Brazil’s Superliga Opening Weekends Marked By Upsets
Ceara Caçadores 42, Joao Pessoa Espectros 31
Above: Ceará Cacdores running back, Luis Eduardo (41), evades a tackle from João Pessoa Espectros safety, Edvaldo Rosas. Photo credit: Stephan Eilert
The Caçadores and first time head coach Mike Lima overcame a scorching hot start from the defending CBFA national champions to notch what might be the biggest win in program history.
The Espectros biggest off season acquisition, play-making wide receiver, Heron Azevedo, formerly of the Cuiaba Arsenal, didn’t waste time in making his presence felt. Azevedo took the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and followed that up with a touchdown catch from quarterback Rodrigo Dantas. Azevedo‘s second touchdown was on the Espectros’ first offensive play from scrimmage and make the score 12-0 very early in the first quarter.
From that point on, the momentum shifted, and the Caçadores, led by talented young quarterback Romario Reis, started making plays. The club rattling off 25 unanswered points and heading into half time with a 25-17 lead that they never relinquished.
‘’We took our foot off the pedal. The Caçadores were very competent to take advantage of that and took the lead and never looked back,’’ said Azevedo, a veteran of as many big games as just about anyone in Brazil. I like the way our guys fought until the end, but unfortunately, it was too deep of a hole to come out of.”
Caçadores Athletic Director Bruno Rocha:
‘’As expected, it was a great game against one of the best teams in the country. We managed to stay calm and execute our game-plan well.”
This is the first time that Reis has come out as the victor when battling against fellow highly-touted quarterback Dantas. Reis was 9 of 17 passing, for 150 yards, 2 touchdowns (one to Talon Roggash and one to his younger brother, Marlos Reis) and 2 interceptions. Romario also carried the ball 5 times for 19 yards and a touchdown, but the star of the Caçadores running game was running back Luís Eduardo who rumbled through the daunting Espectros defense for 116 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
Above:
João Pessoa Espectros QB, Rodrigo Dantas, prepares to take a snap against the Ceará Caçadores defense in Fortaleza, Ceará. Photo credit: Yuri Leite
The Caçadore defense, although surrending 29 of the 31 points scored by the Espectros, made several big plays to hold and extend their lead. Roggash and cornerback Paulo Alberto both had interceptions, as did TB Battle, who returned his for a second half touchdown. Rocha singled out Caçadore defensive player Kaleo Melo for being disruptive due to his versatility.
‘’Kaleo had a great game playing linebacker, but we were also able to line him up at defensive end in passing situations,’’ he said of Melo, who finished the game with 5 tackles (3 for a loss and 1 sack) and 4 QB pressures, according to Caçadores statistics.
Caçadore kicker Danillo Arais added 11 points, including a 52 yard bomb of a field goal.
Azevedo is confident that the Espectros will build from the frustration of losing the season opener. ‘’It is good that we face this kind of adversity early in the year. It will make us stronger and our guys have already shown signs of that during the last week in practice,’’ he said.
Sao Jose White Sharks-Istepos 21, Timbo T-Rex 19
Led by some huge defensive plays late in the game, the White Sharks-Istepos (WSI – a co-op of what used to be the Sao Jose Istepos and Itapema White Sharks) handed 2015 Torneio Touchdown National Champions their first loss in about a year and a half. Pick-sixes for both WSI linebacker Ramon Franco and WSI defensive end Vinicius Zanon, one minute apart from each other, were catalysts for the win.
For Zanon, WSI’s victory was a result of the excellent practices that the team had leading up to the game.
‘’(The game) challenged our mental toughness. We couldn’t stop them (T-Rex) at the beginning of the game and we just couldn’t get our defense off the field,’’ he said.
‘’ With all the emotion of the game, and the exhaustion of your body, that is when your good practices show themselves.’ All of those repetitions gave us the chance to be in the right place a half second earlier, make a big play, and have our team in a position to come out with a win.’’ said Zanon.
These two clubs are looking to establish themselves as teams to be feared in the new Superliga. This has to be a setup for the Timbo T-Rex, who often dominate their regional opponents.
