In a rematch of the 2023 European League of Football final, the Stuttgart Surge and Rhein Fire square off Sunday, September 8 in the ELF semifinals
One year ago, the Fire defeated Stuttgart 53-34 in the title contest after outscoring the Surge 20-6 in the final stanza.
This is more of a veteran Surge team than in 2023, with head coach Jordan Neuman leading his troops to yet another key playoff game. For many of the Stuttgart players who have played for Neuman through several German Bowl appearances while with the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns, including three wins, this is familiar territory. Stuttgart finished with an 11-1 record. The only blemish was a late season 45-42 loss to the Raiders Tirol.
Stuttgart’s offense led the league in points scored (565) and was second in yards gained (5,193). The Surge were second in passing yardage (3,279) with Reilly Hennessey himself throwing for 2,888 yards and 35 touchdowns. Stuttgart’s receiving duo of Louis Geyer (854 yds) and Yannick Mayr (811 yds) were 8th and 10th respectively in receiving yards. The Surge finished the regular season as the second best team in the league defending the run allowing just 92.3 yards per game.
Fire head coach Jim Tomsula leads his team to its second straight semifinal appearance after winning it all in 2023. The defending champion Fire finished the season with an 11-1 record with the single loss coming at the hands of the surprising Madrid Bravos. Rhein got their revenge though beating the Bravos twice, 40-15 and then 40-10 in the Wild Card round. In that playoff game, the Fire jumped out to a 20-3 first quarter lead. In fact, the Fire have not been truly tested since their late June game against the Berlin Thunder which they won 27-24 after trailing 21-7 at halftime. In the Wild Card game, Rhein’s offense was at its efficient best with Jadrian Clark completing 13 of 17 passes for 248 yards and four touchdowns while the ground game behind Glen Toonga’s 133 yards rushing on 11 carries did its damage. All four passing touchdowns were scored by Harlan Kwofie who had 216 yards receiving on just 10 catches.
Toonga is the Fire’s key weapon as the league’s leading rusher having rushed for 1,497 yards and an astounding 29 touchdowns. The Surge front seven will have their work cut out for them. Clark, while not as dominating as in 2023, has been solid. He threw for 2,055 yards and 27 touchdowns during the regular season with Kelvin McKnight as his main target. McKnight caught 49 passes for 691 yards and six touchdowns. With both him and Kwofie to throw to, Clark can stretch the Stuttgart secondary.
The Fire defense topped the league allowing an average of 14.5 points a game and were stingiest against the pass giving up 146.6 yards per game.
This game is tough to predict. Stuttgart has the slight advantage playing at home but the Fire have not lost a road game since July 30, 2022 when they were beaten by the Barcelona Dragons in Barcelona.
This game could go right down to the wire.