The Sofia Bears dealt with the Bucharest Warriors

The Sofia Bears beat the Bucharest Warriors 26:6 and made their new coach Jason George’s debut a memorable one. The “Bears” were monstrous on defence, forcing five turnovers from their Romanian opponents and allowing them to cross midfield only twice. Player-assistant coach Nikolay Angelov shone with two interceptions and, on top of that, scored a touchdown on a kickoff return.

The game on the NSA’s auxiliary pitch was played, by mutual agreement, in two halves of 30 minutes each and, despite competition from an international rugby tournament being held nearby, drew a crowd many times larger. Among the spectators was USA ’94 hero Boncho Genchev. The “Bears” quickly went 13:0 up, as the Romanians’ first two drives ended in fumbles by running back Florin Cojanu. Straight after the second one, however, cornerback Adrian Popa intercepted a pass near midfield and ran 42 yards unchallenged into the Sofia Bears end zone for the only points the “Warriors” scored in the game.

The ensuing kickoff brought the most spectacular moment of the game. Nikolay Angelov initially dropped the ball but quickly gathered it and, using his teammates’ perfect blocks, sprinted 90 yards down the sideline to make it 19:6.

The behaviour of Bucharest Warriors defender Mihai Popovici left an unpleasant impression: after a series of dirty hits, early in the second half he managed to provoke a brawl, which the substitutes of both teams were quick to join.

“The lads have grown a lot in the three years since we started. At the beginning some of them couldn’t even do ten press-ups, and now they’re complete athletes. I’m proud of them,” said Jason George after the victory “Gatorade” shower.

The Sofia Bears’ next game is on 6 June at 13:00 on the NSA pitch against the Indjija Indians.

Author: YORDAN BOZHINOV

Source:  Sportal.bg