Crew only undefeated team remaining after Devils beat Eagles 36-13

Luke Balch returned to action for the Wroclaw Devils and fired three touchdown passes to Grzegorz Mazur in a 36-13 win over the Warsaw Eagles on Saturday in Wroclaw. The loss was the first of the season for the Eagles, and it left them in a tie for second place with the Devils, a game behind the unbeaten Wroclaw Crew.

The Eagles played nearly even with the defending champs for much of the first three quarters, and in fact Warsaw led 7-0 after a quarter of play. Those opening points came on a five-yard touchdown run by Adrian Felinski. Unfortunately for the Eagles, Mazur exploded in the second quarter, going for touchdowns of 64 and 75 yards that gave the Devils a 13-7 halftime lead.

Warsaw very easily could have been the team ahead in the locker room, but they were unable to convert twice in the first half after reaching the red zone. They got as far the the ten-yard line on their opening drive, before two sacks pushed them back and they were unable to convert a field goal attempt.

Balch, who was questionable coming into the game, hit Mazur again in the third quarter to extend the lead to 20-7. The teams then traded empty possessions before Tyrone Landrum, like he's done so many times before, took a punt return 92 yards all the way back to get the Eagles back into the ballgame. The score stood at 20-13 at the end of the third quarter.

The Devils continued with their bend-don't-break defense in the second half, and the Eagles got near the red zone again late in the third quarter before turning the ball over on downs. They weren't able to get much more going in the way of offense after the Landrum punt return, and the Devils pulled away in the fourth quarter with 16 more points. The final nail was a 33-yard fumble return for a score by Filip Borowski.

With both teams now at 6-1, there is a very good chance that they will meet again in the PLFA I semifinals. There is very little chance that they will be caught from behind, but the Eagles still could nab the top spot with a win over the Crew in their next game, on June 11 in Warsaw. The Devils play next on June 12, at Kozly Poznan. If the Devils do eventually finish in a tie for second with the Eagles, they will get the home-field advantage in the playoff game thanks to their win on Saturday.