Second week of play in CEFL Championship may offer a glimpse at the finalist in the Western Conference. In contrast, whatever the score in the Eastern Conference, we’ll have to wait for the final game to decide the CEFL Bowl XIII participant. CEFL Cup will also start this weekend with a game in the Baltic.

CEFL Championship Eastern Conference

Slated to launch this week of play is the game in Kragujevac, with the kickoff on Saturday at 14:00. The home team, Wild Boars will host this season’s newcomer to the league, Moscow Patriots.

The Wild Boars have lost to Istanbul Koc Rams in week 1 and are hoping to save the season at home. They need a resounding win in this one and a hope for the Patriots to defeat the Rams, so they can go through on points difference. Still, last season’s finals could be an image in the rear view mirror for them if they think about math. This is their last regular season game and they need a win and leave the rest to chance.

The Patriots are the first team ever from Russia in CEFL. A part of a duet of new kids on the block, the second one being Prague Black Panthers, they bring a breath of fresh air to the league. As such, Muscovites are an enigma, in no small part to themselves too, as their national season is yet to begin. They have brought outside help in Faalevao Esekielu, who can double as a quarterback and wide receiver. Their defensive secondary will be reinforced by Edmund Woods, trying to stop the rushes of Joshua Quezada, who showed up big for Wild Boars in the first outing.

CEFL Championship Western Conference

SWARCO RAIDERS have already slated a win against Prague Black Panthers in the opener. The only thing separating them from back to back CEFL Bowl appearances now are Wroclaw Panthers. The game will be played at the Tivoli stadium in Innsbruck on Saturday at 19:00.

As the defender of CEFL Championship, Raiders’ may be the favorite, but will not be impenetrable. Their national league archrival, Vienna Vikings, have shown the chinks in their armor a week ago, prevailing with a one touchdown difference. This matchup will show if Panthers have learned anything from this game. Then again, it’s one thing to learn, quite another to apply the knowledge.

The Panthers themselves are lossless with four wins in the national league so far. If last season’s meeting between these two teams is anything to go by, this one will be a barnburner too. Timothy Morovick who’s coming back as Panthers’ quarterback, will have plenty of targets to choose from in homegrown wide receivers. Defensive back Desmond Cooper will be a valuable addition in stopping the Raiders prolific offense led by Sean Shelton, who scored 5 touchdowns in Prague.

Please turn to Raiders TV for the live webcast.

CEFL Cup

CEFL Cup will open its door to contestants on Sunday at 14:00 in Gdynia. The home team, Seahawks, is new to CEFL while their adversaries, Budapest Cowbells, are well known to league fans. This will be a CEFL Cup semifinal round, with the winner going through to the finals.

The Seahawks are 3-1 in their national league, their only loss coming from CEFL Championship team, Wroclaw Panthers. They have an offensive weapon in quarterback Joseph Bradley and their defense will be led by a back, James Gales. No doubt they’ll want to show their best on the new international journey.

Cowbells are last year’s national champions and this season they are 2-1 in the domestic championship so far. Their cross town rivals, Budapest Wolves, also well-known to CEFL fans, have dealt them their only blow last weekend. As always, Cowbells put their trust in homegrown players, which is an admirable decision.

Live webcast is waiting for you at this link.