PHANTOMS WIN OPENER

The defending champs rode a 4 TD performance from quarterback Harry Knopp to a cozy 42-12 victory over Boise as another Elite Football League season kicked off in Boise. Leroy Rivera added a pair of rushing TD’s while also hauling in 2 of Knopp’s TD throws. Edward Huff caught the other two scoring *****. Elsewhere around the league…

Cobras 22, Crusaders 19 (OT) – Herman Kramer tied it up with a 56-yarder in the final 2 minutes of regulation, then won it with a 46-yard kick 2 minutes into the overtime period to steer the Cobras to an exciting Week 1 win.

Americans 15, Islanders 3…Daniel Dehner won a 5-1 shoot-out of kickers to put the I CAN in the Americans’ winning effort. Only one of the five kicks came from beyond 40 yards as Dehner’s team did a good job of getting him close, but could never find a way to finish once on the edge of the red zone.

Event 18, Snappers 16…Thomas Goodwin blew up a 2-point conversion attempt with 1:33 to play to prevent the Snappers from tying the game late and forcing OT. In making the play call, the Snappers took the ball out of the hands of QBV Jason Rodriguez, who had thrown for 297 yards in the contest.

Red Rocks 31, Thunder 9…Brian Armstrong was 20-for-24 for 302 yards as the Red Rocks blasted their way to 24 first-half points and rolled to a comfortable 31-9 victory on opening night.

Dragons 24, Wallabies 9…Karl Flores returned a kickoff 102 yards for a TD to help the Dragons tie down the Wallabies by a 24-9 count. David Puddy threw for 325 yards but was also picked 3 times in the contest, including 2 by veteran corner Paul Perez.

Stampede 26, Bandits 3…speaking of interceptions, the Stampede picked the Bandits 3 times to roll to victory in their game despite just 205 yards of total offense. The turnovers led to 13 points by the Stampede, who also picked up a 107-yard kickoff return by Duncan Cisco to open the second half.

Assassins 19, Geechee 13…Columbus City harassed Geechee QB John Whitney into throwing three picks and completing just 17 of 37 pass attempts as they slipped their way to a 19-13 win. John Vaquez scored the only TD for the Assassins, who added four Harold Hill FG’s throughout the contest.

Witches 21, Hefty Buffalo 9…Franklin Ray ran for a pair of first-half TD’s as Salem scored three times in the first half and rode its defense from there to the opening victory. For the night, Ray had 137 yards on 21 carries.


Wild 23, Twisters 9…Milwaukee vaulted to a 17-0 halftime lead despite a pair of missed FG’s in the half to coast to a win over the Twisters. John Richardson threw for 283 yards in the contest.

Pterodactyls 6, Riptide 3…Roy Castro’s 50-yard field goal in the final minute delivered victory to Star city in a contest that had very little offense to bring the crowd to life throughout the night. The two teams combined for just 325 yards in the contest and neither side managed a play of more than 18 yards.

Tennessee 13, Wampas 9…Erwin Brown hauled in a 57-yard TD pass from Jerry Belk early on and then did just enough to stay in front of the Wampas the rest of the evening. The reception was Brown’s only catch in the contest.

Kings 34, Marauders 3…Lyon recovered from an early interception to score back-to-back TD’s and run away to a 34-3 victory over Reno. Benjamin Rojas added a 26-yard pick-six late in the contest to wrap up the scoring. Jesse Rodriguez rushed for 106 yards and a TD for the Kings.

Spartans 30, Bombers 10…Nathaniel Finley threw for 417 yards and two scores as the preseason call to win it all survived their first challenge by a comfortable 20-point final margin. Carlos Prado and Adam Bennett each topped the century mark receiving. Both men also caught scoring passes.

Talons 45, Coyotes 13…Jesse Hahn had the football flying everywhere around the stadium on opening night as he finished just 17-for-29, but produced 401 yards and 3 TD’s, including scoring throws to Anthony Dunn and Michael Belli as the pair topped the century mark receiving. Hahn was also guilty of 5 interceptions on the night, one of which was returned 26 yards by Thomas Wise for the Coyotes only trip into the end zone.

Crush 31, Bulldogs 17…Joseph Burke finished 32-for-41 with 353 yards and 4 TD’s to direct Canton past a resilient Bennington side. The Bulldogs only lead in the early going after Robert Holland’s TD run, but did enough to linger within striking distance for much of the contest.

Big fan of these. Thank you for taking the time.

Loved the "year in review" too.

Good luck everyone. Prove the computer wrong.

Unreal, Talons survive 5 1st Half INTS and still manage to put up almost 700yrds of offense! That's probably not the recipe for long-term success, but if I may... let me share the 1st ever carry for our 1st round pick:
https://theefl.myfootballnow.com/watch/3500#629662
TAKE IT TO THE HOUSE YOUNG BUCK!

PHANTOMS HANG TITLE BANNER

It was an emotional night as the Parlor City Phantoms got to unfurl the title banner in front of a raucous crowd of 76,320 fans. Having a high-stakes match-up against the Toronto team picked by one preseason publication to knock them from atop their pedestal probably didn’t hurt attendance either.

Through three quarters, the game delivered the slugfest it foreshadowed. Harry Knopp put the Phantoms on top early with a short TD flick to Leroy Rivera. The Spartans rallied from down 10-0 to tie the game with 5 ½ minutes to go in the third quarter when Dewayne Gaulke caught Nathaniel Finley’s pass and raced 75 yards to the house. But the fourth quarter saw the Phantom defense step up with James Rodrigues delivering the key play with a 41-yard interception return that set Parlor City up inside the red zone and set the stage for Edward Huff’s 2-yard TD run that made it a 22-10 game with 4:51 to play. The play came just minutes after Warren Reyes recovered a fumble that set up a Phantom field goal. The defense also produced a stop on downs that enabled yet another field goal to give the game its final margin.

Elsewhere around the league…

Americans 29, Event 13…Rochester jumped to a 16-0 halftime lead and never looked back as they held Maine to just 5 first downs. Alexander Thomas was 31-for-38 for 348 and a TD. Guillermo Jordan had 9 receptions for 126 for the Americans.

Red Rocks 31, Snappers 9…Elmer Montgomery ran for 100 yards and a first-half TD and QB Brian Armstrong threw for 2 more as Coos Bay took down the Snappers. The Rocks rolled out to a 21-0 lead in the first half of this one.

Crusaders 33, Islanders 14…Duncan Meyer took the opening kickoff 102 yards for a California score and John Germaine helped lift the Crusaders firmly into control with a pair of second-half TD runs.

Burn 9, Bulldogs 2…Aaron Erhart’s first-quarter sack for a safety gave Bennington a 2-0 lead that it held clear into the fourth quarter before Boise’s Nathan Rizzo booted a trio of FG’s, including two from 53 yards out, enabling the Burn to escape home with a win. Freddie Lee had interceptions to set up the first two Burn field goals.

Crush 29, Wild 12…Joseph Burke threw for 307 yards for Canton while Milwaukee had a nightmarish fourth quarter that saw them turn the ball over 3 times in a 29-12 loss. Richard Williamson had two interceptions as part of a 5 takeaway night for the Crush D.

Tennessee 7, Twisters 3…Israel Ingram’s goal line dive in the first quarter provided all the points Tennessee would need as the team with no nickname won 7-3. The victory came in spite of Tennessee never crossing midfield in the second half. Back-to-back late fourth quarter interceptions of Twister QB Russell Gargano shut down a pair of scoring threats in the final 6 minutes.

Wampas 17, Marauders 10…Joshua Allen and George Weiss had second-quarter TD runs and Aspen fans got to celebrate a football victory by winning for the first time in 19 games with a 17-10 victory over division foe Reno. Weiss finished with 168 yards in the contest for Aspen, which had last won in Week 15 of the 2026 EFL season.

Pterodactyls 6, Kings 3…Roy Castro’s 49-yard FG with 9 minutes to play proved to be the game-winner as Star City won a defensive tussle over the Lyon Kings. The two teams combined for just 338 yards of offense in an old-school style contest. The Kings will have plenty of regrets on the flight home as they lament three interceptions and a pair of missed FG’s, including a 54-yarder that fell well short as time expired.

Geechee 24, Riptide 6…Richard Shewmaker ran for two first-half TD’s and Alfonso Pendergraft added another as Charleston built a 21-0 first-half lead. The Geechee were able to hold on from there behind a defense that limited San Diego to just 151 yards in the contest.

Assassins 38, Coyotes 6…Columbus City scored touchdowns on 4 of its first 5 possessions to quickly pull away from the Coyotes. Fordham General and Ralph Blake combined for 292 yards of rushing and a trio of TD’s on just 30 carries for the Assassins. Michael Hardnett added a 19-for-21 display of accuracy slinging the football for an additional 232 yards for the Assassins.

Talons 30, Witches 16…Tallahassee picked off Salem QB Jonathan Embree 4 times and enjoyed a 2 TD night on the ground from Francis Jimerson to take the win. The miscues starved Salem of scoring chances in a game where they actually owned a 378-366 yardage advantage.

Hefty Buffalo 15, Thunder 13…Leonard Womack kicked his fifth FG of the night, a 24-yarder as time expired, to lift Fort Drum past Tacoma at the buzzer. Thomas Burkart threw for 229 yards for the Tremendous Tatanka.

Cobras 13, Stampede 9…Rancho Cucamonga fans might want to stock up on high blood pressure medicine this season. One week after an overtime win to begin the season, the Cardiac Cobras were at it again, this time needing a 2-yard incomplete touchdown completion – yes, you read that correctly…don’t ask me, that’s just what the play-by-play and box score both call it – in the final minute to take a win from St. Louis. Anthony Ford with 337 passing yards for RC. Arthur Alcaraz with 10 receptions for 116 yards, including the game-winner.

Wallabies 19, Bandits 14…Adam Donnelly kicked a pair of fourth-quarter field goals to rally Perth past Santa Fe 19-14. The result was a relief for the Wallabies, who owned a 409-180 yardage edge in the contest, but struggled to turn that disparity into points.

Dragons 27, Bombers 3…David Puddy threw a trio of second-half TD passes to help Glendora pull away from Brooklyn for a 27-3 victory. Puddy finished with 370 yards through the air. Jeffrey Titus had exactly 100 receiving yards for the Dragons.

GG Garrok.

GG CR, wasn't sure what to expect from the Witches - I know you'd be ready to play (evidenced by the yardage totals). We got lucky with the TOs this game, think we will take the W and get the heck out of town!

Let's give Broncos7nuggets some credit here. His top two RBs were injured going into the game which of course increases overall passing attempts. The Spartans defense is absolutely rock solid and can easily be considered one of the best in the league. Their secondary is like the Air Force and you can't have a wild gun slinger like Harry Knopp throwing too much against them. They also host a very fine set of linebackers and defensive ends that make running against them feel like chipping away on a mountain with a sledgehammer.

I had no choice but to battle him muscle to muscle.

GG wild, i love facing your team because i always feel like we are in a tight divisional race until the end. Or atleast our teams always show out and the score may not reflect it but it was a close one.

GG to the Crush as well. Yeah,it always feels like a death match when we square off,pickl. And see you again in 2 games,that almost feels like it is for the division title and playoff spot in only week 4!

Good games Crush and Burn! Had no idea this was the GG spot!