Defending champion Warsaw Eagles outlast Bialystok Lowlanders in double-overtime thriller to reach Polish Bowl XXI
The defending champion Warsaw Eagles booked their place in Polish Bowl XXI Saturday, surviving an unforgettable double-overtime battle to defeat the Bialystok Lowlanders 41-35 in one of the most dramatic Polish Football League semifinal games in recent memory.
Lowlanders strike first
The visitors controlled the early stages behind quarterback Brett Pullman, who quickly found Eryk Mąkowski for the game’s opening touchdown before adding an 11-yard scoring pass to Bernardo Horevitch early in the second quarter for a 14-0 lead.
The Warsaw Eagles refused to panic.
Vidal Woodruff ignited the comeback with a spectacular 65-yard touchdown strike to Kornel Witkowski before leading another late second-quarter drive that ended with a five-yard touchdown pass to Krzysztof Nosow. Filip Twardowski’s extra points tied the game 14-14 heading into halftime.
A key defensive play also helped swing the momentum as Dawid Magrean intercepted Pullman late in the second quarter, setting up the tying score.
Heavyweight fight
Neither team could gain lasting control after the break.
The Bialystok Lowlanders regained the lead on Pullman’s one-yard touchdown run, but Woodruff answered again, connecting with Witkowski on a 12-yard touchdown pass to knot the score at 21-21.
Pullman then produced one of the biggest plays of the afternoon, breaking free on a 31-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to restore the Lowlanders’ advantage.
With time running out, Woodruff once again delivered. He engineered a late scoring drive before finding Nosow on a 19-yard touchdown pass with just seconds remaining to send the game into overtime tied at 28-28.
Champions answer the call
The drama only intensified in overtime.
The Warsaw Eagles struck first in the opening extra session as Woodruff connected with Aleksander Dąda on a nine-yard touchdown. Pullman answered immediately, finding Horevitch on a 20-yard scoring pass to force a second overtime.
This time the Warsaw defense came through, stopping the Lowlanders on their possession to hand the offense a chance to end the game.
Woodruff needed only one scoring drive.
He found Nosow on a 10-yard touchdown pass to seal the 41-35 victory and send the defending champions back to the Polish Bowl.
Woodruff finished with five touchdown passes, while Nosow caught two scoring passes, Witkowski added two touchdowns of his own and Dąda delivered the overtime score. Pullman matched him with an outstanding performance, accounting for five touchdowns as the Bialystok Lowlanders pushed the defending champions to the limit before finally falling in a semifinal classic.
