Germany Outlasts Austria in Amazing Double OT Thriller; Win European Crown in American Football!
The game opened slowly as both teams seemed tentative, slowly feeling each other out like two heavyweight boxers.
After trading four punts and making a total of two first downs between them, the game suddenly opened up, as Germany’s special teams took advantage of an Austrian miscue. Austria’s punter muffed a punt from the Austrian eight yard line and the German returner took it back to Austria’s 26 yard line. German quarterback Marco Ehrenfried wasted no time and found Niklas Römer in the end zone, giving Germany a 7-0 lead with just over two minutes left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing series, Austrian receiver Thomas Haider was stripped of the ball at his own 20 and German defensive lineman Maximilian Wild scooped it up and rumbled into the end zone, making the score now 14-0 Germany with 1:38 left in the quarter.
On the next series, Germany’s special teams stepped up again as another bad Austrian punt from deep in their own zone gave Germany the ball at Austria’s 29 yard line early in the second. But Germany could not capitalize this time as normally sure-handed Niklas Römer fumbled and Austria recovered at their own six.
Christoph Gross went right to work at the 8:53 mark hitting receiver Laurinho Walch for a 41 yard gain to move out of the shadows of their own goal posts. Gross then mounted a 13-play, six and a half minute drive finishing with a Christopher Kappel 38 yard field goal to close the gap to 14-3 Germany.
On the next series, Austrian corner Andreas Lunzer picked off an errant Ehrenfried pass and Austria started at the German 29 yard line. Three plays later Gross threw a 19 yard touchdown pass to Walch and the score going into the second half was 14-9 Germany.
