LIVESTREAM: Germany – Kiel Baltic Hurricanes @Dresden Monarchs, Sat., Aug. 18, 3p CEDT (9a EDT)

The 7-3 Dresden Monarchs, Europe #5, will play host to the 2-7-1 Kiel Baltic Hurricanes, Sunday, August 18 as the German Football League heads into the home stretch.

Dresden defeated the Hurricanes 42-14 in the opening game of the season.

The Monarchs are coming off a 19-3 loss to the New Yorker Lions a week ago while Kiel were beaten 21-7 by the Hildesheim Invaders.

Dresden had beaten both the Potsdam Royals and the Dusseldorf Panther in the previous two weeks by identical 38-7 scores.

Dresden had rebounded from their two losses in early June beating the Potsdam Royals 33-13 after getting a 42-7 win over the Cologne Crocodiles. They had been on a two-game losing streak. They were beaten by the Hildesheim Invaders 31-27 after leading most of the game. They  lost their first game of the year six weeks ago, dropping a narrow 34-31 decision to the Braunschweig New Yorker Lions. The Monarchs had won three straight,  including 49-13 over the Dusseldorf Panther, 42-14 over the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes and a 17-0 shutout of the Cologne Crocodiles.

Monarchs quarterback Zach Greenlee is the second leading passer in the GFL this season having thrown for 2,616 yards and 25 TDs. He missed one game being replaced by Glen Cuiellette in the loss to Hildesheim. Greenlee is second the GFL in yards per game, 290.7. The top receiver for the Monarchs is Kevonn Mabon who has  80 receptions for 1,242 yards and 13 touchdowns and is second in the league in receiving yards per game (124.2 yds/game). Dresden’s starting running back Nazan Yasser rushed for just 13 yards in the loss to the Lions last week.  Linebacker AJ Wentland leads the GFL in tackles by a wide margin. He has 147 tackles, 20 more than anyone else.

Kiel cannot find the win column, at least not very often as they try to get through losing season. In the loss to Hildesheim last week,  the defense kept them in the game limiting the powerful Invaders offense to two touchdowns. The third score was a pick six. The week before though , they were soundly beaten 49-21 by the division-leading Braunschweig New Yorker Lions.

The Hurricanes have had a tough year although they got by the Dusseldorf Panther 20-10 just before the break. Before tying the Potsdam Royals 28-28 they were tripped up by the Cologne Crocodiles 13-12 despite holding the lead the entire game, giving up the tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter. They had dropped a 33-14 decision to the Berlin Rebels before losing 48-28 to the Crocodiles. Kiel lost their first game of the season to the Dresden Monarchs 42-14 and then downed the Dusseldorf Panther 37-17 in the other game.

Hurricanes QB Jake Purichia has thrown for 1,974 yards and 15 touchdowns but tossed nine interceptions in 10 games. Last week, wide receiver Kwame Ofori 359 yards in seven games while Mark Castle is the go-to receiver for Purichia and now has 442 yards and six touchdowns. Lukas Rehder has also become a key target and has 484 yards. However, Kiel’s running game has struggled without Julian Ampaw.  Fritjof Richter has been starting but has only rushed for 215 yards total. As a team the Hurricanes are averaging 67.8 yards a game, third worst in the GFL.

To have chance, they need to take pressure off of Purichia with their running game.

Watch the game live here. Kiel Baltic Hurricanes @Dresden Monarchs, Sat., Aug. 18, 3p CEDT (9a EDT)