The Berlin Rebels (3-3) will be looking for the fourth straight win Saturday, June 29 when they head to Cologne to face the 3-5 Cologne Crocodiles as the German Football League hits midseason.
These two teams are in a battle for fourth place in the GFL North.
Cologne enters the game after losing to the Dresden Monarchs 42-7 last week breaking a three game winning streak which saw them down the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes two weeks ago 13-12 and beat the Dusseldorf Panther 44-21 before that. They had notched their first win of the season, doubling up on the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes 48-28. However, the Crocodiles had dropped four straight prior to that losing to the Braunschweig New Yorker Lions 23-6 and 45-7 and then losing 31-14 to the Hildesheim Invaders and 17-0 to Dresden.
For Cologne, their injury and quartebacking woes followed them as Conor Miller was unable to play last week and Tobias Jarmuzek took his place throwing for only 66 yards. Whether Miller can play today is still up in the air. He has thrown for 718 yards on the season but was hurt late in the game two weeks ago.. The same goes for RB Colby Goodwyn, who was the leading rusher in the GFL, before suffering a serious injury early in the game three weeks ago against the Panther. In his stead, Dean Tanwani stepped in and last week rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown upping his total to 339 yards on the year.
Still, this could be another tough game for Cologne if the injury woes continue to plague them.
The Rebels earned their third straight win last week beating the Dusseldorf Panther 55-13 after downing them 55-20 the week before. They had defeated the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes 33-13 after suffering through a dismal opening to their 2019 season losing all three games, which they have not done since 2015 when they lost their first three games of the year en route to a 4-8 season.
The Rebels were beaten 30-17 in their opening game by the Potsdam Royals in Potsdam, and then they dropped a 29-12 decision to the Braunschweig New Yorker Lions. In late May, the Hildesheim Invaders proved too much for the 2018 German quarterfinalists, beating them 56-41.
Berlin’s new quarterback, Kurt Palandech, in his second start, threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 141 and another touchdown in the win over the Panther. In is three games he has thrown for 724 yards and nine touchdowns. TJ Esekielu as the leading receiver with 24 catches for 409 yards and three touchdowns Alexander Tounkara has caught 17 passes for 273 yards and four touchdowns while Jason Harris now has 215 yards receiving. The running game, which has been the strength of the team in seasons past , seems to have come alive and is fifth in the league averaging 131 yards a game. Andreas Betza has rushed for a total of 302 yards.
