Kozly alone in fourth after 33-12 home victory over Tigers

Kozly Poznan waited nearly 11 months for their last victory, their first of the 2012 Topliga season. They waited only two weeks for the next one, however, breaking open a tight game in the third quarter to take a 33-12 win over the Dom-Bud Krakow Tigers. The win moved Kozly into sole possession of fourth place and the final playoff spot.

Kozly have gotten things together after losing their first four games of the season, and they are now looking to build momentum for a postseason run. They were sparked in this one by one of their recent free agent signings, Mark Philmore, who ran for three long touchdowns. The Tigers, meanwhile, lost their fourth straight game since beating Poznan on April 1.

The two teams played close in a first half that was dominated by defense and the weather, which was cold and rainy. The game did not start well for Philmore, who was intercepted on Kozly's opening drive by Michal Bury. The defender scored the game's first points by taking the interception back 58 yards for a touchdown. Kozly recovered later in the first quarter, and a short Tomasz Moruszewicz touchdown run and successful conversion attempt gave them a 7-6 lead after a quarter of play.

Kozly extended the lead to 14-6 by halftime, on the strength of a 25-yard touchdown run by Philmore. He scored again early in the third quarter to make it 20-6, before the Tigers offense, which never managed to get rolling in the first half, was finally able to reply. Krakow cut the lead back to eight points when Filip Moscicki finished off a solid drive with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Thad Gaebelein.

Kozly put the game away quickly after that, however, with Philmore's third score followed immediately by a short interception return for a touchdown by Pawel Muzolf. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter, and Poznan was able to comfortably run out the clock to move one step closer to the playoffs. Poznan is now 2-4 on the season, a game ahead of both the Tigers and the AZS Silesia Rebels.

Both squads will have tough challenges in their next games, which will come against teams that are almost surely playoff-bound. Kozly will be on the road to face the 5-1 Wroclaw Devils on May 19, while the Tigers will take on the 4-2 Warsaw Eagles a day later in Krakow.