THIS GIVEN SUNDAY — EFA WK2: PARIS, NORDIC GO 2-0
The early European Football Alliance pecking order is beginning to emerge after just two weeks, but it is hardly unexpected as both the Paris Musketeers and Nordic Storm moved to 2-0 after wins over the Prague Lions and Raiders Tirol respectively.
The final scores do not paint an accurate picture, however, for, while the home sides appeared in control for much of their games before pulling away late on, the visitors in each case made them work for the win.
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Prague Lions 9 @ 30 Paris Musketeers
Paris continued its unbeaten start to the inaugural EFA season with a controlled 30-9 victory over the Prague Lions at Stade Bauer, giving former NFL head coach Jack Del Rio a winning home debut in front of the French club’s devoted supporters.
The Musketeers once again leaned heavily on a defense that has quickly established itself as one of the EFA’s elite units. After holding Frankfurt Galaxy to 20 points in the season opener, Paris limited Prague to just nine points while consistently disrupting former quarterback Jaylon Henderson.
Paris entered the game with significant momentum after its dramatic 21-20 opening week win in Frankfurt, and Del Rio had spoken beforehand about the significance of having his team perform in front of the home crowd. Quarterback Zach Edwards again played a central role, directing an opening scoring drive that was capped by a touchdown pass to Hugo Tekedam, and later adding a short rushing touchdown on a ‘tush push’ play just before half-time.
Tekedam was arguably the standout skill position player, however, the French receiver catching two touchdown passes, while running back Jason Bofunda delivered one of the game’s decisive moments late on, breaking through the Lions defense for a long touchdown run that effectively sealed the 30-9 result.
Prague again flashed moments of offensive explosiveness through Henderson’s mobility and the playmaking ability of wide receiver William Patterson, while Czech veteran Adam Zouzelka continued to serve as an emotional leader for the Lions offense. Their biggest positive came on a trick-play touchdown midway through the first quarter, with Henderson handing off to Patterson on a flea-flicker concept before the receiver launched a deep touchdown pass to Matyáš Bílý, briefly cutting the deficit to 7-6.
The Czech side, however, struggled to sustain drives consistently enough to keep pace with Paris and, after a close first half, fell away after the interval to sit 0-2 after also conceding 47 points against Nordic Storm in Week 1, leaving Henderson’s team already facing difficult questions about playoff contention only two weeks into the condensed 10-game season.
One particularly telling sequence came in the fourth quarter when Prague reached the Paris red zone but lost significant yardage after Henderson took another sack and had to settle for a field goal instead of a touchdown. That inability to finish drives became a recurring theme throughout the game as, defensively, Paris’ front dominated the matchup. Mamadou Sy, Baptiste Pollier, Jack Loew and Digaan Gomis all generated pressure, sacks and drive-killing plays against Henderson, showing little respect for their former team-mate.
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Raiders Tirol 16 @ 39 Nordic Storm
With just two games on the EFA slate, it was somewhat strange to find both kicking off at exactly the same time, forcing neutral viewers to decide between YouTube feeds. If they opted for the Paris-Prague game, they therefore missed the Nordic Storm strengthening their status as an early championship favourite with a 39-16 victory over the Raiders Tirol in Copenhagen.
Quarterback Jadrian Clark again led the way for the Scandinavian franchise, continuing the outstanding form he displayed during the 47-13 opening-week demolition of Prague. While not quite as cut-throat as he had been against the Lions, however, the American ensured that Nordic’s offense repeatedly stretched the Raiders defense vertically while also controlling the game physically on the ground.
After throwing for five touchdowns in Week 1, Clark again looked like an early frontrunner for MVP honours after completing multiple touchdown passes to both Brendan Beaulieu and Roberto Miranda. The tight end, in particular, emerged as one of the game’s standout performers, repeatedly creating match-up problems for Tirol’s secondary and producing multiple explosive yards after the catch.
Beaulieu also continued his outstanding start to the season, Clark’s favourite receiver opening the scoring with a 23-yard touchdown reception, before adding a deep 39-yard score in the fourth quarter to break the Raiders’ will.
Running back Glen Toonga once more proved central to Nordic’s attack, reinforcing his reputation as one of Europe’s premier backs with another powerful rushing display. The Briton repeatedly punished defenders between the tackles before taking over late in the game, scoring on a one-yard plunge and later bursting free for a decisive 19-yard touchdown run.
For Tirol, quarterback Steven Krajewski again showed flashes despite the defeat, connecting repeatedly with Aaron Jackson, Marco Schneider and Adrian Platzgummer, while Lukas Haslwanter added important rushing production and later caught a touchdown pass. Jackson remained particularly dangerous throughout and always looked Tirol’s most likely offensive weapon, even as the Storm defense bottled him up.
Nordic’s secondary made several momentum-shifting plays. Macéo Beard intercepted Krajewski near the goal-line just before half-time, Brandon Bryant later answered immediately after a Jonas Fuschelberger interception had briefly given Tirol hope, and Bastian Laugesen closed the game with another late takeaway.
One of Tirol’s biggest missed opportunities, meanwhile, came early in the second quarter after Schneider forced a fumble on a kickoff return and John Levi Kruse recovered deep in Nordic territory. Instead of cutting significantly into the deficit, however, Tirol stalled after a sack and multiple incompletions before Jonata Loria missed a 44-yard field goal that allowed Nordic to recover their composure.
To Tirol’s credit, they competed far more effectively than in the 58-30 Week 1 defeat against the Munich Ravens. Krajewski and Jackson produced several explosive plays that briefly kept the game competitive after half-time, but those missed opportunities ultimately prevented a serious upset.
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After two weeks, Nordic, Paris and Munich remain unbeaten, with the Ravens able to pull level with their rivals if they can overcome Frankfurt in the only game scheduled for Week 3.
Image courtesy Paris Musketeers/Maxime Le Pihif