Sunday, May 10 at 1:00 p.m.
5 Wins - 2 Losses
at
1 Win - 5 Losses
La Bella Valeria shows up for her first game of the season.
A good omen? She was injured playing roller hockey when she was crashed into a wall and is here to root on the Elephants and mostly her fiance, Peppe Strano, playing in his first game of the season due to an injury.
One goes on the DL as the other goes off the DL.
Gayle and David enjoy a biscotti during the game.
A wonderful sky greeted us to start the game.
The game started 20 minutes late because of the Panthers' plane touching down later than expected. I guess they fly Wind Jet too.
FIRST QUARTER:
Parma drives down the field and hits an 18 yard corner route for a TD, the PAT is good. The Panthers take an early 7-0 lead.
The Elephants turn the ball over on downs.
The very quick quarter, highlighted by both teams running attacks, ends. Parma is up 7-0.
SECOND QUARTER:
Parma continues to grind out the yardage and scores again on a 2 yard run. The kick is good and the Panthers are now up 14-0.
The Elephants get a good drive going, finishing it with a 15 yard TD pass from Arturo Sanchez to Taber LeMarr. The PAT is blocked. Panthers are still ahead 14-6.
The Catania defense stiffens as Parma turns the ball over on downs.
Arturo Sanchez hits Gregorio Barbagallo with a 30 yard strike over the middle for a TD. Larry Atkinson's 2 point PAT run is successful. Catania 14 - Parma 14.
The Elephants' defense rises to the occasion again forcing a Parma punt.
Catania takes a knee. The score remains 14-14 at the half.
The Big Red Machine getting ready to score.
THIRD QUARTER:
The Catania offensive line starts to dominate and Larry Atkinson scores a rushing TD from 1 yard out. The PAT is wide left, Catania takes the lead 20-14.
The Panthers come to life and hit a 17 yard TD pass. Their PAT attempt is good and Parma retakes the lead 21-20 as the quarter ends.
BIG PLAY in the making!
FOURTH QUARTER:
Catania starts the quarter poorly by throwing an interception.
The Elephant's defense puts out the fire and forces another Parma punt.
Taber LeMarr throws a 15 yard TD pass to Peppe Strano. Overexcited, Peppe's end zone celebration draws a critical 15 yards Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty. Fortunately for everyone concerned, I don't carry a gun to the games. Our 2 point PAT attempt will now be snapped from the 18 yard line. Peppe atones for his crime against humanity by catching Arturo's pass. The "scoreboard" now reads (as if we actually HAD a scoreboard) Catania 28 - Parma 21.
Parma shows their grit and drives a short field after their kickoff return to hit a 3 yard TD pass. They decide to go for two and the win but a Panther lineman jumps offsides moving the ball back to the 8 yard line. Parma now brings out their kicking team but their attempt sails WIDE RIGHT!!! Catania hangs on to their razor thin 28-27 lead.
HANDS TEAM! Parma has to onside kick with less than a minute left in the game. Pony Gulisano, the noblest Elephant of them all, recovers the onside kick. Arturo takes a knee three times and victory is ours!!!
FINAL SCORE: CATANIA 28 - PARMA 27
I know this picture was already on the blog's "IFL WEEK #10 Results" post but
HOT DAMN, WINNING IS SO MUCH FUN!!!
See what I mean?
The Elephants' patented post game celebration ritual.
VERY happy Elephant defensive players!
WEST COAST ELEPHANTS' PRIDE
Riccardo "The Rookie" Conticello had a GREAT day at corner despite breaking his nose early in the game.
I think that Gayle and David enjoyed the festive atmosphere that is Elephants football.
Seeing us win our first game in the two years I've been here versus a team with a winning record didn't hurt either!
Offensive Guard, Giulio Romano, helps me prepare for my off-season job as
Papa Natale.
Linda and Chris got to the game and got to see a real barnburner!
What a GREAT day to be an Elephant.
I must say that the key mental play of the game was a VERY physical run after catch by Gregorio Barbagallo in the second quarter a few plays before he eventually scored his lone TD. It set the tone for physical toughness the rest of the game.
I love the way our guys battled back from a 0-14 defict and just keep playing HARD! We now get to heal up a bit during our last BYE week of the season before traveling to Milan on Sunday, May 24th to play the 3-4 Rhinos.
GREAT JOB ELEPHANTS!!!
5 comments:
Here come the Elephants!
Clearly, Grisham featured the wrong team.
Congrats! It was only a matter of time until the Elephants got rollin'!
Great job Elefanti! However, it continues to amaze me how a country so crazy about "Calcio" can't find anyone to kick a PAT. You and Paul "Methuselah" Petrich are obviously doing a fantastic job.
Thanks for mention coach.
Let's keep winning!
Greg,
Great physical plays like you made tend to fire up your teammates and at least one old coach!
Keep up the good work!
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