AFI Recaps the week of American football throughout Europe

AFI | American Football | 09/08/2021

Graphic: Igor Lazarevic Photo: Mikkel Rasmussen/1st Down Photo

It was another busy weekend of American football in Europe.

The German Football League wound up the regular season while Finland’s Maple League semifinals took place. In Denmark, one game was played while the European League of Football also finished off its regular season. Finally, Switzerland’s National League had two games as the 2021 season approaches its end. Finally, the Norwegian League of American Football kicked off its first season since 2019 with one game.

Denmark

The Søllerød Gold Diggers (5-1) held onto first place in the Danish Nationalligaen by defeating the Copenhagen Towers (4-2) 27-26 in overtime.

ELF

In a battle for the final playoff spot in the ELF, the Wroclaw Panthers used a strong second half to edge the Leipzig Kings 21-13 to qualify for the semifinals.

The Frankfurt Galaxy (9-1) allowed only one late touchdown in the final regular-season game of 2021 against the Cologne Centurions (5-5), easily defeating their semifinal opponents 45-7.

The Berlin Thunder (3-7) wound up the 2021 ELF season on a high note by blanking the Stuttgart Surge (2-8) 38-0.

Finland

The Helsinki Roosters were merciless in their semifinal matchup with the Porvoo Butchers in Finland’s Maple League pummeling them 49-7 after taking a 35-0 third-quarter lead. The Roosters move on to face the Kuopio Steelers in the Maple Bowl.

The defending Finnish champions, the Kuopio Steelers wasted no time in their semifinal matchup with the Seinäjoki Crocodiles, racing out to a 35-7 third-quarter lead before easing off and cruising to a 52-14 win. Kuopio will now face the Helsinki Roosters in the Maple Bowl.

Germany

The Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns (10-0) simply overwhelmed the undermanned Stuttgart Scorpions (1-9), blanking them 43-0 to finish the German Football League season as the only unbeaten team in the league.

The Dresden Monarchs (9-1) wound up the German Football League regular season by whipping the Potsdam Royals (7-3) 63-7 to capture first place in the GFL North.

The Saarland Hurricanes (8-2) eliminated the Ravensburg Razorbacks (5-5) from playoff contention in beating them 27-15 on the final weekend of play in the GFL. The Hurricanes, the GFL South #2 team, will now prepare to face the GFL North #3, the Cologne Crocodiles, in the quarterfinals.

The Munich Cowboys (6-4) sewed up the fourth and final playoff berth in the GFL South by defeating the Allgäu Comets (6-3) 17-7. Munich will take on the GFL North #1, Dresden Monarchs in the first round of the playoffs.

The Frankfurt Universe (1-8) captured their first win of the GFL season in the final game of the year, beating the Marburg Mercenaries (2-8) 30-27.

The Cologne Crocodiles (6-4) solidified their spot as the third seed in the GFL North by downing their division rivals, the Braunschweig New Yorker Lions (5-5) , 33-21. The Crocodiles will now face the GFL South #2 Saarland Hurricanes while the Lions will take on the GFL South #1, Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns.

Norway

The defending Norwegian champions (2019) Oslo Vikings (1-0) opened the 2021 season with an emphatic 35-3 win over the Vålerenga Trolls (0-1).

Switzerland

The Bern Grizzlies (6-1) solidified second place in the Swiss league by beating the Geneva Seahawks (3-3) 24-14 with one game left in the regular season.