The Kiel Baltic Hurricanes look to solidify their hold on second place in the German Football League North division Sat. Aug. 12 when they welcome the Berlin Rebels to Kilia Stadion in Kiel.
The 8-2 Hurricanes are coming off a 33-22 loss to the New Yorker Lions two weeks ago and will be facing a 6-4 Rebels team needing a win to stay clear of the fifth place Cologne Crocodiles in a battle for the final playoff berth in the North.
These two teams will face each other again in three weeks time.
Kiel enters the game with one of the two hottest offenses in Germany averaging 43.5 yards a game. The Rebels have been solid on offense all season but are scoring 10 points fewer a game, 32.3. Defensively, there is not much separating the two. The Hurricanes have allowed 217 points in 10 games while Berlin gives up 21.4 points a game.
Kiel WR Xavier Mitchell hauling ina TD pass vs New Yorker Lions July 29 Photo: Dieter Bethke
With running back Chris McClendon averaging a league-leading 159.9 yards a game, Kiel boasts the second best rushing attack in the league. Berlin’s Lawrence McCoy has had half the number of carries and is 10th in rushing with 507 yards, a far cry from his performance in 2016 when he led the league.
Hurricanes quarterback Jared Stegman is the fifth leading passer with 2,466 yards passing and a league-leading 41 touchdown passes. James Harris of the Rebels is averaging 216.5 passing yards a game which has taken the pressure off of the running game for Berlin.
One of the keys to this game will be how Berlin deals with Hurricanes receiver/returner Xavier Mitchell. He leads Germany in receptions with 74, and receiving yards, 1,124 and is averaging 165 all-purpose yards a game.
Kiel has three games left after this one. They face the Rebels again as well as the Dresden Monarchs and Hamburg Huskies. Berlin also plays Dresden but has the Hildesheim Invaders along with the Hurricanes.
Watch the game live here. Berlin Rebels @Kiel Baltic Hurricanes Sat. Aug. 12 4p CEST (10a EDT)
