Hungary: Third quarter rally earns season opening victory for Fehérvár Enthroners

The Hungarian Football League kicked off last weekend with four teams competing for the championship crown.

In first round action, Hungarian title holders, the Fehérvár Enthroners, hosted the Győr Sharks and behind a dominant third quarter came away with a comfortable 35-14 win.

Fehérvár Enthroners – Győr Sharks 35-14 (0-7, 7-0, 21-0, 7-7)

With Hungarian champion quarterback Bence Gombos out of the lineup due to a mysterious disease, the Enthroners relied on Márk Erős and it took him a quarter to find his rhythm. The offense struggled some while Sharks new quarterback Chris Jeffrey seemed to find his game. He tossed the game’s first touchdown pass to wide receiver Péter Várfalvi giving Győr a 7-0 after one quarter.

The Sharks continued to move the ball early in the second quarter and the visitors were close to doubling their lead. But the Enthroners’ defense stepped up and stopped a key Sharks drive in the red zone. The offense finally kicked into gear as Erős turned the tables, finding Nándor Tóth with an 80 yard bomb, bringing the ball down to the five yard line. Then running back Joe Bergeron powered his way into the end zone for his first touchdown in Hungary, to tie the game at 7-7.

Enthroners‘ head coach Jaime Hill must have had some choice words for his team at halftime as his squad came out for the second half with greater energy. A big touchdown catch by wide receiver Rashad Stills turned the game around, and then Bergeron punched the ball in again to give the Enthroners a two possession lead .

Nándor Tóth hauled in a 55 yard touchdown pass to extend the lead before the Sharks finally responded. New wide receiver László Benedek closed the gap with a 30 yard catch in the final period but  Stills scored again to put the game away.

Despite struggling in the beginning, the Enthroners managed to adjust to earn their first win of the season.