The Cologne Centurions made history on Sunday as they marched back from a 21 point deficit in the third quarter to defeat the Frankfurt Galaxy 43-37 in overtime.

The win was only the second ever win against the Galaxy in nine meetings all time. The comeback was sparked by several big plays from quarterback Isaiah Weed, receiver Carlos Hill, and a core of German homegrowns including Ben Froehlich and Jannick Loercks. 

Cologne’s head coach Jag Bal shared his thoughts on what was an instant classic game of the 2024 season and an inspiring home win for the Centurions.

 

“Comebacks are exciting aren't they? I hated every minute of it. I'm pretty sure I got a few more grey hairs out of that one. In all honesty, one of the greatest aspects of competition is seeing people overcoming adversity. “

 

Defensively the Centurions stepped up when it mattered most, shutting out the Galaxy in the final quarter forcing the Galaxy to punt through excellent gang tackling and fundamentally sound team football. In overtime, the Centurions forced the Galaxy back with great coverage on the backend and a relentless pass rush sealing the win. 

 

“This win reinforced the mindset we have been talking about the whole season. It's all about heart and discipline. We needed to maintain our hussle and execution for four quarters and we did.”

 

The engineer of the ELF record breaking comeback was, of course, head coach Jag Bal. The Canadian coach has been a part of the European American football scene since 2007. Coach Jag Bal took over for Cologne head coach Gregg Brandon in week 8 and has since helped the Centurions to a 3-1 record. 

 

“I'm proud of the way our guys fought back. My guys are something special. We got 3 tough games ahead of us, the mindset is to fight like hell each game. Don't give anything away for free and take advantage of every opportunity that arises.”