Zaglebie deals Spartans second straight home defeat, shuts out Warsaw 28-0

The Zaglebie Steelers Interpromex made their Topliga debut a winning one on Sunday afternoon, beating the home Warsaw Spartans by a score of 28-0. The win gave Zaglebie a measure of revenge for their 17-0 loss to Warsaw in last year's PLFA I semifinals. The Spartans were shut out for the second consecutive game at home, dropping their record to 0-2.

“We made one mistake after another today,” commented Roman Picheta, head coach of the Spartans. “Our receivers dropped a lot of good passes. It looks like we still have a lot to learn about playing in the Topliga.”

The Steelers, who had their scheduled season opener postponed two weeks ago, started the game on defense, stopping a long Spartans opening drive on fourth down near their own 30-yard line. Zaglebie then scored on their opening possession, which ended in a 2-yard touchdown run for Konrad Starczewski.

The Spartans offense sputtered for much of the first half, while the Steelers moved the ball behind the controlled passing of quarterback Travis Taylor and strong performances by Starczewski and fellow running back Maciej Szczerba. Starczewski gave Zaglebie a 14-0 halftime lead with another short touchdown run in the second quarter.

Neither team scored in the third, although Warsaw's inability to sustain drives took away from the drama of a possible comeback. Zaglebie put the game away with two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, the first a 7-yard run by Szczerba and the second a long interception return by Czech defender Ondra Chvojka.

Zaglebie team president Szymon Widera was pleased with his team's opening performance, commenting: “We were a little nervous before the game, but everything worked out the way we hoped it would. We played awkwardly at the start, probably because we weren't able to get in any preseason games this year due to the bad weather. The 28-0 victory is a cause for optimism, but we are getting into a very difficult Topliga season and we will need to constantly improve the level of our game.”