Germany: Straubing Spiders upset Allgäu Comets with fourth quarter comeback at home
Saturday’s German Football League action saw a huge upset in the GFL South, as the Straubing Spiders earned only their third win of the season but it was against the conference leading Allgäu Comets, who had lost just one game prior to this weekend.
This first quarter was all Straubing, as they opened up scoring with a chip-shot field goal, followed by an interception on their first defensive drive by Dionisio Herrera to regain possession. The very next play saw RB Kamal Cass break ankles in the box before bursting out to the sideline to run in a 53-yard score, before the extra-point made it 10-0 towards the end of the first period.
Allgäu began to find their rhythm, seeing the Comets get on the board with a 33-yard scramble from Javarian Smith. The teams exchanged punts before entering half-time with the score at 10-6.
The third quarter saw a massive momentum shift as the Comets opened up with a score when Smith found Nathanael Stewart down the sideline for a 50-yard passing touchdown. The visitors managed to score another three unanswered in the third quarter, all coming through the air; a simple catch-and-run from Thomas Cambell, followed by a fade ball to Stewart and a quick throw to the outside to get the receiver his third.
The fourth quarter saw the Spiders put up 26 points on the Comets with no response. The play that opened up the floodgates was a lofted ball off the back foot of QB Cole Cantwell, which Cass ran under to score 59-yard receiving touchdown, putting the score at 31-16.
Their next score came from a fourth and 26 situation, where Cantwell heaved the ball 50 yards to Davon Deshields who impressively came down with the contested catch. A successful PAT brought the deficit to one score at 31-23.
Following this, Cass broke through the line on a draw play, exploding through the secondary and running 45-yards downfield before leaping over the front pylon to put up another six points for the underdogs with a little under three minutes remaining.
An unsuccessful point after meant the Comets regained possession with the lead. Fortunately for the Spiders, a big defensive stop gave them the ball back with under two minutes remaining. Straubing capitalized on the opportunity, as two big passes set them up at the Comets’ 27-yard-line with 12 seconds on the clock.
With the game on the line, Cantwell sensed pressure and rolled to his left, letting a ball fly on the run. He found Benedikt Holmer on the sideline in the endzone, who dragged his feet as he brought the ball in over a defensive back. After brief discussion between officials, the side judge raised their hands, putting the Spiders up 36-31, giving them their third win of the season over the top-seeded Allgäu side.
