April 1, 2025
Panthers vs Kings
First victory after a close finish!
After the Kings’ loss in the first round of the season in dramatic fashion—after overtime in a game against the Rebels, where both teams traded blow for blow—the Kings faced another tough challenge this weekend.
On Saturday, the team from Kraków traveled to Wrocław to take on the Panthers, the flagship brand of Polish football, a team that needs no introduction to any fan. This season, the Panthers return to league competition with a roster made up mainly of junior team graduates and veterans who serve as the backup squad for their European League of Football team.
We knew this would be a tough game, and it was immediately billed as the game of the week. Last week, the Wrocław team defeated the Tychy Falcons at home, 20-14.
The game started well for the Kings. From the opening whistle, quarterback Louie Barrios played with confidence, delivering precise passes and posing a constant rushing threat when needed. His first deep pass in the first quarter was dropped by Szymon Lorenc, but in the very next play, Krzysztof Karp (#83, WR) opened the scoring by catching a long pass from about the 40-yard line for the first touchdown. Unfortunately, the extra point attempt was unsuccessful, as kicker Marcin Masłoń’s kick was blocked by the Panthers. Kings led 6-0.
In the first quarter, Wrocław responded with a deep pass to the 17-yard line to Tomasz Brudziński (#24, WR), who shortly after caught a TD pass from his quarterback, Joshua Cartwright. Brudziński was an aerial threat all afternoon for the Kings’ secondary, playing an outstanding game. He was undoubtedly the standout performer for Wrocław.
Before the end of the first quarter, a deep ball was caught for the Kings by Tomasz Skowroński (#14, TE), setting up the offense at the Panthers’ 17-yard line. The drive was capped off by a short run from running back Bartosz Woch (#8, RB), though the two-point conversion attempt failed when a short slant pass to Krzysztof Karp (WR) was batted away by Wiktor Zięba from Wrocław. The Kings led 12-7.
After catching a deep pass from Cartwright to wide receiver Kacper Chorążewski, the Panthers moved significantly closer to the Kings’ end zone.
On third down, QB Cartwright mishandled the snap but managed to recover and, with a desperation throw, found Chorążewski open in the end zone, changing the score to 13-12 for the hosts. The extra point attempt was unsuccessful.
On the next possession, the Kings responded with a rushing touchdown by RB Jan Szwej (#6), followed by a successful two-point conversion caught by Tomasz Skowroński (#14, TE).
The Panthers quickly answered back, converting a crucial fourth down at the Kings’ 15-yard line. Cartwright rolled out and once again found Kacper Chorążewski (WR) in the end zone. The game was tied at 20-20.
For the Kings, Bartosz Woch was particularly impressive, continuously threatening the Panthers’ defense, which struggled to stop his rushing attempts.
The next touchdown belonged to Woch once again, as he ran into the end zone to give the Kings a 27-20 lead.
Wrocław continued to press, with Tomasz Brudziński being an ever-present danger. He was unstoppable, catching everything thrown his way. However, the Panthers’ final drive before halftime ended in failure, as the Kings’ defense stopped them on four downs at their own 10-yard line. The Kings then took a knee to run out the clock and head into halftime with the lead.
The third quarter saw the first turnover of the game. First, Kings’ QB Louie Barrios fumbled while trying to hand the ball off to Woch (RB). Then, the Panthers once again failed to convert on fourth down, as the Kings’ defensive front stopped Cartwright’s QB sneak.
The fourth quarter opened with another series of accurate passes from Cartwright to Kacper Chorążewski, who caught yet another TD pass, tying the game at 27-27. Was this heading to overtime again?
On the next drive, the Kings methodically moved the ball down the field and finished it off with another rushing touchdown from Bartosz Woch (RB). The Kings took a 34-27 lead.
The Panthers quickly responded with another spectacular pass from Cartwright to Tomasz Brudziński (WR). However, their extra point attempt failed, as the Kings blocked the PAT (point after try). This turned out to be one of the key moments of the game.
After that touchdown, Panthers’ head coach Jakub Samel made a surprising call, opting for an onside kick—which the Panthers successfully recovered!
The hosts then focused on burning as much time as possible while closing the gap to the Kings’ end zone. They knew that a successful field goal would secure their second win of the season.
With the Panthers close to the Kings’ end zone, facing a 3rd-and-10, QB Cartwright was sacked. This pushed Wrocław back by two yards, but then disaster struck—the Panthers failed to get the snap off in time, resulting in a five-yard delay of game penalty!
That set up the climax of the game: 4th-and-17, about 48 yards from a game-winning field goal. However, due to the long distance, the Panthers’ coach decided to go for it on offense. The ball was snapped, but Cartwright was sacked once again!
Game over! We did it!
For formality, Louie Barrios took a knee, and the Kings could finally celebrate a well-earned first victory of the season. Once again, it was a battle of blow-for-blow action, with drama unfolding until the final seconds.
After a strong offensive performance and an overall great game, we can be optimistic about the future.
Now, the Kings have two weeks of rest before another massive clash in the Polish Football League, where they will host the defending champions, the Warsaw Eagles.