After a thrilling comeback win for the Stuttgart Surge in Poland, the first ever 'El Clasico' in Madrid, and the Austrian derby all on Saturday. Sunday's slate of ELF action had a hard act to follow but certainly didn't disappoint. Fans were treated to a nail-biting rivalry game between the Frankfurt Galaxy and the Rhein Fire, as well as some offensive fireworks across the league including the debut of the 2024 Paris Musketeers. 

Let’s recap every game of today’s action!

Rhein Fire prevail over the Frankfurt Galaxy

With over 13k fans cheering on in Frankfurt, the rivalry between these two storied franchises lived up to the hype both in the stands and on the field. After the Rhein Fire jumped out to a 14-3 lead at the end of the 1st quarter, Frankfurt came storming back as Galaxy quarterback Luke Zahradka threw a touchdown and caught a touchdown making the game 21-17 at the half in favor of the Rhein Fire. 

The Rhein Fire pulled away fourth quarter as Jadrian Clark found Harlan Kwofie in the endzone for his first touchdown catch of the season. On the next series, former Galaxy player Tony Anderson intercepted Luke Zahradka giving the Rhein Fire the chance to take a two-score lead with excellent field position. Clark then found Kwofie for a huge gain on fourth down as the two connected in one of the most clutch situations in the game. A few plays later, Jim Tomsula's squad tacked on a field goal making the score 31-20. 

The reigning MVP of the league Jadrian Clark threw for two touchdowns, while Glen Toogna added 141 yards and two touchdowns on the ground as the Rhein Fire stayed undefeated through two weeks while spoiling the 2024 debut of the Galaxy.

Paris Musketeers make a strong statement in 2024 debut

The Paris Musketeers made their highly anticipated 2024 debut in front of over 14k fans in Bremen as they visited the Hamburg Sea Devils. The talented Paris squad cruised to a 41-14 win over Hamburg as the ELF's all-time leading passer Zach Edwards was back leading the Musketeers on offense. Edwards threw four touchdowns and ran in two, giving him an impressive six touchdowns on the day. One newcomer to the league made his presence felt as Paris's Austin Mitchell caught four touchdowns for 152 yards in his ELF debut. 

On defense, the Musketeers held the Sea Devils to 213 total yards of offense as defensive end Stanley Zeregbe, Amir Kilani, and a host of Musketeers defenders flew to the ball play after play. Former CFL defensive end Valentine Gnahoua also made his presence felt with a punishing pass rush off the edge, giving the Sea Devils' offensive line all they could handle.

Berlin Thunder take care of business at home

The Thunder bounced back in a big way in week 2 defeating the visiting Prague Lions at home to the tune of 48-17. The Thunder defense took advantage of turnovers as former defensive player of the year Kyle Kitchens scored on a fumble recovery. Thunder safety Alex Spillum also scored on defense as he took an interception back for a 95-yard pick-six. Overall, the Thunder defense put on a fantastic performance forcing one interception and two fumbles while holding Prague to 254 yards of offense.

On offense, quarterback Jakeb Sullivan showed he's still one of the ELF's best passers putting together a 417-yard and three-touchdown passing performance. Sullivan found fellow veteran Aaron Jackson for two scores while feeding homegrown talents such as Robin Wilzek and Bais Kouanda early and often. On the ground, Albert Wiesigstrauch weaved through the defense for a 46-yard touchdown in the 2nd quarter, finishing the day with 67 yards on the ground. 

The Cologne Centurions win big in Tivoli 

The Cologne Centurions returned to Tivoli Stadium in Aachen for the second week in a row, this time taking on the 0-1 Fehérvár Enthroners. Cologne jumped out to a 12-0 lead at the half as quarterback Isaiah Weed was able to score two touchdowns on short runs. The Centurion's drives were led by big plays from former NFL receiver Connor Weddington and running back Gerald Ameln. On defense, the Centurions pass rush helped hold the Enthroners to zero points in the first half as defensive tackle William Lydle had three tackles for a loss on the day.

Cologne took that momentum and ran with it in the second half as Isaiah Weed and the Centurions offense began to open things up. Weed found Konstantin Fuchs and Gerald Ameln for scores in the third quarter opening up the lead to 25-0. In the fourth quarter, we saw Ameln score his second touchdown of the game, this time on the ground. The Enthroners finally reached the endzone thanks to Jack Mangel finding Nathaniel Robitaille in the back of the endzone.