Another championship settled and playoffs looming!
The Shamrock Bowl, emblematic of American football supremacy in Ireland, was settled as two time defending champions, the Belfast Trojans made it three in a row, downing Trinity College Dublin 7-0 Sunday. In a rain-drenched Tallaght Stadium in Dublin, neither team could score an offensive touchdown as the Trojans intercepted a TCD pass and returned it for the game-winning score. Read the full recap HERE.The Braunschweig New Yorker Lions (Europe #1),showed no mercy in handing the Cologne Falcons (Europe #12) a 49-13 drubbing. The Schwabisch Hall Unicorns (Europe #6) continue to make a case for moving up in the rankings after dismantling the Rhein-Neckar Bandits 56-22.
Poland crowned a new champion two weeks ago as the Gdynia Seahawks upset the Wroclaw Panthers 41-32 in a game that became a game in the fourth quarter. With the Seahawks up 35-12 early in the final period, Wroclaw mounted a comeback bid and looked dangerous in doing it. They scored three touchdowns but could not quite make it. Read the story HERE.
Here then is what happened around the rest of the continent last weekend.
Austria
The Austrian final last month, Austrian Bowl XXX, was a thriller for the ages as the Vienna Vikings (Europe #2) and the Swarco Raiders (Europe #5) battled to a 17-17 tie in regulation time. Vienna scored the only touchdown in overtime to win its third straight Austrian title 24-17. Read the game recap here.
Belgium
Belgian Bowl XXVII saw a new champion crowned in July as the Ghent Gators made no mistake handing the defending champion the Brussels Tigers a 38-0 pummeling. This was the first ever title win for the Gators and they did it on their first try. Read the game recap HERE!
CEFL (Central European Football League)
Vukvoi Belgrade (Europe #10) capped a grueling yet highly successful season earlier in July, by beating the Ljubjana Silverhawks 27-17 to win their second title of the year. Vukovi reached three championship finals winning two of them. A remarkable achievement.
Czech Republic
The Czech championship ended, as expected last month, with the Prague Black Panthers (Europe #8) taking the title beating the Pnbram Bobcats 40-0. With that, Prague finished a great season with a record of 13-6. They played more games than any other team in Europe.
Denmark
The Danish season resumed finally after a four-week break and the Copenhagen Towers (Europe #15) picked up where they left off downing the Amager Demons 31-6. The Triangle Razorbacks beat the Holbaek Red Devils 46-9 while the Herlev Rebels upset the Gold Diggers 24-23. The Copenhagen Towers lead the league at 7-0 and have scored 299 points in seven games while allowing only 32 against. Phenomenal numbers. They are first in Group 1 and have defeated both the Triangle Razorbacks and the Gold Diggers (two and three in Denmark) by a combined total of 58-6.
Finland
In Finland, the Helsinki Roosters (Europe #13), survived a scare as the Helsinki 69ers, with a new quarterback and versatile Charles McRae in the lineup, led the Roosters 14-13 at halftime. The Roosters rallied in the second half to finally win 31-25, but the 69ers have everyone talking in Finland’s Maple League. The last playoff spot is up for grabs suddenly. TAFT had no trouble in beating the Wolverines 31-14, after leading 24-0 at the half. The Butchers handed the Crocodiles their second straight defeat with a 26-18 win. With that the Roosters now top the Maple League with 12 points and the Turku Trojans are second also with 12. The Crocodiles’ loss drops them to third at 5-2 and TAFT is fourth with a 4-3 record.
France
The Thonon Black Panthers (Europe #18) won the French league in thrilling fashion a month ago. But they lost lost in the semi-finals of the inaugural IFAF Europe Champions League tournament to Vukovi Belgrade 19-7.
Germany
North: The Braunschweig New Yorker Lions continued to roll through the GFL dominating the Cologne Falcons 49-13 after being up 35-7 at the half. Quarterback Casey Therriault threw for 294 yards and five touchdowns with passes to seven different receivers. He leads the league in passing efficiency.The Berlin Rebels enjoyed their first win of the year defeating the win-less Dusseldorf Panther 34-29.
Braunschweig leads the North still with an 8-0 record. Kiel (Europe #3) remains in second at 6-3 with Dresden (Europe #4) in third at 5-3 and Cologne (Europe #12) in fourth, also at 5-3.
South: The Schwabisch Hall Unicorns (Europe #6), had an easy time beating up on the Rhein-Neckar Bandits 56-22. Marcus Sims had another field day, rushing for 171 yards and three touchdowns. His performance was matched however, by Rhein-Neckar running back Eric Walton who lumbered for 196 yards and two touchdowns in the losing cause. The Stuttgart Scorpions (Europe #9) clung to first in the South by edging the Munich Cowboys 21-20. The Allgäu Comets won their third game of the year beating the winless Franken Knights 44-35. Finally, the Marburg Mercenaries (Europe #14) only gained 12 first downs but still managed to beat the Saarland Hurricanes 21-12.
Stuttgart still leads the South at 10-1, with the Unicorns second at 10-2. The Marburg Mercenaries remain third at 8-2 while Saarland holds on to fourth place at 5-6.
Great Britain
Premiership North: In a battle of the two top teams in the North, the East Kilbride Pirates outlasted the Tamworth Phoenix 14-7 which was not as much of a defensive struggle as the score may suggest. There was plenty of fireworks but neither team could penetrate the red zone. In other action, the Yorkshire Rams defeated the Nottingham Ceasers 25-0 to stay in sight of the fourth playoff spot in the North. Finally, the Lancashire Wolverines beat the Sheffield Predators 18-6. So the East Kilbride Pirates have now taken over first place in the North at 9-0 with the victory over Tamworth (8-1) and the Phoenix drop down to second. Lancashire remains in third at 6-3 and the Coventry Jets are sitting in fourth with a 5-3 record.
Premiership South: Two games were played in the South. The London Blitz encountered stiff resistance from the Bristol Aztecs, finally beating them 28-14. In the other game, the London Olympians blanked the South Wales Warriors 26-0, giving them breathing room in the fourth and final playoff spot. The London Warriors (Europe #20) lead the South with an 8-0 record with the Blitz in second at 7-1. The Bristol Aztecs are still in third at 6-2 while the London Olympians occupy fourth at 4-3.
Holland
In July, the Alphen Eagles won Tulip Bowl XXX in a nail biter, beating arch rival the Amsterdam Crusaders 14-12. This was the third Tulip Bowl victory in a row for the Eagles.
Ireland
In a Shamrock Bowl that will be remembered as much for the rain as for the defenses, the Belfast Trojans outlasted Trinity College Dublin 7-0 to win their third Irish championship in a row. Read the recap HERE.
Italy
The Milano Seamen (Europe #19) won their first-ever Italian championship – Super Bowl XXXIV in July beating four-time champion the Parma Panthers handily 33-3.
Norway
The Norwegian championship was decided last month as the Kristiansand Gladiators beat heavy favorite the Eidsvoll 1814s 22-21 on a last second hail mary pass.
Poland
The Polish Super Final saw the Gdynia Seahawks defeat the Wroclaw Panthers 41-32 to win their second Polish title in three years. Read the game recap HERE.
Serbia
Earlier this month, Vukovi Belgrade (Europe #10) made no mistake in the Serbian championship game beating rivals the Kragujevac Wild Boars 27-17, to cap a highly successful season. The Serbian squad also reached the finals of the the IFAF Europe Champions League tournament losing in a close one to Helsinki 36-27.
Spain
The season has ended with the Badalona Dracs as new champions.
Sweden
The Carlstad Crusaders (Europe #11) continue to dominate the Swedish league facing the Arlanda Jets and embarrassing them 76-0. The third place Orebro Black Knights took on a surprisingly tough Limmhamn Griffins squad finally beating them 29-14. The Tyreso Royal Crowns upended the fourth place Kristianstad Predators 38-18. In a battle of cellar dwellers. the Stockholm Mean Machines earned their second win of the season edging the STU Northside Bulls 8-7.
With just two games left, Carlstad sits solidly atop the standings with a 8-0 record. The Royal Crowns are second at 8-1 but cannot catch the Crusaders having lost to them earlier in the season. Orebro sits at third at 6-2 while Kristianstad is fourth with a 4-4 record.
Switzerland
The Basel Gladiators (Europe #17) won the Swiss Bowl in July for the first time in their history.
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