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December 1st, 2008
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Perfect finish

Panthers capture ČLAF title with 28–13 win over Lions in Super Bowl

By Dave Faries
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
August 1st, 2007 issue

Photo by Jaroslav Kratochvil
Rumbling his way to victory, Miroslav Dopita of the Panthers breaks past Lions defenders David Folejtar (35) and Jiří Šubotník.
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Score by quarters

Lions 0 5 0 8 - 13
Panthers 14 14 0 0 - 28

Scoring
Q1: Pan: Dopita 1-yd TD run (conv. failed); Pan: Dopita 82-yd fumble recovery TD (Shrum conv.). Q2: Pan: Dopita 20-yd TD run (conv. failed); Lio: Safety (team); Pan: Shrum 31-yd TD run (Kolek conv.); Lio: Jantoš 22-yd FG. Q3: None. Q4: Lions: Dundíček 4-yd TD rec. (Jantoš conv).

Rushing
Lions: Formánek 11-60; Jantoš 4-11; Dundáček 1-3; Meyer 1-2; Navrátil 2- -3
Panthers: Víšek 12-117; Dlouhý 10-102; Shrum 7-50; Dopita 7-34; Lancaster 1-5; Fürst 1-3; Beneš 1- -13
Passing
Lions: Navrátil 11-34 162 (1 TD, 2 INT)
Panthers: Shrum 2-11 40 (0 TD, 1 INT)
Receiving
Lions: Dundáček 4-47; Daňhel 3-57; Hlavatý 2-33; Jantoš 1-19; Geisler 1-6
Panthers: Lancaster 2-40

Few people would argue with the assessment of Prague Panthers head coach John Srholec after his team took home its first Super Bowl title in three years.
“We have the toughest quarterback in the league,” he said.
The Panthers’ signal caller, Jacob Shrum, earned offensive MVP honors in his team’s 28–13 victory over the Prague Lions July 28. All season long the American import directed Srholec’s complex veer offense like a wizened veteran.
But the Panthers’ sixth championship since 1997 in the country’s American football league turned on an opportune play and two other scores by defensive end and fullback Miroslav Dopita.
The little-heralded two-way workhorse stopped the Lions’ opening drive when he forced quarterback Libor Navrátil to hurry a throw on third down. He then capped the Panthers’ first possession with a one-yard touchdown plunge.
Down 6–0, the Lions stormed back. Running back Michal Formánek started things off with a 16-yard burst over the left side. Navrátil hit Michal Geisler for a short gain then turned back to his ground attack, moving the ball with confidence into Panthers territory. After finding Aleš Daňhel open across the middle for 20 yards, a go-ahead touchdown seemed certain.
Eight yards from pay dirt, the unlikely occurred. Navrátil bobbled the snap and the ball popped into the air as Dopita burst through the line on a defensive stunt.
“I just grabbed it and took off running,” Dopita said. “I was afraid to look around.”
By the time he crossed the opposite goal line, 80 yards away, Dopita had slowed considerably.
“I couldn’t run any further,” he said.
Although big defensive lineman Che Johnson claims to have disrupted the center-quarterback exchange by blasting quickly into the Lions’ front wall, Navrátil blames eagerness.
“They were blitzing through all four holes,” he said. “We had a running play on and might have scored. I just pulled away too quickly.”
After a successful two-point conversion, the Panthers held a 14–0 advantage.
“That was the biggest play of the game,” Shrum said.
The Panthers started their next possession deep in the hole — but not for long. Tailback Ondřej Víšek took the ball on a counter, found a gap as wide as Charles Bridge in the Lions’ defense, and scampered 54 yards untouched until forced out of bounds by speedy cornerback Ladislav Jenšík. Three plays later, Dopita — again — romped into the end zone, putting the Panthers on top 20–0.
“Our defensive game plan was based on stopping their fullback, but we couldn’t do it,” said Lions coach Martin Kocián. “It took us the whole first half to adjust.”
All week the Lions practiced against scout team players running the veer. They moved linebackers Jiří Šubotník and Michael Vondráček to the defensive end for added speed. Still, the Lions weren’t prepared for the Panthers’ quickness or Shrum’s triple-option finesse. Srholec’s backfield, including Víšek, Dopita and Martin Dlouhý, racked up 236 yards on 22 first-half plays, an astounding 10.7 average gain each time they touched the ball. Shrum tacked on the final touchdown of the first half on a 31-yard keeper.
Yet the Lions ended the first 30 minutes of action with positive momentum, first securing a safety and then pushing the ball into field-goal range, cutting the Panthers lead to 28–5. The Lions trotted back onto the field to begin the third quarter with renewed confidence.
Throughout the period, however, the Panthers stifled any comeback attempt through a combination of ball control and strong defensive play. With a deadly rhythm — Víšek over the right tackle, Víšek to the left, Shrum sweeping right, Dopita into the middle — they consumed almost seven minutes in their first turn at offense.
So thorough was the Panthers’ clock management effort that the Lions held possession for only five plays in the third quarter.
“It’s hard to score when you don’t have the ball,” Navrátil said.
The final period amounted to a lot of sound and fury, signifying very little. Time after time, the eventual champs offered up tempting opportunities to their rivals. They gave up 100 yards on nine second-half penalties, including three personal fouls. Twice in one drive holding calls wiped out Panthers scores.
But the Panthers defense, led by the hard-hitting play of Jan Bartoš, Daniel Krejbich, Milan Fürst and Miloš Hildebrand, stiffened when it counted.
Champions the past three years, the Lions mounted one more drive, one last reminder of their place in the Czech football world. Navrátil found his tight end, Jan Dundáček, to score the final points of a long season.
When the Super Bowl was over and his team celebrating their long-awaited return to the top, Srholec looked back on a remarkable four months.
“It was a perfect season,” he said of his undefeated Panthers. “You don’t get too many of those in your life.”

Dave Faries can be reached at dfaries@praguepost.com


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