EFA: Prague Lions edge Paris Musketeers in overtime thriller

The Prague Lions improved to 2-5 by outlasting the Paris Musketeers 36-35 in overtime Saturday night, earning a dramatic European Football Alliance victory that kept their playoff hopes alive while handing Paris its second straight defeat.

In one of the inaugural EFA season’s most memorable games, the Lions overcame a late deficit before forcing overtime with a last-second field goal and then won it with a successful two-point conversion.

Lions seize early control

Prague dominated the opening half behind quarterback Jaylon Henderson, who capped the game’s first drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Martin Havelka. Kicker Marek Hrubon later added a 40-yard field goal before Jason Bofunda’s 13-yard touchdown run finally put the Musketeers on the board.

Hrubon answered with a 47-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, giving the Lions a 13-7 lead.

The home team stretched the advantage to 19-7 early in the third quarter when Henderson finished an 88-yard drive with a touchdown pass to William Patterson.

Paris rallies

The momentum quickly shifted as quarterback Zach Edwards ignited the Musketeers offense. He connected with Hugo Tekedam on an 81-yard touchdown before adding a rushing score to put Paris ahead 20-19.

Henderson answered with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Matyáš Bílý, but Edwards led another late scoring drive, finding Cheikhou Sow for a touchdown before the successful two-point conversion gave the visitors a 28-25 lead with just 30 seconds remaining.

Overtime heroics

With no timeouts, Henderson calmly moved the Lions into field-goal range, allowing Hrubon to force overtime with a spectacular 54-yard kick as time expired.

After Nicolas Khandar gave Paris a 35-28 lead in overtime, Prague answered once again. Henderson found Bílý for a 21-yard touchdown before connecting with the same receiver on the decisive two-point conversion.

Henderson finished 25-of-35 for 296 yards and four touchdown passes while rushing for another 98 yards. Bílý caught two touchdown passes and totaled 109 receiving yards as the Lions earned a signature victory. Although Paris outgained Prague 528-450, three lost fumbles proved too much to overcome.