The high-flying Potsdam Royals face their biggest challenge of the young 2018 season when they take on the perennial title contenders in Germany, the Dresden Monarchs in a German Football League North battle Saturday, April 28.
The Royals, who are new to the GFL in 2018, have opened the year with two resounding victories. They started the European Football League, EFL, schedule with a 72-0 pounding of the Brussels Tigers. Then they followed that up with a 56-0 thrashing of the Hildesheim Invaders in German Football League play.
In other words, they have announced their arrival.
So the Monarchs will not be coming into Potsdam over confident.
Royals running back Tyvis Smith rushed for 158 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries in that game while quarterback David Austin Gahafer threw for 199 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver Max Zimmermann had three catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns and returned a punt for another touchdown while fellow receiver Paul Zimmermann caught three passes for 21 yards and a touchdown and Frederik Myrup Nielsen caught four for 44 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver David Saul caught one touchdown pass and rushed for another.
Dresden enters the game with a new head coach as Ulrich Däuber has taken over from John Leijten. His new quarterback, 6’5″, 227 lb Trenton Norvell (Western Illinois University) leads an offense that has been among the league leaders in points scored for the past five years in Germany. New running back Glen Toonga has been one of the leading rushers in the British Premier League for the London Blitz. New wide receiver Mitchell Paige was a standout at Indiana University, and had a tryout with the LA Chargers in the NFL. On defense, All American linebacker AJ Wentland has been added.
This will be a battle of the new versus the old and by no means an easy one to predict.
