Dresden Monarchs hold onto first in GFL North with win over Kiel Baltic Hurricanes

The Dresden Monarchs remain in first place in Germany’s GFL North with a dominant 49 – 19 win over the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes.

For the Monarchs, this was business as usual. After falling only once to the Cologne Crocodiles early in the season, Dresden felt confident walking into this one, and they had every right to be. They came out the gate firing on all cylinders and kept their foot on the throttle until the final whistle blew.

Dresden quarterback Kyle Carta-Samuels quickly got the Monarchs on the board with an 80-yard touchdown strike to wideout Mike Shcallo. But as the rain fell, handling errors would become a decisive factor in the game early for the Monarchs, robbing them of two early scores. It wouldn’t be long before newly arrived Devwah Whaley came into the game, offering the Monarchs a sorely missed running game as he continuously pounded the rock finishing the day with 107 yards and a 6.9 average.

But Hurricanes quarterback Joe Germinerio and his high-powered offense weren’t going to go down without a fight. And early in the second quarter Germinerio was able to connect with wide receiver Arvid Lippels on a 38-yard pass to pull the scores equal.

Dresden and Carta-Samuels were to take no more chances from there on out as the quarterback let loose. Before the halfway point he hit Robin Wilzeck on a 45-yard bomb before capping off two long drives to Darrell Stewart Jr. and Radim Kalous with scores. Dresden finished the first half with a bang and went in up 28 – 7.

The Hurricanes received the ball in the second half and were determined to get themselves back in the game. Germinerio took this upon himself and went on a 73 yard, five-minute drive – most of which he picked up with his legs – to get the Hurricanes in for their second score.

With every step that Kiel took forward, however, the Monarchs seemed to take two more as Carta-Samuels put together an effortless 73-yard scoring drive on the ensuing possession. To make matters worse, a few plays after the late third-quarter score, Hurricanes running back Lorenz Rotermund fumbled the ball which was scooped by corner Jonas Gacek, who ran it in for a 28-yard touchdown.

With the Monarchs up 42 – 13 as the fourth quarter began, each team sent in their backup quarterbacks. Both the Monarchs’ Eric Seidel and Hurricanes’ Henrik Wolk performed admirably and were able to get their respective sides in for a score, but by this point, the game was well and truly over.

Monarchs quarterback Carta-Samuels again had a nearly perfect outing with 20-29, 303 yards, and five touchdowns. As the Monarchs head into their final week regular-season matchup against more subdued Potsdam Royals team, expect them to turn up the heat as they look to host the bottom seed GFL South team in the first round of the playoffs.