Germany: Monarchs-Adler and Comets-Hurricanes – Season on the line in two do or die games
By Noah Constantino
The last week of the German Football League regular season is set to cause fireworks. In both the GFL North and GFL South divisions, there will be a win or go home atmosphere to decide who will take the last spot for the playoffs.
The first game to be played will be August 27 when the GFL South final playoff berth contest between the Saarland Hurricanes and the Allgäu Comets kicks off. It is the Comets’ game to lose as they come in with a winning record of 5-4 and the fourth spot in the GFL South. Allgäu looks to get back to the playoffs and put up a stronger showing than last year when they suffered a crushing 50-13 loss at the hand of the Dresden Monarchs in the 2021 quarterfinals.
On the other side, Saarland come in looking to dethrone Allgäu for the rights to the last playoff spot. Coming off of a huge win against the Ravensburg Razorbacks last week, the Hurricanes look to continue to right the ship and make the playoffs yet again. Saarland was able to make it out of the first round last year, before also suffering an embarrassing loss to Dresden, 37-0 in the semifinals.
In the GFL North, the same can be said with their fourth and final spot for the 2022 playoffs up for grabs. The win or go home game will take place the next day on August 28th, between the Dresden Monarchs and Berlin Adler.
Dresden, the reigning GFL champs who have struggled this season, still have a chance to win back-to-back titles. However, they need to win this game to clinch a playoff berth as they find themselves currently on the outside looking in, holding fifth spot.
Berlin, who currently sit fourth in the GFL North standings, looked great at the midway point of the season. With a 4-1 record and sporting a three-game winning streak, the sky looked to be the limit for the Adler. However, the second half of the season has proved not to be as fortunate for Berlin as they dropped three in a row before finally getting a win last week against the Kiel Hurricanes.
This will be the second time that Berlin and Dresden face each other this year. Berlin was able to outlast the Monarchs earlier in the season in a close 48-42 victory. Hopefully for them, they will be able to offer up another good game in the regular season finale.
