The Gdynia Seahawks bounced back from a dismal opening week performance and had no trouble beating Husaria Szczecin while the Warsaw Eagles blanked the Wroclaw Outlaws in Week 2 action in Poland.
Meanwhile the defending champion Wroclaw Panthers were tested early but overcame a stubborn Białystok Lowlanders squad.
Gdynia Seahawks 31, Husaria Szczecin 13
Szczecin, Poland
Photo: wCzarnymObiektywie
In a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated, the Gdynia Seahawks got their first win of season in Szczecin on Saturday, spoiling Husaria’s 2017 opener with a 31-13 triumph. The Seahawks built a 31-0 lead before Husaria pulled back a pair of scores when the outcome had already been determined. American quarterback Alexander McKean was the keystone of the Seahawks attack, playing a part in all four of Gdynia’s touchdowns.
The Seahawks, who beat Husaria 45-7 last season, got off to a quick start in the first quarter with a 2-yard touchdown run by McKean and a 30-yard field goal by Przemysław Portalski. McKean ran it in again from the same distance in the second quarter to give Gdynia a 17-0 lead, a score that would hold until the intermission.
McKean moved the attack into the air in the third quarter, putting the Seahawks up 24-0 with a 19-yard strike to Paweł Fabich, and Jan Domagała made it 31 straight points for the visitors with a short touchdown reception in the fourth quarter. Husaria quarterback Martay Mattox-Hall hooked up with Damian Kościelski twice in the waning minutes to bring the final margin down to a more respectable number.
Up Next:
Husaria (0-1): at Tychy Falcons (0-1), April 8
Seahawks (1-1): at Białystok Lowlanders (0-1), April 9
Warsaw Eagles 43, Wrocław Outlaws 0
Ząbki, Poland
Photo: Marcin Fijałkowski / Interception
The Warsaw Eagles made their 2017 home debut a winning one, taking advantage of early turnovers to burst out to an early lead on their way to a 43-0 victory over the Wrocław Outlaws on Saturday evening. Every single player on the active roster made it onto the field for the Eagles, whose first-half explosion meant that a running clock was instituted for the entire second half.
The Outlaws were undone by mistakes in the first quarter, with a fumble on the first play from scrimmage leading to an 8-yard touchdown pass from Karol Żak to Adrian Grudzień. Darian Lindsey then intercepted a pass on Wrocław’s second possession and took it back 67 yards for a score, giving the Eagles a 12-point lead before four minutes had expired. Żak followed that by lofting a deep pass into the waiting hands of Ezekiel Graham in the end zone, and a Marcin Łojewski field goal made it 22-0 after just a quarter of play.
Żak was sharp all evening long, finishing the game with three touchdown passes. His third was a 21-yarder to young receiver Aleksander Kawiarowski that made it 29-0 in the second quarter. Graham added a 25-yard scoring scamper to turn the game into a blowout before halftime, and he scored his third touchdown of the game on a 5-yard run up the middle in the final quarter. The Eagles, currently tied with the Wrocław Panthers for the Topliga lead at 2-0, have a bye next week and will not play again until April 22.
Up Next:
Eagles (2-0): at Husaria Szczecin (0-1), April 22
Outlaws (0-1): vs. Wrocław Panthers (2-0), April 8
Wrocław Panthers 41, Białystok Lowlanders 21
Wrocław, Poland
The visiting Białystok Lowlanders showed on Sunday that they are here to compete for the top spots in the Topliga standings again this season, but it still wasn’t enough to get past the Wrocław Panthers in a game that ended 41-21 in favor of the reigning champions. The Panthers rushed their way past the Lowlanders, tiring out the Białystok defense on a warm and sunny spring day and getting all six of their touchdowns through the running game.
Timothy Morovick, Konrad Starczewski and Adam Skakowski all found the end zone at least once for the Panthers, but it was only the American quarterback who was able to get his name in the scorebook three times. Morovick finished off a long opening drive with a 9-yard touchdown and then cashed in from three yards out early in the second quarter after Skakowski had trotted 70-yards on one play to get Wrocław into the red zone. Morovick’s score put the Panthers up 20-7 on their way to a 27-14 halftime lead.
Aaron Knight played well in leading the Białystok attack, and a Lowlanders team that was making its season debut showed little rust in a performance that offered promise to those looking for contenders to put up roadblocks on the Panthers’ path to another championship. Knight ran for a score and threw for two more, with both touchdown passes ending up in the hands of Bartłomiej Trubaj. Starczewski finished the game with a pair of scoring runs for the Panthers.
Up Next:
Panthers (2-0): at Wrocław Outlaws (0-1), April 8
Lowlanders (0-1): vs. Gdynia Seahawks (1-1), April 9
Topliga Week Schedule:
Saturday, April 8, 4:00 PM: Tychy Falcons (0-1) vs. Husaria Szczecin (0-1)
Saturday, April 8, 5:00 PM: Wrocław Outlaws (0-1) vs. Wrocław Panthers (2-0)