LIVESTREAM: France – Montpellier Hurricanes @Thonon Black Panthers, Sat. March 7, 7p CET (1p ET)

AFI | American Football | 03/07/2020

Graphic: Igor Lazarevic

The defending French champion 2-0 Thonon Black Panthers will host the 0-2 Montpellier Hurricanes Saturday, March 7 as the French Federation of American Football Elite division rolls into round three.

Thonon opened the season with a resounding 55-14 victory over the newly-promoted Catalan Grizzlys a month ago and then blanked the Aix-en-Provence Argonautes 34-0. The Hurricanes w3re beaten 20-12 by the Grenoble Centaures and then dropped a 44-13 decision to the Marseille Blue Stars.

These two teams faced each other twice in 2019 with Thonon manhandling the Hurricanes 68-14 in the first game and whipping them out 47-6 the second time out.

Black Panthers quarterback Clark Evans, the 2019 French league MVP, has thrown for 525 yards and eight touchdowns while rushing for 146 and another touchdown. Wide receiver Lucas Davoine has 131 yards receiving while teammate Damien Di Cursi has 124. Running back Exavier Edwards has scored three rushing touchdowns so far in the two games. Linebacker Anthony Cheron leads a ferocious Black Panthers defense and has recorded recording nine tackles and five quarterback sacks.

The Hurricanes offense will again be led by QB Austin Stubbs (Northwestern) who has spent three seasons playing in Europe, most recently in 2019 for the Walbrzych Miners in Poland, leading them to their first-ever playoff appearance. His key receiver is Team France’s Quentin Gramage. Gramage was the leading receiver in France from the opening game to the last in 2019 and wound up with 1,110 yards and 14 TDs.