ELF: Rhein Fire host Cologne Centurions in critical matchup

This Sunday, the Rhein Fire will host their German rivals, the Cologne Centurions, in a pivotal matchup in the Southern Conference in the European League of Football.

At 3-2, the Fire are in second place in the conference behind the Barcelona Dragons, and the Centurions are right behind them at 2-3. As such, this matchup is all but a must-win game for Cologne as they look to keep pace in the standings. Both of these teams have cooled off after strong starts to the season. The Fire started their season 3-0, but have dropped their last two games, while the Centurions won their first two matchups before losing their last three. A win on Sunday will be crucial in allowing either team to stop their skid and get their season back on track.

In his first year with the team, former San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula, has brought a brand of smash-mouth football to the Rhein Fire. The team ranks second in team rushing yards with 740 in five games, led by running backs Jason Aguemon, who ranks third in the league with 327 yards, and Daniel Rennich, who ranks sixth with 224 yards. The quarterback is Matt Adam out of Indiana State University at the FCS level in the NCAA, who ranks seventh in the league in passing yards with 936 and is tied for fourth in the league in passing touchdowns with 10 in his first season with the team. The defense ranks around average in most categories in the league. After giving up 42 points to the Hamburg Sea Devils last week in a blowout loss, the defense will be wanting to perform much better this week against another talented offense in Cologne.

The Centurions have the top ranked offense in the league in terms of yards (1,913 through five games), but just the sixth ranked offense in terms of points (140). Their offense is built around their elite passing attack, which ranks number one in the league in yards and touchdowns. Cologne’s quarterback, Jan Weinreich, is a remarkable player because he is one of the few non-import players to be a standout at the quarterback position in European football. The 25-year-old German has thrown for 1,576 yards and 13 touchdowns through five games. His top receiver is Quinten Pounds, who ranks second among all receivers in yards with 680 and first in touchdowns with 10. While the Centurions offense is solid, the defense has been leaky this season, which is why the team’s record is just 2-3. With 200 points conceded through five games (for an average of 40 per game), they rank second-to-last in the league, just ahead of the winless Istanbul Rams.

At the very least, with an offense-heavy team like Cologne, this matchup promises to be high-scoring and exciting. With both teams desperately needing a win to keep their seasons from slipping away, there will definitely