The 5-2 Berlin Rebels look to capitalize on their surprising win over the New Yorker Lions last week as they entertain the unbeaten (5-0-1) Cologne Crocodiles June 23 at Mommsen Stadion in Berlin in German Football League North play.
The Rebels scored three first quarter touchdowns and then held on to beat the Braunschweig New Yorker Lions last week 26-21. Meanwhile, Cologne has put together an impressive record so far with just under half the season gone. However, their unbeaten record has not included a game against a single +.500 team. They have beaten Kiel (3-5-1) once and tied them, defeated 0-6 Hildesheim twice, 0-8 Hamburg once and barely scraped by against the 3-3 Potsdam Royals. So this will be their first true test.
Crocodiles RB Shayeen Edwards remains the top rusher in the GFL by a comfortable margin having rushed for 684 yards and eight touchdowns. He has also caught 19 passes for 113 yards and his 797 yards of offense which is a third of Cologne’s overall offense. In other words, as Edwards goes, so goes the Crocodiles offense. Cologne quarterback Bradley Strauss is averaging 213 yards a game and has thrown 12 touchdown passes in six games. However, he has only thrown one interception so far this year in 150 pass attempts.
Sean Richard leads the Rebels in rushing and he is third in the league with 519 yards and seven touchdowns. He has fellow Dutchman, Chris Smith also in the backfield making for a potent running combination to go along with quarterback Terrell Robinson who has 339 yards rushing. Robinson has thrown for 1,087 yards so far. But his superb performance against the New Yorker Lions last week, when he completed 13 of 15 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns does not bode well for the Cologne secondary.
Linebacker Tucker Stanley leads the Crocodiles defense with 55 tackles so far while Jamaal White is the top tackler for Berlin with 45.
