By Jordan Meneo
The Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns went on the road Saturday to face the newcomers to the German Football League, the Straubing Spiders.
The Spiders had a surprisingly good first three quarters given that they were squaring off against the biggest juggernaut in the GFL. However, ultimately, they would collapse in the late stages of the game with the Unicorns jogging off with a 41-13 victory in Lower Bavaria.
In the first quarter, the brotherly love was on full display for the Unicorns. Former Georgetown (NCAA D1) star Nick Alfieri had two forced fumbles setting up two consecutive scores. One of the scorers was Alfieri’s brother, running back Mike “Mikey” Alfieri who had a 3-yard rush into the endzone. The second score came from running back Lars Kozlowski on an explosive 16-yard run. This one-two punch in the backfield gave Schwäbisch Hall a firm 14-0 lead going into the second quarter.
In the second, Straubing started clawing back. Thanks to a Kozlowski fumble, the Spiders’ Lamar Carswell made it 14-7 off a 46-yard run. Kozlowski’s guilt didn’t last long though. He ran 20 yards into the endzone for his second touchdown of the day. The Unicorns were up 21-7 as the two headed into the locker room for halftime.
Straubing Spiders RB Lamar Carswell getting over the top Photo: Manfred Löffler
Straubing was very much still in this game and coming out of the locker room, they knew it. They marched down the field and made it 21-13 thanks to wide-receiver Jan Hochschild jumping on a loose ball in the endzone. The Spiders looked determined to tell a David vs Goliath story.
That’s when the Unicorns started looking like the Unicorns. Every play Straubing ran would either be stopped in the backfield or go for a gain of only a couple of yards. While the Spiders‘ offense progressively got worse, Schwäbisch Hall’s steadily improved. Thanks to two more Mikey Alfieri touchdowns in the third, the Unicorns held a 34-13 lead going into the last period.
However, that’s when things took a dismal turn for Straubing as starting quarterback Raleigh Yedell was forced to leave the game due to an injury. The Unicorns then added to the onslaught thanks to a 45-yard missile from Reilly Hennessey to Aurieus Minton giving the 41-13 final score.
Despite the loss, the Spiders’ defense forced three turnovers but were unable to capitalize. Additionally, Yedell and running back Lamar Carswell had impressive outings. Yedell was able to extend many plays thanks to his legs and poise. Meanwhile, Carswell was able to get through any gap he could find thanks to his impressive speed and agility.
Still, the Unicorns improved their record to 3-0 with the win and now boast the top offense in the entire GFL.
After the game, Unicorns head coach Jordan Neuman was satisfied with his team:
“On offense, we focused a lot on the running game today and that worked very well. Our defense had a very dynamic opponent with an outstandingly strong Lamar Carswell. Overall, though, we did a good job. Losing the ball was annoying, but overall, I’m satisfied with today’s performance.”