LIVESTREAM German Bowl XLIII: Potsdam Royals vs Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns, Oct. 8, 18:00 CET (6 pm, 12 noon ET)
European football fans will be treated to one of the best games of the football season on Saturday, October 8th as undefeated GFL juggernauts the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns and Potsdam Royals will face off in the German Bowl XLIII in Frankfurt at Deutsche Bank Park.
The last time these teams met was in the semifinals of the 2021 GFL playoffs when the Unicorns came out on top with a 28-18 victory.
Both teams are headed into the game with a perfect season on the line. It will be a battle of offense vs defense as Potsdam has the #1 offense in the German Football League and the Unicorns have the #1 defense.
The Royals are coming off of a one-sided semifinal victory where they put up 49 points in their semifinal matchup against Cologne, beating them 49-21. Towards the tail end of the 1st period Potsdam’s starting quarterback Chris Hellbig left the game with an apparent injury after throwing a perfect 6/6 through the air including a passing touchdown.
The Royals‘ offense still did not skip a beat as backup Robbie Patterson came in and led the team to victory with 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Patterson was also 13/16 with 164 yards and a TD. Patterson was not the only Royal to end the game with contributions of over 100 yards. Running back Karri Pajarinen ended with 107 yards on the ground and wideout Brandon Polk would corral seven passes for 121 yards.
On defense, the Royals have one of the best, if not the best pass rusher in the league in Maciej Jaroszewski who leads the league with 10 solo sacks. It is interesting to see how much of a role Jaroszewski will play in this game as the Unicorns offensive line has given up only four sacks through their 12-game campaign. The Royals are still very dominant all-around when sacking the quarterback as they are 2nd in the league with 29.
While the rushing attack from the Royals looks strong, the Unicorns rush defense looks just as fierce. Schwäbisch Hall has only allowed 2.7 yards per carry. A big part of this comes from defensive lineman Simon Butsch who leads the team in solo tackles (23) and tackles for loss (13).
One of the main keys for the Unicorns is to get the Royals to tun the ball over. This year, the Schwäbisch Hall defense has been one of the best when it comes to getting their offense back on the field. They are second in the league in turnovers with 10 forced fumbles and 14 interceptions. They also have a knack for getting to the quarterback as they are third in the league with 26.
Quarterback Reilly Hennessey will look to continue to dominate and lead the Unicorns to a championship season. Hennessey virtually did everything for Schwäbisch Hall when it came to touchdowns in their semifinal game as he threw for three and was able to find the endzone twice on the ground in the 33-8 victory over the Allgäu Comets.
Schwäbisch Hall has been nothing short of a dynasty in the GFL as this will be yet another German Bowl appearance. To put it in perspective, the last time the Unicorns didn’t play in the final game of the season… was in 2013.
With perfection on the line expect to see both teams play their hearts out. It’s only fitting that the two best teams in the GFL, and arguably two of Europe’s top teams, will face each other in the league’s biggest game.
Potsdam Royals vs Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns, Oct. 8, 18:00 CET (6 pm, 12 noon ET)
