It’s been a few weeks since my last update here, but now I’m back, hopefully for the rest of the season. A lot has happened on the Finnish football fields, even with top dogs and the bottom ones remaining quite the same. So, here’s a checkup for each team and their current ranking in my books.
1 – Helsinki Roosters (7-1)
The Helsinki Roosters have dominated the league throughout the season and show no signs of slowing down. During week 10 they faced the struggling Steelers with a convincing 34–13 victory. Ethan Greenfield rushed for 4 touchdowns while Bryce Nunnelly caught one in the endzone.
The upcoming week is another chance for the Roosters to show they deserve the number 1 spot as they face the Seinäjoki Crocodiles. It may well be the toughest game they have for the rest of the regular season. The last time these two top dogs faced each other the Roosters took home the win with a solid passing game. This time the Roosters defense faces the well-rested, coming off bye week, Crocodiles offense, so there’s no certainty on who will take the W home on Saturday.
2 – Seinäjoki Crocodiles (6-2)
The Seinäjoki Crocodiles have been one of the best teams this year, and now they face the league leader, the Helsinki Roosters, after a bye week that was clearly needed. The Crocs need to have their defense as sharp as possible when facing threats named Greenfield and Nunnelly. Meanwhile, their own offense with the likes of Christian Powell, the Särkelä brothers and J’Kobi Jason Reddick stands a chance with fresh legs and a hunger to take the top spot of the league.
3 – Porvoo Butchers (6-3)
The Porvoo Butchers are a mystery yet again, as they were last year. They have won their games against the bottom teams, but the Kuopio Steelers remain the only winning team they have beaten. Week 10 was a chance for the Butchers to show off the depth of their defense again, with Timi Nuikka disrupting the Helsinki Wolverines’ offense and young Ukko Pakkanen picking his first interception of the season to finish the game. Porvoo’s defense was not the only part shining on the field with Micky Kyei making a hat trick and Brandon Gwinner delivering pass touchdowns for multiple receivers.
For the Butchers to make a case of themselves as a contender for the season, we need to see at least one big victory against a winning team during the rest of the season. They should use their bye week now to do absolutely everything they can to come up with a plan to take Ws from the remaining games.
4 – Kuopio Steelers (6-3)
The Kuopio Steelers, who have earlier been ranked on the top spot of the league, have since fallen down a few spots. Losing their starting quarterback Josh Taylor has caused a wider identity crisis and the effort of both Choates (Noah & Jonah), Austin Brock and Jamarcus Henderson, among others, has not been enough to prevent the losing.
This week the Steelers face the Wasa Royals, who are certain to aim for the win to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Savonians need to get their act back together. They are still among the playoff contenders but there is pressure to keep the position for the remainder of the season.
5 – Wasa Royals (3-5) with comments from Alpha Jalloh
The Wasa Royals have not had the season they would have liked to have. I checked with the Royals’ cornerstone, wide receiver Alpha Jalloh, about how he feels now. “The season has been below expectations. We have not played up to the Royals football level”, he says. The Royals still have a chance to make the playoffs. “We need to win every game and maybe get some help from the other teams”, Jalloh says and continues
“The best we can do is to take it one game at a time”.
The Royals face the Steelers this week. “We respect the Steelers, they’re a great football team”, Jalloh says. “We need to win it. If we play Royals football and keep up the level in all phases of the game, we can beat them”.
I also asked Jalloh about Ballers International: What do they do and why should the athletes pay attention to them? “We are platform for athletes all over the world, young and older. We do mentorships, host football camps in exotic locations, have a podcast highlighting athletes across the globe and make highlight videos”, Jalloh replies.
“So if people want to be showcased and show their experience in football or any other sport, we like to highlight them on our platform.”
American Football in Finland collaborates with Balles International this season, and we provide them with a Top 10 collection of the Maple League plays each week, curated by us. Check out the latest Top 10 video below:
6 – Helsinki Wolverines (1-8)
The Helsinki Wolverines have kept on trying to get better this year, but they just haven’t gotten a hold on their game. With only one win at this point, they can kiss the playoff dream goodbye and focus on being an opponent to teams that still have the higher stakes. Last week they visited the Porvoo Butchers and drove back to Helsinki with a 56-3 loss in their pocket.
This week the Wolverines have a chance to get their second win as they host the Lohja Crusaders, whom they have beaten already once this season. For that to happen, they need to remember that Kevin Adams and William Young cannot be the only ones they trust with the ball, or the Crusaders defense will quickly get a hold on them.
7 – Lohja Crusaders (1-8)
The Lohja Crusaders are the strugglers of the year, but last week they gave us a hint of their skills when they beat the Wasa Royals with the final score of 37-41. The Pick-6 by Alonso Muñoz certainly made the Crusader nation feel like the team could still be something.
Crusaders have some great names in their roster. Oskari Suoniemi, Bryce Macina and Moses Harris have made their offense a decent one, but the defense needs to step up if they are to provide a serious opponent for the other teams.
MAPLE LEAGUE CONTINUES
We still have a few good regular season rounds left for the Men’s Maple League. Please check back later this week when we look at Women’s Maple League Playoff picture and remember to contact us on socials. If you are interested in Ballers International, slide into their DMs on Instagram for further details.
Here are this week’s Maple League games:
Lohja Crusaders – Helsinki Wolverines, Thursday August 1st at 18:30
Wasa Royals – Kuopio Steelers, Friday August 2nd at 18:30
Helsinki Roosters – Seinäjoki Crocodiles, Saturday August 3rd at 16:30
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