The top four seeds, the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns, Braunschweig New Yorker Lions, Frankfurt Universe and Dresden Monarchs all advanced to the 2019 German Football League semifinals this past weekend.
The Unicorns downed the Berlin Rebels 45-24 while Braunschweig annihilated the Stuttgart Scorpions 70-3. Frankfurt defeated the Hildesheim Invaders 28-7 and finally the Monarchs beat the Marburg Mercenaries 39-22.
The top performers in each of the games come from two of the four winning teams, the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns and Dresden Monarchs. Jadrian Clark of the Unicorns led all passers while Dresden Monarchs running back Glen Toonga was the top rusher. Nate Robitaille, wide receiver for the Schwäbisch Hall topped all receivers while Dresden Monarchs linebacker AJ Wentland recorded the most tackles of anyone.
Passing
Unicorns quarterback Jadrian Clark topped all passers throwing for 375 yards in the win over Berlin while Frankfurt’s Steve Cluley threw for 282 yards and four touchdowns. Dresden Monarchs QB Glen Cuielette threw for 276 yards and 3 TDs in the win over Marburg while Rebels QB Kurt Palandech had 211 yards passing in the loss to the Unicorns. The GFL’s passing leader during the regular season, Mercenaries QB Jake Sullivan wound up 5th with 208 yards.
Rushing
Dresden RB Glen Toonga led all rushers with his 200 yards against the Mercenaries while Braunschweig’s Chris McClendon wasn’t far behind with 182 and 5 TDs. Marburg QB Jake Sullivan was the 3rd leading rusher in the quarterfinals with 112 yards while Rebels RB Andreas Betza came in at 4th with his 110. His teammate and QB Kurt Palandech was the 5th leading rusher with 89 yards.
Receiving
Schwäbisch Hall WR Nate Robitaille was the leading receiver in the first round of the playoffs hauling in 165 yards while Universe WR Anthony Brooks had 120 yards receiving coming in 2nd. Dresden WR KeVonn Mabon was not far behind with 112 yards with Unicorns WR Tyler Rutenbeck coming in behind him in 4th with 105 yards. Monarchs newly-acquired WR Jordan Bouah finished 5th with 103 yards.
Tackles
LB AJ Wentland of the Dresden Monarchs, the leading tackler in the GFL during the regular season, continued to be a tackling machine in the playoffs with 14 against Marburg. Interestingly, Mercenaries LB Justus Moreland came in right behind in 2nd with 13 tackles. Wentland’s teammate Florian zur Nieder was the 3rd leading tackles in the first playoff round with 10 against Marburg while Sebastian Silva Gomez of the Universe recorded 9, good for 4th. Tied with him, also with 9 was Michael Bausch of the Scorpions.