LIVE STREAM: German Quarterfinals – Ingolstadt Dukes @ New Yorker Lions, Sat. Sept. 16 – 6p CEST (12p EDT)

AFI | American Football | 09/16/2017

Graphic: Igor Lazarevic

The Braunschweig New Yorker Lions head into their fifth consecutive German Football League quarterfinal round Saturday Sept. 16 at Eintracht Stadion in Braunschweig to face the Ingolstadt Dukes, newcomers to the league this year.

The 14-0 Lions, who finished first in the GFL North will face an Ingolstadt team (4th in GFL South) that only qualified for the playoffs on the second last week of play during the regular season. They finished with a 7-7 record.

Nevertheless, the Dukes, boasting the second best passing attack in the league this year, behind only Braunschweig, averaged 276 yards passing a game. However, Ingolstadt faces a daunting task in facing the most dominant team in the past five years in Europe.

Key player comparisons

Quarterbacks

Braunschweig quarterback Casey Therriault is the key to the best offense in Germany in 2017 scoring 609 points in 14 games as he threw for 3,459 yards and 44 TDs (5 ints) with the highest efficiency in Germany. One of the keys to Therriault’s effectiveness is his ability to keep plays alive, buying time for his receivers to get open. Webster though had the highest passing yards per game with 298.1 yards per game. Expect aerial fireworks.

Running backs

Lions running back David McCants is having another banner year for the Lions rushing for 1,400 yards and 14 TDs. He was the third leading rusher in the league this season and balances Braunschweig offense. Dukes running back Jerome Morris was only called upon when needed as obvious for his 102 carries and 349 yards.

Receivers

Lions top receiver Niklas Romer if healthy has been one of the steadiest receivers in the league for many years. Lorenz Regler of the Dukes has had a breakout year, breaking the 1,000 yards receiving mark with Rick Webster throwing to him.

Linebackers

On a Lions defense that allowed a mere 9.4 points per game, Roni Salonen led all tacklers. His counterpart for the Dukes, Josh Morgan anchored a defense that improved through the season.