Vysočina Gladiators hold off Přerov Mammoths to reach Czech Bowl with 18-13 semifinal victory

The top-seeded Vysočina Gladiators are headed back to the Czech Bowl after surviving a determined challenge from the fourth-seeded Přerov Mammoths, earning an 18-13 victory Saturday in a defensive Snapbacks League semifinal before 586 fans in Jihlava.

The Gladiators will now face the Nitra Knights in the championship game after reaching the title contest for the second straight season.

Defense takes control early

Points were hard to come by from the opening kickoff as both defenses controlled the line of scrimmage.

The Mammoths moved the chains on an early fourth-down conversion to Kučera but couldn’t sustain the drive. The Gladiators answered with a 20-yard completion to Peprný, only to come away empty after failing on fourth down.

Neither offense found much rhythm through the opening quarter, and every yard had to be earned.

The breakthrough finally arrived midway through the second period. After Tomáš Průša came up with a tackle for loss that forced another Přerov punt, quarterback Vít Bezecný guided the Gladiators down the field, mixing the running of Jan Dunovský and Matěj Krahula with timely throws. Bezecný finished the drive by finding Matěj Majerčák on a 14-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 lead.

The momentum stayed with the home side after Matěj Krahula intercepted Nicolas Visser. The takeaway led to a 28-yard field goal by Petr Čermák, sending Vysočina into halftime with a 10-0 advantage.

Photo: Martin Pech

Special teams swing the game

The Mammoths finally broke through early in the fourth quarter when Daniel Kamiński powered in from six yards out to trim the deficit to 10-7.

Any momentum, however, disappeared almost instantly.

Kevin Sherman fielded the ensuing kickoff and raced 100 yards for a touchdown. Jan Dunovský added the two-point conversion, stretching the Gladiators’ lead to 18-7 in one of the game’s defining moments.

Gladiators close it out

To their credit, the Mammoths refused to go away.

Despite facing long-yardage situations after penalties and another sack by the disruptive Průša, Visser kept the drive alive with several key completions before connecting with Filip Novotný on a 10-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion failed, leaving Přerov trailing by five with 3:43 remaining.

The Mammoths never got another opportunity.

The Gladiators leaned on Heard and Dunovský to grind out first downs, draining the remaining time before Bezecný took the final knee. It wasn’t the highest-scoring game of the weekend, but Vysočina delivered in all three phases when it mattered most and earned another shot at the Snapbacks League championship.