ELF: Battle of the undefeateds in Barcelona

| American Football | 06/18/2022

Barcelona (2-0) will host the red-hot Cologne Centurions (2-0) team in Reus Stadium as two of the European League of Football’s five undefeated teams battle it out.

Barcelona is coming off a stunning upset last week as they shocked the league by defeating the Sea Devils in Hamburg 24-21. Led by an outstanding performance from dual threat quarterback Zach Edwards, the Dragons and their exciting offense look to get the crowd going as they hope to light up the scoreboard at home. 

Edwards will surely be looking to protect that ball as Cologne’s defense has been more than opportunistic, capitalizing on three pick sixes so far this season. However, that same Cologne defense has given up an average of over 42 points per game. Edwards and his core of playmaking hope to get the Dragons 40+ points and cruise to a crucial win at home. Expect the Dragons offense to go through receivers Mario Flores, Kyle Sweet, and a stable of running backs.

One new wrinkle for the home team is the addition of former Jackson State (NCAA D1 FCS) receiver Jarius Moll. Moll is a former 2019 MVP of the Danish League and will take over as a defensive back in place of recently released Shawn Wilson.

Cologne has won two nail-biter games to start the season. However, this will be the first time this season they’ll stray from the confines of home. Quarterback Jan Weinreich and his connection with receiver Quinton Pounds has been the story of the year so far as the two have hooked up for several highlight touchdowns through two weeks.

Running back Dean Tanwani and Paul Lennart are two German playmakers that the Centurions will also rely on. Weinreich hopes to continue his success through week three as the homegrown passer currently leads the league in yards with 755.

Linebacker Marius Kensy is back for Cologne after missing the first two games of the season with Covid. Kensy, along with standout linebacker Flamur Simon hope to be able to contain dual threat passer Zach Edwards and stifle his early MVP campaign. 

Expect another high scoring game as both teams’ offenses have put together a good film through two weeks. If Cologne can pull off a vital road victory, they will thrust themselves into the contenders category in an unpredictable ELF. 

Daniel Mackenzie is a Press Association graduate who works in journalism and communications in the third sector. Daniel began playing football for the London Warriors and Team Great Britain and has since played across Europe.