Gardner, but was not that successful. On the other hand Wolves scored a consoling touchdown and managed to beat the silver defense also for the two point conversion. That set the final result to 55-8.

With a victory Silverhawks sealed the home field advantage for the semifinals and are now ready to meet Blue Devils at home. Wolves will have to travel to Belgrade to meet their nemesis Vukovi for the third time of the year.

Silverhawks have another game scheduled for June 30th when they travel to Zagreb for a final regular season game against Patriots.