Serbia: Kragujevac Wild Boars down arch rivals, Vukovi Belgrade in “Eternal Derby”

In the first “Eternal Derby” of the season in Serbia, the Kragujevac Wild Boars emerged victorious over the Vukovi Beograd, securing a 21-10 win on their home turf and setting the tone for the defense of their Serbian title.

The reigning champions started the game strongly, advancing the chains with runs up the middle, but failed to capitalize and were forced to punt. Vukovi managed to block the punt giving them a first and goal from the nine yard line. The Wild Boars defense rose up though and defensive back Strahinja Milenić made a key interception.

This interception proved to be a turning point, demoralizing the Wolves while invigorating Kragujevac. Behind the powerful running of Aphonso Thomas (SMU, NCAA Div. 1) the Wild Boars marched down the field. The drive was capped by a one yard plunge into the end zone by quarterback Corey Fields giving Kragujevac a 7-0 lead heading into the second quarter.

No changes were made to the scoreboard before halftime. Undoubtedly, the rain that fell affected both teams’ ability to display their full potential, but this should not overshadow the good performances of both defenses.

The Wild Boars’ secondary particularly stood out, with the pinnacle of their play coming in the form of a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown by the standout player of the match, Mihailo Petrović to increase the lead to 14-0.

Late in the third quarter, Vukovi finally put points on the board with a field goal from kicker Željko Stegnjaje (14-3). However, at the beginning of the final quarter, the Wild Boars dispelled any doubts about the winner as Fields drove his team down to the 12 yard line and then found tight end Aleksa Đokić in the end zone to boost the lead to 21-3.

Vukovi managed to score a consolation touchdown late in the game but it was too little too late and Kragujevac came away with an important win to open their season.