Eagles strike gold for the third season running! POLISH BOWL XXI review | Warsaw Eagles – Panthers Wrocław

The Eagles won the toss and deferred to the second half. Right from the opening plays, Panthers' outstanding Re-Al Mitchell made his presence felt, gaining more than 30 yards at times on keepers up the middle. The Panthers worked their way to our 30-yard line. On a crucial 4th & 2, Eryk Paszkiewicz stopped Krystian Stępczak's run and our offence could take the field. On our first drive we failed to reach the opposition half. Despite some good catches by Bruno Waszkiewicz, too many penalties and stoppages knocked us out of rhythm and we had to punt the ball back. Once the Panthers got the ball back, they very quickly found themselves right outside our end zone. Once again Mitchell and Stępczak were excellent. On a decisive fourth down, however, the Wrocław quarterback slipped on an outside run and we were able to start our next drive from around the 10-yard line. With so many running plays, the clock ran down quickly and the first quarter ended without a single point.

The points finally came in the second quarter, which we opened with solid runs from Jan Szwej and Stanisław Janik. Krzysztof Nosow hauled in a key pass that took us much closer to the opposition end zone. It looked as though Stanisław Janik had crossed the goal line on one of his carries, but the officials ruled that the next play would start from the 1-yard line. From there Vidal Woodruff found Bruno Waszkiewicz with a perfectly executed screen pass. He caught the ball in the end zone and we could celebrate our first points. A problem with the snap meant Filip Twardowski's extra point failed, but as it turned out, the extra points came a few minutes later.

When the Panthers failed to move the chains on one of their drives and were pinned back near their own end zone, they had to punt. Kacper Witkowski blocked the kick and the ball rolled into the end zone. That added two points to our tally by way of a safety. There was less than a minute left in the first half, but neither team had any intention of easing off. After we got the ball back, Krzysztof Nosow produced a superb return to set up field position at midfield. That was enough: three plays later Vidal Woodruff launched a long, 55-yard pass to the very same Nosow, who ran it into the end zone. Filip Twardowski added the extra point and it was 15:0. It seemed nothing more would happen in the first half, but the Panthers were keen to cut the deficit as quickly as possible. We only stopped the blue-and-blacks' return at our own 35-yard line, and with 6 seconds left in the second quarter Re-Al Mitchell threw a 43-yard pass to an unmarked Hubert Frej. He got past the defenders and made it into the end zone. Wrocław went for two, but Kacper Chorążewski couldn't hold on to the pass.

It seemed nothing could top the intensity of the end of the second quarter, but what the players served up in the third and fourth quarters was sheer madness!

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Q3 started innocently enough. Having won the toss and deferred to the second half, we opened the quarter on offence. We ran the ball and slowly gained 6–8 yards at a time. At one point Bartosz Gnoza, after taking a pass from Vidal Woodruff, found a bit more space down the right side, broke clear of the Panthers defence and ran untouched to the end zone. With a cushion on the scoreboard, we decided to go for two and it paid off. Vidal Woodruff found Bruno Waszkiewicz, who managed to catch the ball in the end zone. The Panthers lost momentum and made a costly mistake right after getting the ball back. On a running play the ball slipped out of the running back's hands and Tomasz Sętkiewicz recovered it. That put us back in possession very quickly, with just 25 yards to go for another trip to the end zone.

And that is exactly what happened. First Jan Szwej gained some ground with solid runs, then Stanisław Janik forced his way into the end zone to add more points for us. Filip Twardowski added an accurate kick and the scoreboard read 30:6. From that moment on the Panthers seized the initiative and did something the fans will remember for a long time.

Suddenly Wrocław started chasing the game and believing they could turn it around. Right after Janik's touchdown, Maksymilian Cybula scored for the Panthers, catching a long, 60-yard pass from Re-Al Mitchell. When we got the ball back, we were starting our drives from deep in our own territory, and the Panthers pounced when our quarterback accidentally lost the ball. Will Stricklin fell on it, and that gave our opponents more points. As if that weren't enough, Re-Al Mitchell added a two-point conversion with a keeper to the outside.

In an instant the scoreboard went from 30:8 to 30:20, and the Panthers' comeback wasn't over yet. Penalties and losses of yardage meant we couldn't pick up a first down on our next drive, so we had to punt. The Panthers added more points once they had the ball back. First Stępczak and Mitchell racked up plenty of yards on the ground, and when our opponents reached the 3-yard line, the blue-and-blacks' quarterback ran it in up the middle. Hubert Frej caught the two-point conversion and suddenly Wrocław were just two points away from levelling the score. Seeing how things stood and how quickly the Panthers had started scoring, we had to respond fast. First Krzysztof Nosow caught a pass that took our line of scrimmage into midfield, and then Bartosz Gnoza took a pass from Vidal Woodruff and raced into the end zone. Filip Twardowski added the point and the third quarter ended at 37:28.

Despite the heat and the pace both teams had set in the third quarter, neither side had any intention of letting up in the final period, and it got even more spectacular!

After quickly stopping a Panthers drive, we went straight on the attack. On a punt return we brought the ball to the Panthers' 46-yard line. Unfortunately we couldn't turn it into points, and the game settled into a spell of blow-for-blow exchanges. Both sides traded drives. Aleksander Dąda caught several excellent passes, but penalties and infringements meant those gains didn't bring the desired result. At one point, with the Panthers in possession, our opponents gambled on going for it on fourth down right next to their own end zone. It was a very risky call and, under heavy pressure, Re-Al Mitchell had to throw the ball into the ground. Possession changed hands and we quickly made the most of the short distance to the end zone. Krzysztof Nosow ran it in on a jet sweep. Moments later he added the two-point conversion, catching a pass from Vidal Woodruff, and that put us 17 points clear.

Wrocław set off in pursuit once again, and once again Maksymilian Cybula made his mark, catching a phenomenal, long, 65-yard pass from Re-Al Mitchell. Their attempt to run in the two-point conversion up the middle failed.

There were just over 6 minutes left in the game, and the fans had no idea they would still see three more touchdowns.

We answered the phenomenal bomb to Cybula fairly quickly. We tried to run down the clock to close the game out. When we were at the Panthers' 25-yard line, Vidal Woodruff spotted an unmarked Krzysztof Nosow. He threw the pass to him and Nosow scored another touchdown. Filip Twardowski added the point and it was 52:34. Even so, the Panthers refused to give up and once again Re-Al Mitchell launched a superb, long bomb to Maksymilian Cybula. Once again he made the catch flawlessly and added another 6 points for our opponents.

The closing stages of the game were like an exchange of punches in a boxing ring. The pace was frantic and we were seeing touchdowns every few minutes. The final, game-sealing points were scored by Bartosz Gnoza with a 15-yard run.

Polish Bowl XXI | Warsaw Eagles – Panthers Wrocław 58:40 (0:0, 15:6, 22:22, 21:12)

Q1

Q2

6:0 – 5-yard pass from Vidal Woodruff to Bruno Waszkiewicz
8:0 – Safety – punt blocked by Kacper Witkowski
15:0 – 55-yard pass from Vidal Woodruff to Krzysztof Nosow / Filip Twardowski +1
15:6 – 43-yard pass from Re-Al Mitchell to Hubert Frej

Q3

23:6 – 55-yard run by Bartosz Gnoza after a pass from Vidal Woodruff / Bruno Waszkiewicz +2
30:6 – 7-yard run by Stanisław Janik / Filip Twardowski +1
30:12 – 60-yard pass from Re-Al Mitchell to Maksymilian Cybula
30:20 – Will Stricklin fumble recovery in the end zone / Re-Al Mitchell +2
30:28 – 6-yard run by Re-Al Mitchell / Hubert Frej +2
37:28 – 9-yard pass from Vidal Woodruff to Bartosz Gnoza / Filip Twardowski +1

Q4

45:28 – 10-yard run by Krzysztof Nosow / Krzysztof Nosow +2
45:34 – 65-yard pass from Re-Al Mitchell to Maksymilian Cybula
52:34 – 33-yard pass from Vidal Woodruff to Krzysztof Nosow / Filip Twardowski +1
52:40 – 82-yard pass from Re-Al Mitchell to Maksymilian Cybula
58:40 – 15-yard run by Bartosz Gnoza

By beating Panthers Wrocław, we won the sixth Polish championship title in our history, and the third in a row. Thank you to all our fans, sponsors and partners for your support throughout the year. It wasn't an easy season. We went through many difficult moments and situations we had to work our way out of in no time at all, but with your help it was possible.

See you in the 2027 season.