The Lisboa Devils and Lisboa Navigators square off in the first round of the Portuguese Founders Tournament Sunday, November 18.
The two former championship teams and crosstown rivals faced each other twice in 2018 with the Devils coming out on top both times, 35-26 and 42-13. In fact, the Devils have not lost to the Navigators since 2016 when they won their first of two back-to-back titles.
Nevertheless, 2017/2018 was a season of resurgence for the Navigators after languishing in the basement of the Portuguese league for a couple of years. The former powerhouse regained respect around the league this past season rising to a 6-4 record. The Devils suffered just one loss during the regular season, finishing with a 9-1 record but were surprisingly knocked out of the playoffs in the semifinals by the Porto Mutts.
It will be interesting to see how the loss of head coach Andre Amorim to the Portuguese national team will affect the Devils. New head coach Nuno Félix, who has been defensive coordinator, is taking over a solid team but for this tournament at least, will be playing without North American imports.