ELF: Hamburg Sea Devils roll over Berlin Thunder to clinch playoff berth

| American Football | 08/23/2022

The Hamburg Sea Devils clinched the Northern Conference in the European League of Football and a spot in the playoffs on Sunday with a 39-17 victory over the Berlin Thunder.

Hamburg was expecting a challenge from their division rivals in this one, knowing that there was a lot on the line. The Sea Devils traveled to Berlin and proved that they were ready to play, jumping out to a 27-0 lead in the second quarter. With this fast start, the game was all but over fairly quickly. Hamburg never let the Thunder back in the game in the second half, and the Sea Devils left town improving their record to 9-1. On the other side, the Thunder fell to 6-4, and now have an uphill battle in front of them in their quest to make the playoffs.

The Sea Devils used two quarterbacks in this game. Salieu Ceesay finished 7/9 for 91 yards and two touchdowns, and Moritz Maack completed 7/13 passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns as well. Both quarterbacks took good care of the football, with neither throwing an interception nor fumbling the football. Running back Glen Toonga continued his stellar season with 83 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, while receiver Jean Constant had a phenomenal day, catching seven passes for 135 yards and three touchdowns. Constant got behind the Berlin defense on multiple occasions, as he had a 27 yard touchdown reception and a 49 yard score in the second quarter alone.

As for Berlin, their running game was dominant for most of the game, racking up more than 200 yards. Running back Jocques Crawford carried the ball 20 times for 118 yards, while
quarterback Joe Germinerio chipped in with nine carries for 85 yards and a touchdown. The main difference in this game was the turnover battle. Hamburg forced four turnovers and scored 16 points off those turnovers. Germinerio threw an interception on the first drive of the game, and Hamburg scored on the ensuing possession. The Sea Devils would later score another touchdown after blocking a Berlin field goal.

Next week, the Thunder travel to Istanbul to take on the Rams, while the Sea Devils have a home game against the Wroclaw Panthers.

A current student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Carter played football in high school and has been a lifelong avid football fan.