By Danny Weber | Fourth Down Fiasco
The Glen Toonga Show and Rhein Fire (8-1) dominated again as the Fire defeated the Frankfurt Galaxy (2-5) at home 48-13 in front of over 13,000 screaming spectators as the European League of Football wound up its ninth weekend of action.
The Galaxy started the scoring with a 50-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Rimmler, and the Fire answered right back on the next drive, completely controlled by Glen Toonga. On the Fire’s first drive, Toonga carried the ball 10 times for 43 yards and capped it off with a 1-yard rushing touchdown, setting the ELF single season touchdown record with 23 and counting, surpassing Madre London’s record of 22 set back in 2021.
Toonga wasn’t done there as he scored again on the next Rhein possession, this time accounting for 6 attempts and 40 yards. However, the Galaxy finally found the scoreboard again with a 24-yard field goal bringing the score to 14-6 in the favor of the Fire. The Galaxy defense stopped Toonga and the Fire to give their offense the ball back with 1:32 to play in the first half. Galaxy quarterback Matthew McKay took his team down the field in a two-minute drill finishing at the buzzer with Sandro Platzgummer running it in right at the end of the half, bringing the score to 14-13.
The Fire got the ball to start the third quarter and much like the first half, it was all Toonga, scoring twice in back-to-back drives, his third and fourth on the day. For the Galaxy, their second half was drastically different getting shut down completely, only gaining 58 total yards and zero points. The Fire went on to score two more times in the second half following Toonga’s scoring spree, as both Patrick Poetsch and Kelvin McKnight Jr. caught touchdown passes from Clark.
The Galaxy kept it close in the first half but got absolutely obliterated in the second half getting out-scored 34-0 after only being down by one going into the half. Two fumbles lost, seven penalties for 50 yards, and multiple missed opportunities were the Achilles heel for the Galaxy. While Frankfurt struggled, Glen Toonga continued his historic run this season, leading the league in rushing with 1,305 yards through nine games, rushing touchdowns with 23, and leading the MVP Race (#GlenVP).
The Rhein Fire get the win 48-13 defeating the Frankfurt Galaxy for the eighth time since joining the ELF in 2022.
Notable Stat Lines:
Fire
QB Jadrian Clark finished 17/20, 262 yards, and 2 touchdowns
RB Glen Toonga finished with 20 carries, 100 yards, and 4 touchdowns
WR Kelvin McKnight Jr finished with 8 receptions, 87 yards, and 1 touchdown
Galaxy
QB Matthew McKay finished 13/20, 143 yards passing, 43 yards rushing, and 0 touchdowns
RB Sandro Platzgummer finished with 17 carries, 23 yards, and 1 touchdown
WR Nico Strahmann finished with 3 receptions, 46 yards, and 0 touchdown
In other action in the ELF West, the Paris Musketeers defeated the Madrid Bravos 29-13 and the Cologne Centurions were 32-25 winners over the Hamburg Sea Devils.