Week 8: Panthers 35 Bologna Doves 6

After last week's battle against Corinthia, we returned to IFL play with another big challenge against the Bologna Doves. Unfortunately Andrew, our head coach, was missing as he had to head back to America for the week in order to attend his brother's wedding. It actually turned out to be somewhat of a positive though as everyone pulled together in his absence. My knee was pretty beat up after the last 2 games but I spent the week getting therapy and taking on more of a coaching role during practice. John and I put in a nickel defense to combat the spread offense that Bologna runs while Corey and Danny drew up some good man-beaters as they play Cover 0 almost every snap. This is the first season in Series A for the Doves as they replaced the other Bologna team the Warriors, who had dropped out of the IFL due to a disagreement with the other teams. Despite being their first year in the top league, the Doves were sitting at 4-0 however and were making a lot of noise around the league. They had an Italian QB who was putting up some impressive numbers and 2 American skill guys, one reciever and one runningback, who both played DB as well. They also have a big LB/TE from Syracuse but he was out with an ankle sprain. They managed to pick up a kid from UC Davis (who happened to be traveling around Europe on vacation) to replace him for the week but he was terribly out of shape. 

Come kick off there was actually a pretty good atmosphere at the game as Bologna is a pretty big city and they manage to draw a decent crowd. We kicked off to them to start the game and our D came ready to play. With the help of their center who launched one over the QB's head on second and long, we started with a 3 and out, something we haven't been able to do lately. Our offense struggled to run the ball as they had 7 or 8 in the box every time but given time Danny was able to carve up their man coverage. First he hit Corey for a 15 yard score, then Emma on a deep post, and later Corey again after a few nice runs himself. Our D kept up the pressure and the nickle package worked perfectly as their QB had no idea what was going on. We picked him off 3 times and our D line smothered any attempts to run the ball. Spirits were high towards the end of the second quarter as we were up 3 scores to none but in the waning seconds of the half Danny went down with a pulled hamstring. Luckily it came right before the half so we had some time to regroup but everyone's confidence was blown. We put Corey at QB and planned on running the ball as much as we could to eat up the clock. They almost came back though as they stopped our three runs to open the half and then marched down the field and scored. The scare was only temporary though as we settled down on D didn't let them gain another first down the rest of the game. We actually managed to score twice more as we were aided both times with great field position from turnovers deep in their end. Our fullback, Uma, put one in on a 30 wedge and after Clausch came limping out I went in at tailback and was able to bust one around the right corner and get in, putting the game out of reach. Another big win for us but perhaps at too big a price. We're still pretty beat up right now and with Danny out, it causes a lot of problems for us. 

Sunday we all drove to our team captain Lanzo's house outside of Parma. It was a big old house in the country with a huge indoor fire pit inside of a converted stable. Although the weather wasn't great we made the most of it and had a big indoor bar-b-q. We introduced the Italians to shotgunning beers but most of them got more on their shirts then in their mouths.  

 

Week 7: Panthers 42 Carinthian Black Lions 35

Our second match-up of the EFAF Cup turned out to be another shoot-out, much like our first in Barcelona. We played the Carinthian Black Lions who play in the first division of Austria, which is probably the top league in Europe. They had some washed up QB (as in more washed up then the rest of us playing out here haha) who was a 3rd or 4th string at UConn a few years ago, a WR/DB that I didn't really notice and a guy from Holy Cross, Frank Herlihy who played LB in college but had moved to TE. We were pretty beat up going into the game with our top 3 Italian linebackers nursing injuries. We had to finagle the depth chart a bit and Corey and I would have to go both ways but we weren't going to fold. They had beaten the Barcelona team pretty handily so we were expecting a battle and that's pretty much what we got.

We let up a score early to fall behind 7-0, but our offense came roaring back scoring 21 in the first half. We established the run early and capped a drive with a Brown-Mazza connection. Our defense settled in and played well for the rest of the half but a botched snap went sailing over Danny's head and was recovered in our endzone. That brought them within one score and then they hit a deep post late in the half to tie it 21 all. The second half was much like the first as we kept making stupid mistakes to let them back in the game. On our opening drive we finally established the run and I was able to rip off a few first down carries. Five or six plays and I was in the endzone. Our D couldn't stop their ground game either though and we gave the points right back on the next possession. Towards the end of the third quarter I tweaked my knee again and was relegated to defense as our offense went 4 wide. The action went back and fourth all game and it got pretty dirty. At one point in the third quarter we couldn't go a single play without a flag. Our D tackle, Colacino, added his fair share picking up 2 personal fouls and a facemask... all of which "weren't [his] fault."  Late in the fourth we pulled away as Corey made an incredible touchdown catch with a guy draped all over him. On the next drive we came up with a huge fourth down stop, at which point Herlihy, the TE from Holy Cross, got ejected for yelling at the ref (after the game he informed us that he holds the franchise record for ejections and team-imposed fines). With a few minutes left we wanted to run the clock out so we drew up a play where I would go in as tailback and lead block for Danny on a QB sweep. He faked to the full back and then booted around. I led up and crushed the unsuspecting DE and Danny took off down the sideline. When all was said and done we pulled out the victory and now will advance to the semi-finals where we'll face another Austrian team.

Week 6: Panthers 36 Milan Rhinos 12

     This was a big week for us as we returned to our IFL regular season action. So far we had shown some signs of being a good team and at other times had struggled. Starting with this week we have a long stretch ahead of us and we were looking to find some consistency. We were hosting the Milan Rhinos, who had made some waves in the IFL during the off-season by signing former Wisconsin QB John Stocco, who led the Badgers to an 11-1 season and also spent time in the New York Giants training camp. They also picked up former Holy Cross running back Steve Silva who I had played against for 3 years in college, and knew of his ability to take over a game. Silva was out for the week however with a pulled hamstring, which he injured the wednesday before our game when they played Bergamo. I was back in the lineup after my vacation to Barcelona and my knee felt good. With Clausch still out with his broken wrist though and Andrew unable to play in IFL games, I would have to do double duty as RB and LB. Going both ways and playing in my first game in 3 weeks would have been hard enough but it was also the first real hot weather game that we would be playing. 

With Silva out of the lineup the Rhinos were one dimensional so we decided to try put pressure on Stocco, not ever giving him the time to set up in the pocket. Our defense did a good job of this and we held them scoreless in the first quarter. We jumped out ahead 14-0, the first score coming on a QB draw and the second on a long drive capped by a 10 yard TD pass to Corey. In the second half they started gashing us a bit with the run as their shifty little Italian runningback was carving up our aging linebackers. They managed to put together 2 scoring drives but our offense kept right along and at the end of the half it was 21-12. In the second half our defense adjusted to their more balanced attack and shut them out for the rest of the game. The rest of the game was physical with both teams suffering from the heat. The highlight though came late in the fourth quarter after we were in control when our 45 year old team manager/WR, Ugo, hauled in a TD on a hitch and go. The whole sideline went nuts even though the game was all but over and he came trotting back with a huge grin on his face. 

After the game I started showing some signs of dehydration so while the others were heading to the bar for a few beers I was headed for the hospital for a few rounds of saline fluid. Luckily our team Mom, "Mama Bistek" works at the hospital and pulled some strings to get me around the line at the emergency room. My first look at public health care and hopefully my last (vote McCain!) as I was dragged around from one desk to another before landing in a doctor's office where some incompetent nurse poked my about 5 times before getting the IV in right. In addition he tried to draw some blood but didn't get the cap on right and I had blood spurting down my arm. Already woosy from the dehydration I felt my stomach lurch and I puked all over the poor guys shoes... serves him right though as far as I'm concerned. I felt fine after about an hour but the doc wouldn't let me out until I could take a piss. Finally about 4 IV bags and 8 hours later I managed to squeeze out a couple drops, so they cut me loose. The problem was that it was about 5 in the morning and all my roommates who were sleeping off their hangovers weren't picking up the phone. Around 8 I got a hold of Corey and I was finally headed home to get some sleep.