The top four seeds, the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns, Braunschweig New Yorker Lions, Frankfurt Universe and Dresden Monarchs all advanced to the 2018 German Football League semifinals this past weekend.
The Unicorns downed the Cologne Crocodiles 37-14, the Lions disposed of the Munich Cowboys 59-14, Dresden had no trouble beating the Allgäu Comets 51-19 while Frankfurt eked out a 6-5 win over the Berlin Rebels in a driving rainstorm.
The top performers in each of the games all come from each of the four winning teams. Trenton Norvell of the Dresden Monarchs led all passers while New Yorker Lions running back Chris McClendon was the top rusher. Tyler Rutenbeck, wide receiver for the Unicorns topped all receivers while defensive lineman Segey Souleymanov of the Frankfurt Universe recorded the most tackles of anyone.
Passing
The second-leading passer during the regular season in Germany, Trenton Norvell, performed at the top of his game against the Comets. He threw for 297 yards and five touchdowns in leading the Monarchs to the semifinals for the sixth time in seven years. Jadrian Clark of the New Yorker Lions was not far behind with 275 yards passing and four touchdowns as well.
Rushing
Chris McClendon was by far the leading rusher of the quarterfinal round with nine carries for 81 yards and a touchdown. Next best was CJ Okpalobi of the Unicorns who had 60 yards rushing and a touchdown.
Receiving
Tyler Rutenbeck of the Schwabisch Hall Unicorns was unstoppable in the Unicorns win over the Cologne Crocodiles. His 195 yards receiving on only six receptions was the top receiving stat of the quarterfinals. Mitchell Paige of the Dresden Monarchs, who led the league in receiving during the regular season, also had an outstanding game in the Monarchs win over Allgäu. He had 13 catches for 149 yards and three touchdowns.
Tackling
Sergey Souleymanov was a key performer in Frankfurt’s defensive 6-5 victory over the Berlin Rebels with nine tackles as well as five tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Danny Wynne of the Comets had eight tackles and a forced fumble in a losing cause while Nikolas Knoblauch of the Unicorns also had eight tackles.