Pavlovic scores three more as Poznan romps at home 39-7 over Steelers

Kozly Poznan continued to assert themselves as the 'best of the rest' in the Topliga on Saturday afternoon, recording a comprehensive 39-7 victory over the visiting Zaglebie Steelers Interpromex. Steelers coach Jason Blasko pulled his team off of the field with 8:20 remaining in the third quarter, citing the risk of injury to his players due to perceived officiating mistakes as the reason for doing so.

Because the Steelers were losing at the time of the forfeiture, the final score and all statistics from the game will count in the standings. Although the repercussions of Zaglebie's actions are yet to be known, PLFA President Jedrzej Steszewski issued a statement after the game indicating shock and condemnation at the forfeiture. He supported the officials in his statement, and hinted at the possibility of sanctions for the Steelers as well.

Zaglebie was done in mainly by the quarterback-receiver combo of Jeffrey Corleone Legree and Ivan Pavlovic. The two imports hooked up for three touchdowns in the shortened contest. The first two of those scores gave Kozly a 13-0 lead at the end of a quarter, and Legree had a short touchdown run near the beginning of the second quarter to make it 19-0.

The Steelers righted the ship at the point, and they pulled to within 19-7 late in the quarter on a long touchdown pass from Travis Taylor to Mariusz Ostapowicz. However, Kozly answered back in the hurry-up offense. Taking the snap with eight seconds remaining, Legree fired deep downfield to Pavlovic, who drew a pass interference call on the play. That gave Poznan one last untimed down, during which Legree lobbed a 35-yard touchdown pass to Bartosz Trawinski to put Kozly ahead 25-7 at halftime.

Things really began to unravel for the Steelers after the break. Legree started the quarter off with his fourth touchdown pass of the day, a 44-yarder to Pavlovic. That was followed quickly by a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown by Szymon Barczak that made the score 39-7. The final play of the game was another interception by Poznan, after which the Steelers refused to continue.

The win for Kozly, now 3-2, keeps them in contention for a playoff spot in the North Division, although their chances are somewhat diminished by the fact that they have already lost twice to the Warsaw Eagles. That would give the Eagles the tiebreaker advantage at the end of the season if the two teams finish with the same record.