Jun 16th 17:15, by Tim Rausch

Sunday Recap: Raiders win nail-biter, Frankfurt upset Panthers

Goran Milosavljevic

Jun 16th 17:15, by Tim Rausch

Sunday Recap: Raiders win nail-biter, Frankfurt upset Panthers

Panthers Wrocław (1-3) at Frankfurt Galaxy (1-2) 10:20

Both punters were busy to start the game, as the offenses could not get in a rhythm. Both defenses played tight coverage and tackled well.

After a couple of inaccuracies in the first couple of drives, Galaxy quarterback Luke Zahradka found his footing. He completed multiple passes and put the ball in the hands of wide receiver Nico Strahmann on a corner route in the end zone for the first points of the game.

Just before halftime, the Panthers had a chance to cut down the lead, but threw an interception in the end zone with the final play of the second quarter.

It seemed as if Panthers head coach Dave Christensen found the right words at halftime, because his team started the third quarter with a touchdown pass to Adrià Botella Moreno after a nice play fake, which fooled the Galaxy defense.

A couple of minutes later, the Panthers defense came up clutch, intercepting a pass in the end zone. A field goal for the Panthers upped the lead to 10:6, but Galaxy responded with a deep pass to wide receiver Markell Castle, who beat his defender and walked into the end zone. The Galaxy defense held firm, stopping the Panthers offense and allowing their own offense to put another touchdown on the board on the following drive, as Kevin Kaya made a nice toe-drag catch in the end zone.

In the end, Galaxy won a hard fought matchup and can now celebrate their first victory of the season.

Milano Seamen (1-3) at Stuttgart Surge (3-0) 9:55

In front of their home crowd, Stuttgart Surge played surgical throughout the game. The team managed by head coach Jordan Neumann spread the ball around and showed various creative play designs, while also constantly threatening with their running game and playing tough defense. During the win, they left the Milano Seamen little to no chance.

The Seamen struggled to contain the Surge passing attack and had multiple blown assignments in the secondary. Through the air, Stuttgart quarterback Reilly Hennessey always looked for the best matchup. Hennessey completed 25 of his 31 passes and threw for four touchdowns. Wide receiver Louis Geyer, who opened the scoring, had himself a day with ten catches for 127 receiving yards and three touchdowns. 

On the defensive side, Defensive Back Chad-Adri Walrond caught an interception and also contributed with a kick-return touchdown in the first half, where he weaved his way through the entire Seamen defense.

The lone touchdown for the Seamen came on a beautiful throw from quarterback Zach Bronkhorst, who found wide receiver Juan Calderon in the end zone with a great deep ball. 

In a lopsided game, Surge continued to show their dominance.

Munich Ravens (2-2) at Raiders Tirol (3-1) 26:29

A competitive title race is brewing in the Central Conference. After Surge took care of the Seamen, the Munich Ravens and Raiders Tirol were looking to keep the gap close to Stuttgart. The Ravens offense lived through the worst start possible, as quarterback Chad Jeffries was intercepted on the first offensive play. Running back Tobias Bonatti rushed for a touchdown on the following drive for the Raiders. 

Jeffries found his way back in the game with a rushing touchdown in the second quarter. In the final minutes before halftime, Tirol quarterback N'Kosi Perry, who played his first game for the Raiders, found wide receiver Darion Chafin with a touchdown pass over 51 yards.

In the second half, Marvin Rutsch opened the score for the Ravens with a 6-yard touchdown grab. After a field goal for Tirol, the Ravens answered with one of their own. Then, Tirol running back Tobi Bonatti put the team on his back, rushing for 44 yards on one run and finding the end zone on another. The Ravens came back with another rushing touchdown from their quarterback Jeffries. 

With the clock running down, Tirol desperately needed a touchdown. With the game on the line, Chafin went up for a deep ball on 4th&8 and caught it near the Ravens end zone. Again, on fourth down, quarterback Perry found Chafin for the game-winning touchdown in one of the most entertaining games of the season. 

Prague Lions (0-4) at Hamburg Sea Devils (2-1) 17:27

In a heated matchup with multiple scuffles, both teams came to play. The Lions got the better start, hitting a field goal and getting a rushing touchdown from their running back Tyrese Johnson-Fischer. Meanwhile, the Sea Devils played sluggish in the first half. Dropped passes, interceptions, blocked punts and more mistakes were part of their perfomance in the first quarters.

However, just before halftime, they put together an important touchdown drive, as quarterback Javarian Smith kept the ball on a designed run and sprinted into the end zone to make it 7:10. One of the biggest plays of the game was yet to come. During the third quarter, safety Aleksandar Borkovic stripped the ball away from a Sea Devils receiver and ran it back in the end zone. 

The Sea Devils were not ready to give up, shook off the momentum shift and answered with a touchdown of their own, as Jakob Neugebauer ran past the defense and caught the ball in the end zone. Two minutes later, Neugebauer found himself on the receiving end of another deep pass and was touched down just before the end zone. Two plays later, Smith found Klaas Sengstacke all alone in the end zone, as the Sea Devils took the lead for the first time.

Just when the Sea Devils seemed to have settled in, a snap went over their punters head, giving the Lions, who came out flat in the second half, some much needed hope. However, Prague could not capitalize and instead threw an interception to Marvin Gesellnsetter. A couple plays later, Neugebauer made another spectacular touchdown catch and thus gave the Sea Devils a lead by ten points.

After a rough start, the Sea Devils made enough plays on offense to overcome the mistakes in the first quarter. Wide receiver Jakob Neugebauer was unguardable, as he put up 230 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

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