Europe #2 Schwäbisch Hall still undefeated, win against Munich

The Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns won their home game this past weekend at Optima Sportpark against the Munich Cowboys 24-6.

The Unicorns defense had to bail out its offense in the second and third quarter due to a lackluster offensive performance.

In front of 1,200 people, the Unicorns did not play their best football. The offense was not able to convert new first downs; especially the passing game was almost non-existing.

Schwäbisch Hall’s performance early in the game wasn’t all struggles, as the Unicorns scored with a 10-yard run by Danny Washington (PAT Tim Stadelmyr). They extended the lead with a 35-yard pass by Marco Ehrenfried to Tyler Rutenbeck, but missed not only the conversion but also a field goal earlier in the quarter.

After a series of punts by both teams, the Unicorns ended the half by scoring 18 seconds before the whistle, completing a touchdown pass to Joseph Joyner (PAT Stadelmyr) for the score of 20-0.

The audience were treated to three more touchdowns after a scoreless third quarter, one by Munich’s best player of the day Fabien Gärtner, and two by Schwäbisch Hall, one by pass (Ehrenfried to Nathaniel Robitaille) and one by run  (Danny Washington). Stadelmyr converted on both extra points.

The only downside of the game was the ejection of Devin Benton after he was called for illegal targeting. He will miss the next game due to his suspension.

Said head coach Jordan Neumann: “Munich was well coached and we made way too much mistakes. I did not like our performance today at all. We quickly realized that the Cowboys’ defense was prepared on stopping our big plays, thus we had to rely on our running game.”

Scoring Summary

Munich Cowboys (1-5) vs. Schw.Hall Unicorns (4-0)

Date: 03.06.2017  • Site: Schw.Hall  • Stadium: Optima-Sportpark  •  Attendance: 1191

Score by Quarters  Score 
Munich Cowboys   6 
Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns   13  14  34 
SCORING SUMMARY   MC -SHU  
1st  09:38  SHU   D.Washington 10 yd run (T.Stadelmayr kick) 
         6 plays, 70 yards, TOP 2:17  0 – 7 
  04:44  SHU   T.Rutenbeck 35 yd pass from M.Ehrenfried (T.Stadelmayr kick failed) 
         3 plays, 40 yards, TOP 1:20  0 – 13 
2nd  00:18  SHU   J.Joyner 15 yd pass from M.Ehrenfried (T.Stadelmayr kick) 
         11 plays, 91 yards, TOP 2:42  0 – 20 
4th  11:25  SHU   N.Robitaille 26 yd pass from M.Ehrenfried (T.Stadelmayr kick) 
         6 plays, 74 yards, TOP 1:42  0 – 27 
  07:22  MC   F.Gaertner 6 yd run (B.Wilkerson pass failed) 
         12 plays, 64 yards, TOP 3:54  6 – 27 
  01:45  SHU   D.Washington 1 yd run (T.Stadelmayr kick) 
         14 plays, 67 yards, TOP 5:34  6 – 34 

Leon Häfner began playing football for the Aschaffenburg Stallions at the age of 13 and currently plays for the Hof Jokers. Leon resides in Bayreuth, Germany where he studies Business Administration. You can reach him via his Twitter handle at