Coming off a huge victory against Austria’s Swarco Raiders, the Braunschweig New Yorker Lions will face another stiff test this weekend as they take on division rivals the Dresden Monarchs, who hammered the Dusseldorf Panther 70-0 in their first regular season game of the year.
Dresden Monarchs
The Monarchs under head coach John Leijten, in his second year at the helm, are looking to advance further than the GFL semifinals this season. They were bumped by the Schwabisch Hall Unicorns in last season’s semis.
Although they have only played one game, a 70-0 drubbing of the Dusseldorf Panther, the quality of this year’s edition of the Monarchs is obvious. Clay Belton (6’6″, 230 lbs) (Findlay University) replaces veteran Jeff Welsh at quarterback while power running back Trevar Reed moves to corner and his spot is taken in the backfield by former Georgia State Panther Donald Russell who had three touchdowns against the Panther. Wide receiver Guillaume Rioux is always dangerous and had 122 yards receiving against Dusseldorf.
On defense Deed will force teams to throw inside and to the other side. Safety Damien Donaldson plays a kind of rover type of spot and has quarterbacks looking for him at all times. Strong safety Quade Chappuis is very smart and Coach Leijten feels like he has a coach on the field in Chappuis. Marcus Donner and Paul Krems anchor Leijten’s 4-3 defense and are very tough to run against.
Dresden was outplayed by the Lions in last year’s two games. Coach Leijten will not have any trouble motivating his troops today.
Braunschweig New Yorker Lions
Head coach Troy Tomlin has his powerhouse team back humming on all cylinders. With much of his coaching staff intact Tomlin had to replace a few key players on his team. Quarterback Grant Enders (Towson University) has taken over from the departed Casey Therriault and proved against Swarco that he is starting to find his rhythm. He has already thrown for 500 yards in the two league games played and tossed five touchdowns passes.
Tailback David McCants is looking better than ever having rushed for almost 300 yards in those two games as well. The receiving corps led by Anthony Dablé is back, giving Enders plenty of excellent targets. Dutch/American tight end Evan Landi (South Florida) is a new addition and is already making his presence known.
On defense, defensive end Sorie Bayoh and linebacker Christian Petersen return as two mainstays on one of the league’s best defenses. French transfer defensive lineman Mamadou Sy (Berlin Adler) has caught the coaches’ eyes as has veteran linemen Chris Cauvet (Kiel Baltic Hurricanes) and defensive back Kevin Kus (Berlin Adler).
Watch the game live here for the Braunschweig New Yorker Lions broadcast or here for the Dresden Monarchs broadcast.
