The unbeaten Braunschweig New Yorker Lions (7-0) head into Wilmersdorf stadium in Berlin Sunday to take on an embattled 5-3 Berlin Rebels team looking to turn things around.
The Rebels have lost three of their last four games including a 52-10 loss to the Lions a month ago.
However, they began turning things around in beating the Hildesheim Invaders a week ago.
Nevertheless, the Rebels face a daunting task . Although the two offenses have been performing well this season with the Lions averaging 38 points a game and Berlin 31, defensively Braunschweig has the edge. The Lions defense gives up 9.9 points on average a game, 13 points better than the Rebels 22.9.
Lions quarterback Casey Therriault is having another banner year and is averaging 294 yards passing a game and has thrown 24 touchdown passes. James Harris of the Rebels has completed 61% of his passes for 1,660 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Berlin relies on a two-pronged rushing attack with Lawerence McCoy and Chris Smith at running back. They were the numbers one and three best rushers in 2016 and although their output has tailed off a little this season, they are still a deadly combo. Braunschweig’s David McCants, just scored his 100th touchdown in the GFL and is showing no signs of slowing down this year.
Lions wide receiver Niklas Romer leads the league with 838 yards in receptions and 10 touchdowns. The Rebels top receiver, Alexander Tounkara has 521 yards receiving on 31 catches, which places him sixth.
A win by New Yorker would put them in sole possession of first place in the German North division while a Rebels win would keep them ahead of the idle Cologne Crocodiles for the final playoff spot in the North.
