The Ingolstadt Dukes will face off against the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns in a week 2 German Football League matchup at ESV Stadium in Ingolstadt.
Ingolstadt currently sits at 1-0 after their opening day win over the Ravensburg Razorbacks. Schwäbisch Hall started the season 0-1 after losing to the Potsdam Royals 30-44, their first GFL loss since October 9, 2021 when they lost to the Dresden Monarchs in the German Bowl.
After winning promotion from the GFL2, the Dukes should be very happy with their week one performance. They easily handled Ravensburg with a final of 52-12.
Their dominance on offense comes from their dual threat quarterback Matthew Weimer. Not only did Weimer get it done through the air with five passing touchdowns, he also was able to use his legs to get 89 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He was not the only one exposing the Razorbacks rushing defense as running back Jean-Charles Moukouri finished with 129 yards rushing of his own.
While they are coming off of a very successful week one, the reigning GFL2 South champs have a very stiff test on Saturday. The Dukes will have to put their promotion to the test as they will take on the reigning and dominant GFL champion Unicorns. While the Unicorns may not look like the Unicorns of the past, it will be tough road ahead for head coach Eugen Haaf and the Dukes if they want to start their new GFL campaign 2-0.
It was very surprising to see Schwäbisch Hall in the loss column after last week. However, after previous head coach Jordan Neuman jumped ship to the ELF to coach the Stuttgart Surge, the Unicorns may be going through an identity crisis as a team.
Overall, the offense looks a lot different this year for the Hallers. Quarterback Ian Gehrke is filling the shoes of former quarterback Riley Hennessey, who also left for the Surge with Neuman. At the running back position, Mike Gentili is taking over as the lead back after the departure of Mikey Alfieri. Thankfully, they did keep their leading receiver, Tyler Rutenbeck. However there still may be growing pains with him and Gehrke.
On the defensive side, they looked somewhat out of sorts. In their week one matchup they gave up 44 points to Potsdam. That is more than any game last season, as the most they gave up in 2022 was 28 against the Allgäu Comets.
The Unicorns still have a great chance to dominate in the GFL this season as they are a very talented squad, but they may be missing the leadership and vision that they had under Neuman. Schwäbisch Hall has a chance to bounce back this week against Ingolstadt, but it will not be an easy task.
Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns @ Ingolstadt Dukes, May 27, 18:00 CET (6 pm, 12 noon EDT)
