Finland: Porvoon Butchers roll past Wasa Royals 49-27, stay in hunt for Maple League top spot

The Porvoon Butchers (6-2) kept themselves firmly in the race for the Finnish Maple League regular-season title Saturday, rolling past the Wasa Royals (2-6) 49-27 at Kaarle Field in Vaasa behind a five-touchdown passing performance from quarterback Donovan Isom.

Butchers take control early

Porvoon set the tone by scoring touchdowns on each of its first three possessions before the Royals finally answered.

Quarterback Donovan Isom led the way, running for the Butchers’ first touchdown and throwing three more in the opening half. He finished with five touchdown passes while completing 28 of 37 attempts, a 75 percent completion rate.

The Butchers defense made life equally difficult for Wasa, intercepting quarterback Shazzon Mumphrey three times.

Littlejohn delivers pick six

Rassie Littlejohn accounted for two of those interceptions and returned one for a touchdown, while Joonas Mattila added another pick.

Dal’Mont Gourdine also recorded a sack, raising his season total to 13.5. He now sits one shy of the Maple League single-season record of 14.5 held by former Seinäjoki Crocodiles defender Charles Akanno.

Kaapo Viuha remained at eight interceptions, one short of Zach Wright’s single-season record of nine.

McElroy produces huge afternoon

Despite the loss, the Royals found some success through the air.

Mumphrey threw for 372 yards and two touchdowns, with Andrew McElroy accounting for a remarkable 276 receiving yards and both scores.

The running game offered little help, however, as Wasa managed just 18 yards on the ground.

Defensively, Raul Khalifa recorded nine tackles and Samu Hatala intercepted Isom.

Porvoon keeps pressure on at top

The victory moves the Butchers to 6-2 and keeps them squarely in the battle for the Maple League regular-season crown as the playoffs approach.

For the Royals, the fifth consecutive defeat drops them to 2-6 and mathematically eliminates them from postseason contention.

Porvoon, meanwhile, is finding its form at exactly the right time.