German Football League stats leaders battling for playoff lives

With the final two weekends of play in the in the 20 week German Football League regular season coming up, the leaders in passing, receiving, rushing and tackling are all in heated post season determining battles.

The Dresden Monarchs with leaders in the receiving (Mitchell Paige) and tackling (AJWentland) categories will need both to perform at the highest level in the next two weeks to have a chance to keep home field advantage in the playoffs.

German Football League rushing leader, Potsdam Royals RB Tyvis Smith, will be put to the test in a head-to-head matchup against the number two rusher, Cologne Crocodiles RB Shayeen Edwards, when the two face each other on a crucial battle for the fourth and final playoff spot in the GFL North.

The league’s leading passer, Justin Sottilare of the Allgäu Comets, will need to be on the top of his game against the Munich Cowboys in a key game this weekend with huge playoff implications.

The  Potsdam Royals have 4 players among the Top 5 in 4 categories to lead the league. The Allgäu Comets and Dresden Monarchs both have three players among the Top 5 in 4 categories. Following them with one are the Munich Cowboys, Cologne Crocodiles, Stuttgart Scorpions, Kiel Baltic Hurricanes, Hamburg Huskies, Marburg Mercenaries, Berlin Rebels, Frankfurt Universe and Braunschweig New Yorker Lions .

The absences are the Schwabisch Hall Unicorns, Hildesheim Invaders, Kirchdorf Wildcats and Ingolstadt Dukes who do not have any players on the lists.

Passing

Allgäu Comets QB Justin Sottilare is facing a huge challenge this weekend and stills leads the German Football league in passing with 3,917 yards and a league-best 41 TDs. although ho only had 140 yards this past week and had 88 yards passing in a loss to the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns a couple of weeks ago. Sottilare has set a record for passing attempts in a game (84), and still leads the GFL in average yards per game with 343.4. Trenton Norvell of the Dresden Monarchs keeps creeping closer after throwing for 250 yards in a key win over Cologne. He holds on to 2nd with 3,408 yards and 40 TDs. Munich Cowboys QB Trenton Miller is still 3rd with 3,047  yards . The Cowboys were idle but Miller threw for 402 yards in a win over the Marburg Mercenaries a couple of weeks ago. Austin Gahafer of the Potsdam Royals threw for 245 yards and 4 TDs in a big win over Kiel and has moved back onto the list in 4th with 2,755 yards. Braunschweig New Yorker Lions QB Jadrian Clark is 5th with 2,703 yards and 35 TD passes.

Receiving

As he has done the entire season, Mitchell Paige of the Dresden Monarchs tops all receivers in Germany and has caught 105 passes for 1,646 yards and a league-leading 21 TDs. He had another great game last week against the Cologne Crocodiles catching 8 passes for 116 yards and 2 TDs  He will need to be on top of his game down the stretch to earn home field advantage in the playoffs. Allgäu Comets WR Jordan Paul is still 2nd with 1,175 yards and is also battling while  Frankfurt Universe WR Tim Thomas holds onto 3rd with 1,085 yards. Kai Silbermann of the Munich Cowboys is at #4 with 1,018 yards while Frederik Myrup-Nielsen of the Potsdam Royals is 5th with 1,071 yards after a 121 yard day against the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes.

Rushing

Tyvis Smith of the Potsdam Royals retains his rushing lead after another huge game last week when he rushed for 226 yards against the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes. He now has 1,397 yards and 11 TDs. Cologne Crocodiles RB Shayeen Edwards is still 2nd and has 988 yards and 8 TDs while Hamburg Huskies RB Colby Goodwyn holds on to 3rd with 959 yards. Giacomo DePauli of the Stuttgart Scorpions stays in 4th with 788 yards while Berlin Rebel’s Dutch RB Sean Richard is 5th with 744 yards and 10 TDs.

Tackling

AJ Wentland of the Dresden Monarchs is truly a tackling machine. Last week he recorded 14 tackles in Dresden’s win over Cologne and  he continues to lead the league in tackles by a wide margin and  now has 163 tackles in 12 games. He has had 3 games of 20+ tackles.Neil Howey of the Marburg Mercenaries stays 2nd, now with 126 tackles. Demetrius Steed of the Potsdam Royals remains in 3rd with 116 tackles while Kiel Baltic Hurricanes LB Thiadric Hansen is 4th with 93 tackles. Allgäu Comets LB Niall Padden has slid down to 5th although he is injured and has 89.

Graphics: Igor Lazarevic