The Finnish U17 American football team won the Nordic Championship gold medal in the final game played on Saturday in Vantaa. Denmark was defeated in the final by an overtime decision of 14-20 (7-7, 14-14).

The Danish youth gave a tough challenge to Finland in the American football championship final played on Saturday at Myyrmäki Football Stadium. The Danes held the lead throughout the match, and Finland only overtook them with an overtime goal.

The evenly contested match remained scoreless throughout the first half. The first scoring play was credited to Denmark’s Noah Helm, who broke free from several Finnish tacklers after catching the ball and carried it 14 yards for a touchdown. Helm also made the extra point kick to give Denmark a 7-0 lead.

It seemed that the match would go into halftime with Denmark in the lead, but Finland’s safety Raul Khalifa intercepted Asger Riisen’s pass and ran the ball for a spectacular 62-yard TD. Hugo Vähäkuopus made the successful extra point kick, and the score was tied at 7-7 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Denmark first took the lead with Oscar Andersen’s one-yard touchdown catch and Helm’s successful extra point. Finland quickly responded with a beautiful pass from quarterback Juulio Vahla to Luukas Eerola, who made an impressive 79-yard run for a touchdown. When Vähäkuopus’ kick went through the uprights, the score was tied at 14-14.

The fourth quarter was scoreless, and the game went into a rare overtime. Finland received the first offensive possession in overtime and managed to carry the ball into the end zone. Finland’s third TD was credited to quarterback Juulio Vahla, who ran the ball four yards for a touchdown. When Finland’s extra point kick failed

Photo: Jarmo Vehkomäki