ROTA, Spain – The Rota Admirals are heading back to northern Italy. And this time the stakes are higher.
Rota downed Vicenza 28-6 on Saturday in the semifinals of the DODEA-Europe Division II football playoffs, setting up a rematch with Aviano for the championship.
Wesley Penta was the offensive star for Rota, rushing for 113 yards and three touchdowns. On defense, Alex Bozwell had 11 tackles, including five for losses, and Brenon Colvin (nine tackles) and Kaleb Helvey (seven tackles) also starred.
The Admirals have already played the Saints twice this season, including a season-opening 20-0 victory in Spain that didn’t count toward the divisional standings and a 24-21 defeat in Italy on Oct. 19.
Defending champion Aviano defeated Naples 24-10 in the other semifinal game Saturday. In past years, the championship game has been held with the other two divisional finals in Kaiserslautern, Germany. But DODEA recently determined the highest seed in Division II would host the final game.