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ELF: European League of Football Week 2 full recap & highlights

AFI

By Daniel Mckenzie and Brad Duff

The European League of Football returned this weekend for the second week of season three as fans across Europe celebrated their favorite teams hitting the field as the 2023 season continues rolling.

Sixteen of the league’s 17 teams played in week two with exciting storylines galore in what has already become a thrilling season in the ELF.

Let’s take a quick look at week 2’s games

Cologne Centurions 23 – 14 Prague Lions

After going toe to toe with the Paris Musketeers in Week 1 it was assumed Cologne would walk over one of the rookie teams in the ELF this season, the Prague Lions. They did not. The majority of the scoring in the first half came due to muffed special teams, sacks and fumbles. Quarterback Dylan Jacobs again struggled to move the ball through the air completing just 14 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown on the day.

A couple of chunk plays by the Prague Lions allowed led to a 14 – 14 game at the half, but their inability to do anything at all offensively in the second half left them scoreless. Several stunted drives and countless incompletions from the Lions offense gave excellent field position to the Centurions who were able to capitalize and end the game 23 – 14.

Frankfurt Galaxy 48 – 13 Fehérvár Enthroners

The Galaxy were without starting quarterback Jakeb Sullivan in their away game against the Enthroners for this one. Luckily for them, the Enthroners are still struggling to find their feet. Backup quarterback Lars Heidrich torched the Enthroners completing 14 passes for 24 yards and three touchdowns. He was heavily aided by running back Thomas Fischbach who also managed three scores for himself.

Enthroners’ quarterback Jerod Evans, despite his outstanding resume, is still unable to get much of anything going through the air. A couple of half-decent drives led to Enthroners scores in the second quarter making it a two-score game going in at the half. But very little production in the second half resulted in the home team rolling over.

Wroclaw Panthers 31 – 6 Leipzig Kings

Wroclaw Panthers Artevius Smith #8 celebrating Photo: Łukasz Skwiot

Wroclaw Panthers Continue Hot Start with Big Win over Kings

After a surprising victory last week over the Sea Devils, the Panthers carried their momentum into Week 2 and easily defeated the Leipzig Kings 31-6.  Wroclaw used a 17-point second quarter to take a 24-6 lead into halftime, and shut out the Leipzig offense in the second half to secure a comfortable victory.  The player of the game was easily Tony Tate, who scored all four of Wroclaw’s touchdowns, with two receiving scores and two rushing scores. Not bad for a guy who only signed with his team about a month ago.

Tirol Raiders 22 – 7 Helvetic Guards

Raiders RB Tobias Bonatti #25 Photo: Rico Doninelli

Raiders Take Care of Business on the Road to Move to 2-0

This matchup was a far cry from the Raiders’ first game, which was a 59-38 victory over the Ravens.  It was a little surprising to some to see the Raiders only carry a 10-7 lead into halftime against the fledgling Guards, but their defense completely shut down the home team in the second half while the offense added 12 more points.  Jarvis McClam built off of his outstanding Week 1 performance with a statline of 10 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown.  The Raiders now look to their home opener next week for an undefeated clash with Barcelona.

Rhein Fire 27 – 22 Hamburg Sea Devils

 

In front of a record-breaking crowd of 32,500 at Volksparkstadion, the Rhein Fire disappointed the Hamburg faithful by coming away with a 27-22 victory.  The Fire struck twice in rapid succession in the third quarter with a long receiving touchdown by Nathaniel Robitaille and a pick-six from Omari Williams to make the score 27-9.  Hamburg would make a valiant attempt at a comeback in the final frame, but simply ran out of time in the end.  The loss drops the Sea Devils, championship finalists in each of the last two years, to a disappointing record of 0-2, while the Fire continue to live up to their high expectations.

Stuttgart Surge 29 – 20 Paris Musketeers

A new look Stuttgart Surge opened their season with a hard-fought win over the Paris Musketeers. Former Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns QB Reilly Hennessey found Louis Geyer in the endzone three times, while Paris QB Zach Edwards threw three touchdowns to three targets, one of whom being Remi Bertellin who racked up 76 yards on just five receptions.

A ridiculous 20-yard touchdown run from Asnnel Robo put Stuttgart in front late in the fourth quarter before a sack in the endzone for a safety from Stuttgart’s Alexander Kress and a Mitch Fettig interception put to rest any hopes the Musketeers had of coming back into the game. 

Barcelona Dragons 41 – 33 Milano Seamen

For the second week running, the Dragons’ Conor Miller to Theo Landström connection proved to be a dangerous one. This offensive shootout saw the 6”3’ Swedish receiver rack up 166 receiving yard and three touchdowns, the first of which coming on an impressive back-shoulder fade to open up the Dragons’ scoring.

Milano QB Luke Zahradka also put on a show, throwing four touchdowns to four separate targets. Despite not getting in the endzone himself, Jean Constant put up an impressive 171 all-purpose yards on his former team.  Both QBs put up impressive numbers, with Miller and Zahradka passing for 394 and 380 yards respectively, with four scores apiece. Zahradka did struggle with consistency at times, however, turning the ball over twice – once to Lautaro Frecha, the other to Jordi Brugnani.

Vienna Vikings 27 – 24 Berlin Thunder

Vienna opened their 2023 campaign with a very close win over Berlin, who took their first loss of the season.

Although Berlin got on the board first with a Jonas Schenderlein field goal, these three points would be the Thunder’s only points for the duration of the first half. The following drive saw Finish RB Karri Pajarinen score his first ELF touchdown for the Vikings, kickstarting Vienna’s first half domination of Berlin. Two touchdown passes from former Potsdam Royals QB Chris Helbig to Italian WR Jordan Bouah and a Dennis Tasic field goal put the Vikings up 24-7 after two periods of football.

The final quarter was a different game; Isom found the endzone once on the ground and twice through the air in the space of a few minutes, leveling the score at 24-24. The Vikings offense continued to struggle as they did in the third, with multiple three-and-outs and an interception to Moritz Thiele. As the game came to a close, however, they managed to drive into field goal range, where Tasic hit a game-winner with four seconds remaining.

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