This weekend, Germany’s Kiel Baltic Hurricanes, winners of the 2015 EFL title, will play host to the Amsterdam Crusaders from Holland in European Football League action.
The Hurricanes may have won the tournament in 2015, and Amsterdam did not fare well. However, this would seem to be a different Crusaders team as they have dominated the Dutch league so far in 2016, outscoring opponents 172-0 in three games. They have also added an import quarterback for the first time in over 20 years, Allan Bridgford.
Miquel Castelen and Sean Richards share the running back duties.
Bridgford threw 7 TD passes in his debut last week in Holland
Amsterdam head coach Winston Ronde obviously has his troops flying high and although he knows they still face a daunting task in knocking off perennial playoff contenders in Germany, he has reason to be cautiously optimistic.
Kiel’s new head coach Marcus Herford no doubt realizes that the Hurricanes will have their hands full. Having only assumed the position as head coach recently with the sudden departure of Dan Disch, he is playing catch up. So this will be his first big test.
His quarterback, Logan Schrader, was a four-year starter at Wartburg College (Div III) and set school records for passing yardage and touchdowns. He will have wide receiver Xavier Mitchel to throw to. Herford brought the receiver from his former school Kentucky Wesleyan College where he coached Mitchel.
Herford has only had a couple of weeks to prepare since taking over as head coach, but he remains calm:
“We are ready for the game and our guys are looking forward to the first encounter with an opponent. With Amsterdam, the most dominant team in the Netherlands right now, coming to our place, we are facing a huge task for a young team.”