The Allgäu Comets travel to Schwäbisch Hall in southern Germany, Saturday, September 24 to face the undefeated Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns in the German Football League semifinal round.
Schwäbisch Hall, who are chasing a perfect season with a 10-0 regular season record, will be looking to build off of their win in the quarterfinal round where they defeated the Berlin Adler 35-21. Meanwhile, the Comets enter the game with some momentum after stunning the GFL by knocking off the favored Braunschweig New Yorker Lions in the quarterfinals, beating them 14-10.
In the only meeting between the two this season, the Unicorns downed Allgäu 49-28 after a thoroughly dominant first half which saw them take a 35-7 lead.
The Unicorns come in looking like one of the best teams in the entire league as they are the #2 scoring offense in the GFL putting up a whopping 42.9 points per game.
With nobody on the offense truly showing out as a true game changer, a big strength is their ability to spread the ball out evenly and keep the defense guessing on who will make the next big play.
Quarterback Reilly Hennessey threw for 1,786 yards and 21 touchdowns in his seven starts but threw to 20 different receivers with Tyler Rutenbeck as his main target.
What we do know is their defense is the real deal as they are the number 1 ranked defense in the league, only giving up 15.4 points per game. On top of that, the Unicorns defense is very stingy when it comes to allowing big plays from opposing offenses, really making other teams work for their points.
On the other side, Allgäu has had a great run from the start of the season. Finishing off 6-4 and squeaking in the playoffs with a win in the last week of the season, the Comets are looking to stun the Unicorns and make it to the German Bowl for first time in their history.
Allgäu hasn’t necessarily been the best in the league on offense, but they have playmakers on that side of the ball that have been able to do enough to get them where they are now.
A lot of Allgäu’s success has come off of the connection between quarterback Kenyatte Allen and wide receiver Derrick Harvey. Harvey has the fourth most receiving yards in the GFL, putting up 1,201 yards on just 59 receptions, the fewest number of receptions out of all four of the 1,000+ yard receivers in the GFL.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Comets have a weakness when it comes to their pass defense giving up over 250 passing yards a game. It would not be a surprise to see a lot of Schwäbisch Hall’s offense work through the air.
One key for the Comets will be their ability to get to the quarterback. They led the GFL with 31 sacks so their defensive front seven could be a handful for Hennessey and the Unicorns offensive line.
Can Allgäu pull off the upset or will Schwäbisch Hall survive another week unbeaten in their pursuit of a German Bowl title and a perfect season?
Allgäu Comets @ Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns, Sept. 14, 16:00 CET (4 pm, 10:00 am ET)
