Dresden Monarchs advance to GFL Bowl for 3rd time in their history
When the Dresden Monarchs took down the Hildesheim Invaders 27-13 this past weekend in the German Football League semifinals, they made club history – again.
They reached the GFL Bowl for only the third time ever.
The first time was in 2013 when they were edged 35-34 by the Braunschweig New Yorker Lions. They returned to the “Big Dance” in 2021 and made it count, defeating the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns 28-19.
This year, they will be facing their “nemesis” the Potsdam Royals. The Royals have not lost a game since June 24, 2023 when they were defeated by Dresden 59-45. The Royals did return the favor though downing Dresden 57-21 and then again 40-19 this year.
En route to the final, the Monarchs lost only two games. The aforementioned loss to Potsdam and then a 19-16 setback against the Berlin Rebels.
Quarterback Brock Domann finished as the third leading passer in the GFL after throwing for 2,602 yards and 19 touchdowns. In last weekend’s semifinal win, he completed 12 of 16 for 162 yards and threw touchdowns while in the quarterfinal win, he played only the first half of the game, giving way to backup Karé Lyles for the final two quarters.
Domann’s favorite targets are Ricky Smalling (1,310 yards, 15 TDs), Jordy Torrededia (706 yards, 5 TDs) and tight end Ethan Janto (438 yards, 2 TDs). Smalling had a field day against Hildesheim catching six passes for 116 yards and all three receiving touchdowns.
In the backfield, running back Nico Barrow is dangerous from every position on the field. Last week, he carried the ball 13 times for 79 yards averaging 6.1 yards a carry. During the regular season he rushed for 695 yards in 10 games but upped his averaged to 92.5 yards a game in the playoffs.
The Monarchs boasted the second best defense in the league allowing just 14.8 points a game. They held the high-scoring Hildesheim offense (averaged 33.1 pts/g during the regular season) to 13 points.
Dresden held a slim 7-6 lead against the Royals after the first half in their only encounter this year before succumbing. Can they build on that on October 12?
