2012 Tournament Champions Ensenada Diablos/
2012 Torneo campeones Diablos Ensenada

In August of 2013 the Super 8 Football League will start it’s second year and play a full 2 round home and away schedule and the league will be expanding from 4 teams in the past seasons tournament to 5 to 7 teams for the up coming season. Which will begin in mid to late August and carry through the end of October start of November. The season will be played in a double round format meaning each team plays each team twice, once home and once away. Confirmed teams for the 2013 season are:

Diablos Ensenada (Head Coach/Player Javier Mragente)

The Diablos are the returning champions and have a solid all around squad, they played 6 games in 2012 and compiled a 5 win and 1 loss record. The Diablos offense was led by a corps of running backs that did a great job of making explosive plays, and the passing game was a great compliment to keep defenses off balance. With a solid offensive line and new QB at the end of the season the Diablos solidified themselves at the top of the chart, the Diablos defense was solid but was the definitely the weaker of the 2 units especially in the passing game. Led by key players Owen Mragente and Joshua Smith the Diablos will be looking to defend their title and their turf.

Strengths: The Diablos have the best home field environment in the league and with their rowdy fans and dynamic offense they will be the favorite to once again be in the finals competing for their 2nd Championship.

Weaknesses: The Diablos have been vunerable on defense in their loss to the Astros in Mexicali and the 2 games of the year against the Thundercats the Diablos secondary had difficulty against the pass and with their only  road trip against a tough opponent they returned from Mexicali with their only loss, we still have yet to see the Diablos tested on the road. With Joshua Smith leading the secondary the Diablos are looking to strengthen their pass defense in 2013.

Duo Sports Thundercats (Head Coach/Player Justin Mc Kenzie)

Since 2011 the Thundercats have been known as the San Diego Thundercats and are one of the 2 founding teams of the Super 8 Football League. The Thundercats finished 2-2-1 while playing all their games in Mexico crossing the border from San Diego. Tying their rivals the Astros in the Classic battle between teams and playing the 2 most exciting games of the season back to back in Ensenada the Thundercats are making a change back to their origninal or rather international name of Duo Sports Thundercats and are now moving their base of operations to Tijuana and recruiting from TJ to make a stronger squad. Led by Justin Mc Kenzie and Mark Andrews from San Diego, in addition to Inaki Zarate from Ensenada, and Serio Gonzales from TJ, the Thundercats new format will give them an edge on returning to top form.

Strengths: Speed and explosiveness. The Thundercats scored in the passing game more than any other team and with arguably the best WR corps in the league the Thundercats can score from anywhere at anytime. The secondary which led the league in interceptions is another big reason the T-Cats are always in the mix as they create turnovers and scores with 5 INT’s brought back for TD’s the defense is a dangerous unit.

Weaknesses: The Thundercats never had a consistent gameday roster due to the continuous travel into Mexico and it left the team consistently playing with only 9-13 players. The Thundercats also had issues with stopping the run as evidenced by tough games against the Diablos and Astros, the Thundercats need to beef up their run defense.

Astros Mexicali (Head Coach/Player Manuel Padilla)

The Astros along with the Diablos and Thundercats are favorites for the 2013 title. The Astros only played 2 games in 2012 but were 1-0-1 with a win over the Diablos and a tie with the Thundercats. The Astros are by far the most physical team in the league and are led by a hard hitting defense which in it’s only 2 games was still the best in the league holding the Thundercats explosive offense to only 18 and the Diablos to only 6 points. Led by Manual Padilla on defense and Vicente Alaniz on offense the Astros are poised to be a force in the 2013 season.

Strengths: Defense is king for the Astros and they by far have the top defense in the league complemented by the leagues top RB in Vicente Alaniz it will be difficult to beat the Astros once they get a lead as scoring is very difficult against them and Vicente seems to get stronger as the game goes on and can take a game over at any point with his running ability.

Weaknesses: The passing game on offense and defense is the weak point of the Astros. In their 2 losses to the Thundercats it’s only the Thundercats high powered passing game that has been able to crack the almost unbreakable Astro defense and offensively when the Astros have been forced to pass it has not turned out to be the best situation for them. The Astros have a solid passing game but it’s built off the run and if you can force the Astros to play catch up you have a chance.

New Teams

Rhynos Ensenada (Head Coach/Player Eduardo Soltero Padilla )

Tecos Tijuana

Possible New Teams

Huracanes Ensenada

Lynx Tijuana

In it’s first year the Super 8 had a solid beginning only 1 game all season was cancelled 3 of the 4 teams that started the season are returning, members of the Tijuana Aztecs are now either a part of the Thundercats or Tecos and the league is expanding. With players such as ex-NFL  and Mexican National Team player Manuel Padilla, ex European player Sergio Gonzales, and ex CFL/Arena/European player Justin Mc Kenzie the league will be covered internationally by the website touchdown-europe.net, giving our league exposure to Europe and beyond as we will be the 3rd league outside of Europe to be covered by the football news site and Justin Mc Kenzie will be inducted into the Touchdown Europe Hall of Fame this spring. Big things are coming on the horizon for the Super 8 Football League, be a part of the excitement.

Los Astros junto con los Diablos y los Thundercats son los favoritos para el título de 2013. Los Astros sólo juegan 2 juegos en 2012 pero terminaron 1-0-1 con una victoria de los Diablos y un empate con los Thundercats. Los Astros son el equipo más físico de la liga y son dirigidos por un defensa golpea duro que en él sólo 2 juegos seguía siendo la mejor de la liga la ofensa explosiva Thundercats a sólo 18 y los Diablos a sólo 6 puntos. Dirigido por Manual Padilla en defensa y Vicente Alaniz en la ofensiva los Astros está preparada para ser una fuerza en la temporada 2013.