France: La Courneuve Flash, Thonon Black Panthers cruise, Asnieres Molosses notch upset win in Conference A action
The French D1 Elite Championship wound up its second last round of play this past weekend with six of the seven teams in Conference A in action.
The conference-leading and undefeated La Courneuve Flash were easy winners over the visiting Amiens Spartiates while the Asnieres-sur-seine Molosses pulled off a minor upset in beating the playoff-bound Saint-Ouens Cougars. Finally, the second place Thonon Black Panthers had no trouble in downing the winless Villeneuve d’ascq Vikings.
La Courneuve Flash (9-0) 23 – Amiens Spartiates (3-6) 0
In a low scoring battle, the undefeated Flash moved to 9-0 with a shutout victory over the Spartiates, who fell to 3-6.
The Flash were without a couple star players, including quarterback Conor Miller and running back Jason Bofunda, which could explain the season-low scoring output of 23 points. Backup quarterback Leo Cremades completed 14 of 20 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown on the day, while Francois-Guilheme Pion carried the ball 11 times for 91 yards and a touchdown. Nine different receivers caught a pass for La Courneuve, including Stephane Fortes, who led the way with three catches for 56 yards and a touchdown.
Though the Flash defense did not force any turnovers, they did not allow the Spartiates to get anything going, as Amiens quarterback Cornelius Kinchen was limited to seven completions on 21 attempts for 61 yards. Mala Toure had a huge day for the Flash, recording 5.5 tackles and 3 sacks, and Anthony Abandzounou and Jean Claude Mouliom also recorded a sack. Next week, the Flash are set to take on their top competitor in the division, the Black Panthers, in what will be an important game for bragging rights and for positioning in the standings.
Asnieres-sur-seine Molosses (3-6) 35 – Saint-ouen l’aumône Cougars (4-5) 6
In the surprise of the week, Molosses, who came into the week at 2-6 (with both wins coming against the Vikings), dismantled the Cougars, who had entered at 4-4, by a score of 35-6.
The Molosses defense was the story of the game, limiting the Cougars to just six points after conceding 27 points in their last meeting. They were able to do this with the help of three turnovers, a fumble and two pass interceptions (one by Giovanni Bitodi and another by Anthony Assor).
On offense, Asnieres-sur-seine used their two-quarterback system and a strong ground game to establish a well-rounded attack. Camille Thouray completed 6 of 7 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown, and his teammate Adrien Roux completed 8 of 13 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown. Ralph Rosalie was the leading receiver, catching five passes for 105 yards, while Adam Oussedik, Guillaume Ruster, and Stephane Mancadiang all had rushing touchdowns.
Molosses concludes their season against the Spartiates, while the Cougars take on the Vikings.
Thonon-les-bains Black Panthers (8-1) 34 – Villeneuve d’ascq Vikings (0-9) 7
In other action, the Black Panthers took down the winless Vikings by a score of 34-7 as they moved to 8-1 in league play. This sets up a showdown in the final week of the season between
the second-place Black Panthers and the first-place unbeaten Flash
