The Hamburg Sea Devils continued their hot streak in the European League of Football this past weekend, picking up their fifth win in a row by beating the Rhein Fire by a score of 40-16.
Hamburg was in control of this matchup the entire way, as they outscored the Fire in each quarter. After taking a 21-3 lead with just 23 seconds left in the first half, the Sea Devils were
feeling good about their performance to that point. Perhaps they felt a little too confident, though, as Rhein’s Omari Williams returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown reducing the lead to 21-10. That proved to be just a hiccup for Hamburg, though, as they scored 17 unanswered points to start the second half en route to a comfortable victory. Rhein scored one final touchdown with just under a minute left, but the extra point was blocked and returned the other way by Hamburg’s Daniel Brown for a rare defensive two point conversion, giving the game a score of 40-16 and capping off the day in bizarre fashion.
Hamburg’s offense was led by their dominant ground game, which allowed them to control the time of possession and wear out the Fire defense. Lead back Glen Toonga had 20 carries for 93 yards and a touchdown, while Simon Homadi and Jean Constant had 37 and 36 rushing yards, respectively. Quarterback Salieu Ceesay carried the ball eight times for 14 yards, but managed to find the end zone three times, all rushing touchdowns of one yard. Ceesay also completed 12 of 18 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown, while not throwing an interception
nor taking a sack.
Fire quarterback Jadrian Clark, who signed with the team this week, had a shaky day in his team debut. He completed 12 of 25 passes for 138 yards and no touchdowns, while also throwing an interception and taking four sacks. The Fire offense struggled from start to finish in this one, as negative plays like sacks and turnovers kept them out of rhythm. Their offense only managed to find the end zone in the last minute of the game.
The Fire will look for a rebound performance next week as Clark gets more comfortable with his new team. On Saturday, they have an away game against the Barcelona Dragons, who were upset this week by the previously winless Istanbul Rams. Those Rams will travel to Hamburg for a clash with the Sea Devils on Sunday
