2011 EFAF Cup Preview

International play is one of the most fascinating features of the European Football season each spring and summer. The best clubs of Europe from the preceding season are offered the opportunity to not only represent themselves in combat, but their countries as well. The Eurobowl tournament has already been introduced showcasing national champions from 8 separate countries. The second tier tournament that sees just as much, if not more, competition is the EFAF Cup. The EFAF Cup has been played since the merger of two other European tournaments in 2002. None of the teams who are in the competition this season have won an EFAF Cup tournament, therefore a first time champion will be crowned later this summer. 9 countries and 11 clubs are represented in this year’s field spanning from the breathtaking British Isles across Central and Southern Europe to southeastern Serbia. This tournament is a good variety of champion teams from smaller leagues in smaller nations to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place teams from larger leagues. 8 of the 11 teams this year were either national champions or runners-up in their respective nations in 2010. The parity of the competition is evidenced by the fact that only one club has repeated as champion since the beginning of the contest. The teams are placed into groups and begin the tournament in the Group stage. Groups of 3 will all play one another the winner determined by 2 wins or best point differential in the event of a 3-way tie. Hohenems and Kragujevac will play one game in Austria on April 10th, with the winner advancing to the semi-finals.

In Group 1 (seen on the map in Green) we see the only team that has had the opportunity to play in an EFAF Cup final in the entire field. The Thonon Black Panthers (France) lost the 2009 Cup final to the Prague Panthers. After a year playing in the higher level tournament in 2010, the Eurobowl, the Panthers are back to display their international firepower against last year’s runner up in the Czech Republic, the Prague Black Hawks, and the Milan Rhinos of Italy. The Hawks 2010 Czech finalist, and Rhinos will have an opportunity to show that they are ready to be regarded as tournament teams to be reckoned with.

The Hohenems Blue Devils (Austria) and Kragujevac Wild Boars (Serbia) face off in Group 2 (seen on the map in Blue). The Blue Devils and Wild Boars are used to international play. The Devils have been competing for the past 2 seasons in the Central European Football League (CEFL). They also played their entire 2010 schedule in the Switzerland Football League despite the fact that the team hails from the westernmost part of Austria, Voralberg. Kragujevac got into this tournament last season and produced a worthy team, unfortunately they were grouped with the eventual champion in the first stage the Swiss Calanda Broncos. After beating Rome, the Broncos handed them their out card for the tournament 45-20.

The third Group (seen on the map in Red) gives us a showdown of 3 western European nations in England, France, and Denmark. 2 of the 3 teams from this group battled in last year’s EFAF cup. The St. Ouen Cougars from outside of Paris lost in the semi-final of the French national championship, and were 1-1 in last years competition beating the Amsterdam Crusaders (Netherlands) and losing a 5 point game to the Blitz of London (England), which would have advanced them to the next round. The Sollerod Gold Diggers (Denmark) won their second national championship in a row last season, but were a 1 and done team losing 26-3 to the Carlstad Crusaders of Sweden in the group stage. They bring their 1st place attitude to this tournament once again. Finally, from England, last year’s runner-up the Coventry Jets round out Group 3, and bring both EFAF and EFL experience to the tournament.

Group 4 (seen on the map in Purple) has to be the most competitive of all of the groups, at least on paper. There are 2 national champions and one runner-up from 2010 in the group. The Amsterdam Crusaders lost twice in the EFAF Cup last year, but turned that around by rattling of 6 wins in a row including the national championship of the Netherlands in July. The London Blitz, who beat the Jets in the English championship game, also won twice in this very stage of last year’s EFAF Cup beating the Crusaders of Amsterdam and the Cougars of St. Ouen before being ousted by the Crusaders of Carlstad (Sweden) in the semi-final. The Spanish runner-up Valencia Firebats played a step up last season in the Eurobowl tournament climbing out of their group stage in that tournament by going 1-1 against the Bergamo Lions (Italy) and the Elancourt Templiers (France) having the best point difference among the three. They finished international play at the hands of the Innsbruck Raiders (Austria) in the quarterfinal of the EFL. This year they should have success in the lower tournament, but a tough draw with 2 league champions in their path may spell disaster.

Whatever is to occur, expect a lot of excitement this Spring surrounding one of two highly contested international football competitions known as the EFAF Cup. In order to understand a bit more about this thrilling international competition, For the Love of the Game has been blessed with the opportunity to correspond with two successful head coaches in the following interviews.


Enjoy these brief interviews, and enjoy the EFAF Cup as well.

Stan Bedwell, Head Coach / Quarterback, Kragujevac Wild Boars

For the Love of the Game: Stan you take over a team that you were a part of a couple years back, traveling to Austria for a 1 game winner take all situation. What do you think of the Wild Boars' setup?

Stan Bedwell: The setup could be a bit better, because we are the only team in EFAF Cup without a home game and we have a long trip ahead of us. At the same time, we know that we are just one win away from advancing to the semi-finals. I guess it all depends on how you choose to look at it. Regardless, we are very excited about traveling to Austria and playing the blue devils. We have a lot of respect for their entire organization and we're looking forward to a competitive game on April 10th.

For the Love of the Game: The team finished 1-1 in last year's tournament, losing to the champions in Calanda in the group stage. What do you think the chances are for a more experienced group of Boars players this season?

Stan Bedwell: We believe that we have just as good of a shot as anyone else in the tournament. Right now excitement within our program is at an all-time high. We are practicing 4-5 days per week and averaging 60+ players. The work-ethic and dedication of our domestic players is really inspiring. In addition, we have added two excellent imports in Jeremy Payton (Arizona State) and Bryan Payton (Oregon State). They are both doing a great job and our players are feeding off their enthusiasm. I will not make any predictions for the tournament, but our team will prepare and expect to win each time we step on the field.

An article describing Stan's accomplishments in more detail can be viewed by following this link: Stan Bedwell a true football traveler.

Larry Legault, Head Coach, Thonon Black Panthers

For the Love of the Game: Is it difficult for the players to put a halt on their aspirations to win a national championship for a week and play in an international tournament? What's more important to the players, French Title or an EFAF Cup Title?

Coach Legault: The european contests add flavor to our schedule. Discovering new opponents and travelling to interesting cities are a bonus for our players and volunteers. I can't really rank the competitions but I would venture a guess that the French Championship would still mean more to the guys.

For the Love of the Game: A win in the Eurobowl in 2010, what can we expect from the Panthers in the EFAF Cup, a tournament that the team reached the finals of just 2 seasons ago?

Coach Legault: We've had a rough start to our season here in France; we need to improve in several phases of play if we expect to be at all competitive in the EFAF Cup.

For the Love of the Game: The Panthers Opponents, Rhinos Milan and Prague Black Hawks were 4-4 and 5-4 in 2010 with no international competition between the two teams. Does the previous experience give the Panthers an edge?

Coach Legault: Teams can change so much from one year to the next - for better or for worse. It's almost impossible to accurately anticipate a team's level of play without any previous direct competition. A team may have a modest won-lost record but play in a superior league; or they may have benefitted from several key transfers and have recruited three outstanding imports; or their budget may have doubled! It's just so difficult to evaluate these things. Previous experience in these competitions can help but only if you have the same nucleus of players. I would also add that it helps if you're on the road (travel experience) but it doesn't make that much of a difference when you're at home.

Crusaders get stronger (and bigger)

I’m very excited to announce that two player-coaches have made decisions to join the Carlstad Crusaders for the 2011 campaign. The announcements were relayed from General Manager, Rikard Borg; one last week and one this week. Daniel Holmgren and Chris Vicory, both offensive linemen, are going to be two huge additions to the team for the Eurobowl tournament and the Super Series (Swedish Football League).

Holmgren, originally from a small Swedish town about 350 miles north of Karlstad on the Gulf of Bothnia, was voted top offensive lineman in Sweden in 2010 after a highly productive year both playing O-line and acting as the offensive line coach. After his successful season he was offered a job to play for the Bern Grizzlies of Switzerland, and an opportunity to be co-offensive coordinator. Due to unforeseen circumstances Bern was unable to meet their end of the contract, and as a result the Crusaders landed one of the best players in the country for another year.

In addition to Holmgren, Chris Vicory has agreed to the terms of a contract and signed up to coach the offensive line and coordinate the running game strategy in conjunction with QB, Eli Cranor, and has the opportunity to play in the Eurobowl tournament due to the difference in import regulations in international play. Vicory enjoyed two successful seasons playing Offensive Line at Humboldt State University and immediately following his senior season joined on the staff, led by head coach Rob Smith, as a graduate assistant. Vicory’s endless ability to dominate tasks, and his natural talent for understanding the game of football are what landed him this job. Personally, he is a wonderful guy to be around and as a result will be a superb addition to the ranks this summer.

Holmgren and Vicory will prove to be two intricate additions to an already high-quality lineup that the Crusaders have. Two things are for certain with these transactions, the Crusaders just got a whole lot bigger and a whole lot better.

French play is underway

France has been on a rapid rise across Europe as prime developer of real American football talent. In the summer of 2010 France made it to the final of the European Championships losing to Germany after having beaten Sweden and Great Britain. Recent International success for the clubs in France is testimony to the development of the league as well. Paris and Thonon runners up in 2009 EFL to the Swarco Raiders from western Austria and EFAF to the Prague Panthers display the impact that French teams are having on the competitive European scene. This year expect more of the same with the French Champions L’Amiens Spartans playing in the Eurobowl, and the 3rd place team Thonon Black Panthers and 4th place St. Ouen Cougars in the EFAF cup.

Going 11-1 last year and winning the championship of France were the L’Amiens Spartiates hailing from about an hours drive north of Paris, France. They have added to their ranks a former St. Louis Rams player in Sebastian Sejean. Sejean started his career in Amiens, spent 4 years at Canada’s Laval University before joining the Rams practice squad in 2008. Alongside Sejean will be longtime European football veteran, QB Perez Mattison. After finishing his career at East Carolina Mattison brought his game to Europe. He is entering his 10th season in France, has thrown for over 15,000 yards and 100 tds making him one of the most prolific players in the league this year. He’ll also be handling playcalling duties for the Spartans. The 2011 Spartiates are going to be on a new journey searching for more of last year’s luster both in repeating the French title win, and for the first time in the Eurobowl. They’ll face last year’s 3rd place team in Spain, the Badalona Dracs, who thus far look to be much improved starting the season 1-1 including a 50 point drudging of the crosstown Barcelona Bufals. The only team to beat the Spartiates in 2010, the St. Ouen Cougars in the last week of the regular season 13-22. Florian Thiery reported to europlayers.com that in France, 2011 looks to be the year of the Spartan once more.

Also reported on europlayers.com the Paris Flash lost the French title last season for the first time since 2005. Along with their 5 year reign atop the French 1st division, they had also risen to the #2 ranking in Europe once, losing to the Innsbruck Raiders in the 2009 Eurobowl final. The Flash won’t be around this season to represent international excellence as they have elected to forego the Eurobowl and EFAF tournaments; however, they will be very much in the hunt to rise to the top of the league in France. Finishing 7-5 last season is not the dominance that we’re used to seeing from the Paris squad. They went 1-2 against the Thonon Black Panthers, but beat them when it counted, in the playoffs. They had a tough time against the other two title contenders in France going a totoal of 1-4 against Thonon and Amiens, but a perfect 6-0 against other French teams. Looking for more in 2011 the Flash have revamped the offense with the signing of head coach Camron Olson and QB Lyle Moevao, as well as bringing in a stout LB in John Breza. Olson, former coach at Southern and Western Oregon helped lead the Innsbruck Raiders as the QB/WR coach to the 2010 Austrian Final and EFL semifinal. Lyle Moevao, a quarterback from Oregon State, and Breza from Western Oregon (D2) are two signs that the Flash mean business in 2011, more specifically want that trophy back.

Another main contributor to the competition in France will the the Thonon Black Panthers. This southeastern French club finished 8-3 in 2010 losing to the Flash in the semifinal 6-28 after having beaten them twice in the regular season by 12 and by 5 as well as entering the playoffs on a 4 game heater (winning streak). Internationally the Panthers found debatable success last year beating the dragons of Belgrade 55-0, but losing big to the dragons of Vienna just a few weeks later. Imported players for 2011 will be Fred Wells, WR from Northern Michigan (FCS). This is his second season for the Panthers proving that he fits in well not only on the field but socially as well. He scored 11 times last year gaining 919 yards by reception. A second receiving threat is Chris Bergeski a wideout from Southern Connecticut State (D2). This is his first trip over the Atlantic, and should be a highly productive one playing opposite Wells. The Panthers will be a force in 2011.

The St. Ouen Cougars had a fair 6-5 French season in 2010. They competed internationally as well but came up short of their goals losing to the Amsterdam Crusaders by a score of 27-14. This season the Cougars have signed QB Kevin Craft of UCLA and OT Chris Werden from Elon University (FCS). Both players have been highly advertised signings who each drew looks from NFL teams last spring. They’ll help the Cougars compete in France, and for another year in the EFAF cup. The Cougars are slated to play the Sollerod Gold Diggers of Denmark and the Cassidy Coventry Jets from Great Britain later this spring.

The Aix-En-Provence Argonauts finished the year 4-6 in 2010 and have brought back QB Adam Kruse for a second stint in France. A graduate of the University of Mary (D2), Kruse played in Finland before joining the Argonauts last year. Also on the team is O-lineman Jonathon Bower a Canadian from McGill University in Montreal. He’ll play both offensive and defensive line for the Argonauts this spring and summer.

Last year the Elancourt Templars were one of two French clubs to win nationally and internationally finishing 6-4 in France and 1-1 in Eurobowl play. They beat the Bergamo Lions of Italy 29-3 and lost to the Valencia Firebats of Spain 35-18 missing out on the quarterfinal round by virtue of a tie-breaker to the Firebats. Key wins inside the French region were against Thonon and St. Ouen as well as losing to the Flash and Spartans by 5 points each.

The Nice Dauphins (Dolphins) and Grenoble Centaurs round out the league this season coming off disappointing 3-7 and 1-9 seasons. Nice has added QB George Hines, North Carolina A&T (FCS) and O-lineman Doug Palmer from East Carolina while the Centaurs have yet to announce any signings for 2011.

An automatic update for you as the French league kicked off this past weekend. The Centaurs have matched last year’s win total coming up with a 28-14 win over those very Dolphins of Nice in the first week. The Flash beat the Cougars from St. Ouen by a point, while the Argonauts and Spartans dominated performances against the Panthers and Templiers. Much, much more can be expected from this and other leagues as we continue on For the Love of the Game, 2011 European football.
After a week off last weekend the Spanish league enters its 3rd week of play with the undefeated Pioners facing this year's expansion club the Las Rozas Black Demons (1-1) from a suburb of Madrid. The Firebats (1-1) are at home in Valencia against the traveling Bufals from Barcelona (0-2). While the Badalona Dracs (1-1) play host to the Osos (Bears) Rivas (1-1) also in Madrid. These two teams will identify themselves either in the top half or the bottom half of the league following this game.