Dušan Lalić intercepted Mark Bencsics‘ pass in the fourth quarter and took it 10 yards to the end zone, for another Belgrade touchdown that essentially killed any hope the Wolves might have had for turning the score around, no matter how unlikely that was.
If the Wolves felt that they were the better team in the finals‘ loss last year, it’s the last thing that could be said about Saturday’s game. The Vukovi led from start to finish, having mostly a double digit lead throughout the game, with only an occasional competitive spark from the Wolves.
With people leaving the stands of the stadium on Margaret Island the Wolves had nothing left and the game ended with the 42-17 score.
The 2007 runner up from Budapest hasn’t been able to overcome the loss of several players from last year — in what turned out to be their third loss this season, the 19 year old Mark Bencsics started at quarterback, but except for doing something with his feet, his interceptions turned to touchdowns twice. Not that he had much of a chance with the Vukovi’s now recognizable defense getting the best of yet another team — he also left the game injured near the end.
Krisztian Piros was the lone bright spot for the home team, catching a touchdown pass from Bencsics in the second quarter to cut the lead to 14-10 and to give his team some hope after a disastrous start that saw the Vukovi score two quick touchdowns.
The margin increased to 18 before the half in no time, on two touchdowns by Jordan Green; one on a 2 yard run and one on a 10 yard reception.
William Blocker scored another notable kickoff return touchdown, deep from his own end zone, at the beginning of the second half after the Wolves had cut the deficit again on a 9 yard scramble by Bencsics, but Green was again the Vukovi’s best offensive player, scoring a total of three touchdowns in the first half and getting plenty of impressive catches.
Belgrade opened the scoring with a 50 yard pass from Nemanja Petković to Green, and then Marko Bates returned an interception for a touchdown for the second time this season, getting his team the big lead minutes into the game.
Petković passed for two touchdowns and no interceptions and running back Željko Kostić had another good game despite not scoring any points. Unlike the Wolves, the Vukovi have survived player losses and transitioned to almost a completely new offense — without quarterback Briton Burge, two starting receivers in Andrej and Pavle Tasić, the offense has played probably even better this year.
Big reason for that is of course Green, but Petković has also taken advantage of the opportunity that has presented to him, playing his best season after missing last year altogether because of injury and sitting out most of the prior seasons behind then quarterback Andrej Tasić. He has so far passed for 10 touchdowns and only one interception.
