Gdynia puts away pesky Silesia 35-6 to begin the season 2-0

A strong crowd in Gdynia welcomed Poland's champions for their first home game of the season on Sunday afternoon, and they were rewarded with a 35-6 Seahawks victory over the visiting AZS Silesia Rebels. The game was the first of the season for the Rebels, who did not play during the first weekend of the campaign due to a postponement, while the Seahawks improved to 2-0 to begin the season.

The 2013 Topliga's premier quarterback-wide receiver combination so far dominated Silesia during the contest, as Ferni Garza connected with Jeremy Dixon for three scoring passes, giving the pair six such hookups on the year. Gawel Pilachowski also repeated his impressive opening game performance by running for a pair of touchdowns.

The game went back and forth early on, as the Rebels hung with the champions for much of the first half. Gdynia's opening drive ended in an interception off of a tipped pass, but Silesia was unable to capitalize on the opportunity. The Seahawks offense, minus Sebastian Krzysztofek, who left the game due to injury, returned to the field and this time Garza hit Dixon with a 13-yard touchdown pass to give Gdynia the lead.

The Rebels struck back later in the quarter, however, after a second Seahawks turnover gave them another short field with which to work following their failure to capitalize on a failed onside kick attempt after the Dixon touchdown. This time, Michal Kolek hit Polish national team wide receiver Zbigniew Szrejber with a 20-yard touchdown pass. The PAT attempt was no good, however, and the Rebels trailed 7-6.

The Gdynia running backs took over the game in the second quarter, pounding on a Silesia defense that spent the majority of the game on the field. Dixon scored again early in the quarter to move the tally to 14-6, and the Silesia offense began to struggle from that point. Gdynia was stalled by another interception as halftime approached, but they got the ball back and Pilachowski plunged in from a yard out before time expired to give the Seahawks a 21-6 lead.

Silesia continued to fight in the third quarter, gaining chunks of yardage on their opening drive of the second half before being stopped and forced to punt. Pilachowski then scored again on the next Gdynia possession, putting the Seahawks up by three scores. Gdynia's defense continued to bend without breaking the rest of the way, and Dixon's 30-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach.