Five countries football seasons rage on!
The Braunschweig New Yorker Lions (Europe #1), again proved the quality of the football they play in a second straight dismantling of the Cologne Falcons (Europe #14), this time 59-7. The Schwabisch Hall Unicorns (Europe #5) are also marching and took apart the number three team in the German South division, the Marburg Mercenaries, 49-14.As a matter of fact, play continues in Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Great Britain. The playoffs begin in the UK this coming weekend. See the section on Great Britain for the match ups. The Swedish playoffs take place August 30-31 as the final round of play is this weekend. The Finnish playoffs are scheduled for September 6-7. In Denmark the playoffs don’t start until late in September as is the case in Germany as well.
There were no championship games this past weekend but plenty of action still. Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Great Britain are still playing football. With the playoffs approaching quickly most teams are jockeying for position in their respective leagues.
Poland crowned a new champion three 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.
Two weeks ago the Belfast Trojans captured the Irish championship downing Trinity College Dublin 7-0 in the Shamrock Bowl for their third straight title. 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 #4) 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
In Denmark only two games were played. The Triangle Razorbacks had an easy time blanking the Aab 89ers 46-0 while Aarhus delivered the same type of defeat to Odense, 46-6.
The Copenhagen Towers (Europe #18) lead the league at 7-0 and have scored 299 points in seven games while allowing only 32 against. 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. Aarhus is second in Group 1 with Amager third. The Triangle Razorbacks lead Group 2 at 7-1, followed by Sollerod in second (4-3) and Herlev third, also at 4-3.
Finland
In Finland, the Helsinki Roosters (Europe #12), struggled and had to come from behind to beat fourth-place TAFT 17-10. Helsinki was down 10-9 at halftime. The Turku Trojans kept pace with the Roosters as they scored 28 second half points to put away the Butchers 35-3. The Senaijoki Crocodiles beat up on the hapless Helsinki Wolverines 63-0. Finally, the surging Helsinki 69ers scored 35 points in the first half and cruised to a 45-7 win over the Kuovola Indians. The Roosters remain first in the Maple League with 14 points and the Turku Trojans are second also with 14. The Crocodiles are third at 6-2 and TAFT is fourth with a 4-4 record.
France
The Thonon Black Panthers (Europe #15) 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 again, this time 59-7. Quarterback Casey Therriault was 10 of 11 for 22 yards and three touchdowns before giving way to James Peterson midway through the second quarter who threw for 147 yards. The Lions distribute the ball very well as eight different receivers caught passes. He leads the league in passing efficiency.The Berlin Rebels beat Dusseldorf again, this time with a lopsided 34-9 score. In the third game the Dresden Monarchs took a 20-10 halftime lead against the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes and never let the Hurricanes get any closer winning 27-10.
Braunschweig leads the North still with an 8-0 record. Kiel (Europe #6) remains in second at 6-3 with Dresden (Europe #3) in third at 5-3 and Cologne (Europe #14) in fourth, also at 5-3.
Braunschweig clinch GFL North title
South: The Schwabisch Hall Unicorns (Europe #5), second in the South made an emphatic statement in whipping the third place Marburg Mercenaries 49-14. Stuttgart beat the Rhein-Neckar Bandits 47-41 in a horse race. The teams combined for a total of 1,094 yards in offense as Stuttgart came from behind 27-17 midway through the third quarte,r scoring five second half touchdowns, to secure the win. Finally, the Munich Cowboys clung to a playoff hope in beating the winless Franken Knights 56-38.
Stuttgart (Europe #9) still leads the South at 11-1, with the Unicorns breathing right down their necks in second at 11-2. The Marburg Mercenaries (Europe #16) remain third at 8-3 while Saarland holds on to fourth place at 5-6.
The Schwabisch Hall Unicorns boast the highest scoring offense in the league with 604 points total while Braunschweig has the stingiest defense allowing only 113 points against in nine games (12.5 points per game). Luke Barthelmess, quarterback for Stuttgart, keeps on carrying him team. So far this year, of the Scorpions 68 touchdowns scored, he has accounted for 53 (18 rushing, 35 passing).
Stuttgart comes back to defeat Rhein-Neckar
Great Britain
Premiership North: In the final two games of the season in the North, Coventry beat the Sheffield Predators 9-8, while the Birmingham Bulls blanked the win-less Doncaster Mustangs 48-0.
So the East Kilbride Pirates have won the North at 9-0 with Tamworth second (8-1). Lancashire finishes third at 6-3 and the Coventry Jets are fourth with a 6-3 record.
Premiership South: The only game scheduled in the South was the London Olympians hosting Colchester but Colchester forfeited the game giving London the win. With that the London Warriors (Europe #20) have won the South with an 8-0 record with the Blitz in second at 7-1. The Bristol Aztecs finished third at 6-2 while the London Olympians are fourth at 5-3.
Playoff picture: The British quarterfinals take place this weekend. The top team in the North, the East Kilbride Pirates will host South #4, the London Olympians. Number one in the South, the London Warriors are at home to #4 in the North, the Coventry Jets. The London Blitz, South #2 will face North #3, the Lancashire Wolverines and finally the Tamworth Phoenix, North #2, take on South #3, the Bristol Aztecs.
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 in June with the Badalona Dracs as new champions.
Sweden
At this point, with the final regular season games this coming weekend, the Carlstad Crusaders (Europe #11) are far and away the best team in Sweden, and quite likely in Scandinavia. This past weekend they demolished the STU Northside Bulls 80-6. The third place Orebro Black Knights had no trouble with the Arlanda Jets whipping them 78-14. The Limmhamn Griffins are playing their best football of the season right now and gave the playoff-bound Kristianstad Predators all they could handle, finally succumbing to them 17-6. The Uppsala 86ers then cruised to a 61-14 victory over the Stockholm Mean Machines.
With just one game remaining, Carlstad sits solidly atop the standings with a 9-0 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 7-2 while Kristianstad is fourth with a 5-4 record.
Switzerland
The Basel Gladiators (Europe #17) won the Swiss Bowl in July for the first time in their history.
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