The European Football Alliance heads into its inaugural BIG4 playoff weekend with the Munich Ravens (9-1) facing the Frankfurt Galaxy (4-6) on Saturday and the Nordic Storm (9-1) taking on the Paris Musketeers (4-6) on Sunday, with both underdogs trying to reverse a pair of regular-season losses to their semifinal opponents and earn a place in the first EFA championship game.
After a 10-game regular season, the field is down to four. The Ravens and the Storm established themselves as the league’s top two teams, while the Galaxy and Musketeers had to wait until the final weekend to punch their postseason tickets.
Frankfurt survived a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Prague Lions to win 37-34, ending a three-game losing streak and securing its BIG4 place. Paris, meanwhile, picked the perfect time to end a five-game skid, beating the Raiders Tirol 33-12 to grab the fourth and final playoff spot.
Saturday, August 15
Frankfurt Galaxy (4-6) @ Munich Ravens (9-1)
The Galaxy enter the weekend with some momentum after Zach Calzada completed 14 of 19 passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns against Prague. Brevin Easton caught five passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns, while Antony Marvyn Bouembe carried 18 times for 113 yards as Frankfurt ran out the clock to preserve the victory.
The challenge gets considerably tougher against a Munich team that has already beaten the Galaxy twice this season. The Ravens won the first meeting 45-26 before delivering an even more convincing 38-5 victory in the rematch.
In that second game, Russell Tabor completed 32 of 43 passes for 293 yards and two touchdowns, while the Ravens piled up 195 yards on the ground. Louis Geyer caught 10 passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns.
For Frankfurt, Saturday is about finding an answer it could not produce in either regular-season meeting. The Galaxy showed against Prague that their offense can be effective with Calzada running the show, but overturning two previous losses to Munich will require their best performance of the season.
Sunday, August 16
Paris Musketeers (4-6) @ Nordic Storm (9-1)
The second semifinal follows a remarkably similar script, with the Musketeers getting a third shot at a Storm team that swept them during the regular season.
Nordic won the first meeting 48-16 and was even more dominant the second time around, cruising to a 41-3 victory. In that rematch, Jadrian Clark threw for 384 yards and five touchdowns, with Brendan Beaulieu catching 13 passes for 231 yards and three scores. The Storm defense limited Paris to 174 total yards and recorded eight sacks.
The Musketeers, though, enter the BIG4 coming off one of their strongest performances of the season. Zach Edwards completed 15 of 23 passes for 245 yards and four touchdowns in the 33-12 win over Tirol, while Torin Justice caught four passes for 89 yards and two scores. The Paris defense recorded eight sacks and held the Raiders to only 11 rushing yards.
Beating the Storm after losing twice to them is a huge assignment, but Paris arrives with some badly needed momentum.
The regular season established a clear gap between the top two and the rest. Saturday gives the Galaxy and Musketeers one final opportunity to prove that gap can disappear when the playoffs begin.