LIVESTREAM Italy: Varese Skorpions @ Legnano Frogs, April 20, 21:00 CET (9 pm, 3 pm EDT)

Matt Bressington | American Football | 04/20/2024

Graphic: Igor Lazarevic

The Italian Football League heads into the second half of the season Saturday, April 20 as the league-leading Varese Skorpions (4-0) travel to face the Legnano Frogs (2-2).

This matchup could be one of the most impactful games of the season.

The Skorpions are one of only two teams in the nine-team IFL with an unblemished record. Ryan Griffin, the former NFL quarterback, is this team’s heartbeat. As expected, he has been excellent. He has thrown for 805 yards and 10 touchdowns in the four games with a league-best efficiency rating of 168.4. Griffin’s brother Maclaine leads the team with 25 receptions for 400 yards and two touchdowns.

Varese boasts one of the top two defenses in the league, surrendering just 10.25 points a game. This was abundantly clear when they shut out the Firenze Guelfi in week 1. Since then, Firenze has averaged 33 points a game.

On the other side of the coin, you have the Frogs. This is a team that came into the season with a lot of hype. Don’t let the 2-2 record sway the expectation of this match-up. The Frogs have been electric on offense at times. Frogs quarterback Eystin Salum leads the league in passing yards per game (231) after having thrown for 924 yards in the four games. Naturally, Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi has been the star receiver of this season and leads the league in receiving yards per game by a wide margin. He has caught 34 passes for 583 yards giving him an average of 145.8 yards per game and 17.1 yards per catch.

This could be a firefight of a game or a defensive stalemate. It is hard to say as we have seen this outcome from both teams. The Skorpions are going in as favorites in this game, but rest assured that they are not going to be taking the Frogs lightly.