LIVESTREAM German Qtr finals: Allgäu Comets @ Braunschweig New Yorker Lions, Sept. 10, 20:00 CET (8 pm, 2 pm ET)

The Braunschweig New Yorker Lions (6-2-2) will play host to the Allgäu Comets (6-4) in the final game of the German Football League quarterfinal round, Saturday, September10.

The Lions finished second in the GFL North while Allgäu were third place finishers in the GFL South.

This game marks a return to the GFL playoffs for the Lions who missed the post season in 2021 for the first time in a decade.

The Lions and the Comets have met three times before, with the first being back in 1994, a game Braunschweig won 53-13 in Kempten. The two faced each other in 2015 in the GFL semifinal when the Lions came out on top 42-21 while in 2016 Braunschweig defeated the Comets 30-6 in the quarterfinal round.

Braunschweig enters the game on a two-game winning streak beating the Dresden Monarchs 31-20 and the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes 52-19. The Comets reached the playoffs by defeating the Saarland Hurricanes in the final game of the regular season, 43-42.

The Lions come into the game with a question mark at quarterback as Casey Therriault, the former championship quarterback who had returned to the team late in the season, was injured in his only start, against the Dresden Monarchs. Hendrik Scharnbacher started in the final game against Kiel and was not asked to do much throwing for only 61 yards as running backs Emmanuel Abedi-Bawa (131 yards/1 TD) and veteran David McCants (66 yards/1 TD) did much of the damage. The Lions offense struggled this season averaging only 33.7 points and 336.2 points a game. The two top receivers for Braunschweig, Tamsir Seck (495 yards/6 TDs)  and Justus Holtz (344 yards/4 TDs) will need to step up today.

On defense, linebacker Derrick Bryant has been a force and led the team with 62 tackles including nine tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. He is followed by defensive lineman OJ Thompson who recorded eight sacks and 12 tackles for loss.

Allgäu enters the game with the third ranked scoring offense averaging 39.1 points a game.

The Comets’ passing game is the key led by former Bismark Bucks of the Indoor Football League quarterback Kenyatte Allen Jr. He has been having a great season for the club, leading the way with 2,881 yards passing and a league-best 40 touchdowns, and a 194 passing efficiency rating. His main weapon, wide receiver Derrick Harvey, the third leading receiver in terms of receiving yards per game (113.4) has been effective with the ball himself; with 17 touchdowns, while averaging 20.2 yards per catch, third highest in the GFL.

The Comets’ defense has struggled at times giving up 389 yards and 29 points a game. Still, linebacker Neil Padden was the third leading tackler in the GFL with 87 total tackles. His teammate, Mario Wokocha was the sack leader with 14 for the year with defensive lineman Johannes Wagner just behind him with nine.

This game could well depend on who starts for the Lions at quarterback. If Therriault is healthy, it could be a long day for the Allgäu defense. Still, Braunschweig showed much improvement during the latter part of the season and should be able to ride that momentum into the semifinals.

Allgäu Comets @ Braunschweig New Yorker Lions, Sept. 10, 20:00 CET (6 pm, 12 noon ET)