2014 Regional Champions

The Connecticut Panthers defeat the Brooklyn Seminoles in the North-East Regional Championship

PANTHERS HEADED TO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP… AGAIN

DELAND, FLORIDA- After two exciting wins against National powers, for the second year in a row the Connecticut Panthers are heading to Florida in January for another National Championship title shot. “The past two seasons has been a lot of fun” said Coach Welch, “these guys know how to win big games”.

Two weeks ago the Panthers defeated the highly touted Albany (NY) Metro-Maulers 28-20 to win a North-Atlantic Championship Crown. “Last season we won the North-Atlantic and was eligible to head to Florida; this season was very different.” The Brooklyn Seminoles, one of top two teams in the country all season, was in line to host the Panthers for an epic battle for the North-East Regional Championship.

Defeating the Seminoles in the preseason, the Panthers knew this game could possibly be different. “These guys only lost to us and the Central Penn Piranha this season; we knew they were going to give us their best effort. As expected, Brooklyn jumped on the Panthers 22-0 going into the half. “Although we were down we knew we could come back in the second half” said Jamie Bryant, “that’s what we’ve been doing all year.” As he’s done for the past few years in both the NEFL playoffs and the National title run, the multi-talented Bryant saved his best for when his team needed it most. Bryant had a rushing score along with an 80 yard kickoff return for a score. When the defense started to creep towards the line of scrimmage, Bryant burnt them with touchdown strikes to Akwan Shabazz and Naciki Reid. With the defense only allowing a Seminoles field goal in the second half, the Panthers walked away with a 25-23 victory and a chance to repeat as National Champions.

“We have a very special group of guys on this team” said Bryant, “we never panic and we know what we need to do to be successful; I love playing with these guys.”