Dresden Monarchs are in the playoff semifinals: 35:6 win against Straubing Spiders

Dresden. The Dresden Monarchs are deservedly in the semifinals of this year’s playoffs in the German Football League (GFL). In front of 5,193 spectators at the “Heinz Field”, the “Royals” beat the Straubing Spiders 35:6. Nico Barrow contributed three touchdowns. The semifinal opponent was only decided shortly after the end of the game. And this time there will be no tedious knockout away game in Schwäbisch Hall. Because the Hildesheim Invaders pulled off a surprise victory.

Since the level of the Elbe in the immediate vicinity had dropped again, nothing stood in the way of the Monarchs’ party being held in the Heinz-Steyer Stadium. The most exciting question beforehand was therefore which quarterback could start. Instead of the newly signed Karé Lyles, who has recently impressed twice, the coaches are initially relying on the established Brock Domann. The war will return after his two-game suspension expires.

Hard-fought party in Schwäbisch Hall

Even though it was not possible to get through the statistically best defense in the GFL South right from the start, Domann found his way at the end of the first quarter and scored the first touchdown himself (11th). Shortly before halftime, Nico Barrow added the second Dresden touchdown (23rd). Kicker Florian Finke was successful with the extra points and so a 14-0 lead was on the scoreboard after the first half of the game.

At the same time, there was a hint of a sensation in the air in Schwäbisch Hall. The Hildesheim Invaders were leading 9-0 in the quarter-final match against the Unicorns after the first quarter, but were trailing 16-22 at half-time. That was closer than predicted. Should there be no semi-final match away from home against the “Unicorns” this time? The Dresden team has often come up short there in recent years, even though they recently won the duel in the regular season.

Karé Lyles takes over from Brock Domann

At the start of the third quarter, Karé Lyles took over as Dresden’s quarterback, but immediately fell into the “Spiders'” trap: he made an interception in his first drive. But the Monarchs defense continued to attack, making life extremely difficult for the Lower Bavarians. Despite this, they managed to score a touchdown this time through Devion Young (33′). However, Lucas Masero thwarted the following two-point conversion.

However, the Dresden Monarchs struck back in the third quarter: This time, Karé Lyles found the strong wide receiver Ricky Smalling in the end zone with a beautiful high pass over 31 yards (35th minute). Florian Finke then did his job too. The Monarchs went into the final quarter with a 21:6 lead.

It took three minutes for Nico Barrow to score another touchdown (PAT: Finke). With the score at 28:6, the signs were now definitely pointing to a home win, especially since the Dresden defense stopped the Spiders’ next drive. Three minutes before the end, Barrow scored another goal (PAT: Finke) to make it 35:6. Ultimately, it was a fitting victory against the Danube city team, who were rewarded with a well-deserved place in the semifinals.

After the final whistle, the Dresden officials were all on the field watching the live stream from Schwäbisch Hall. And there, a sensation suddenly occurred: The Hildesheim Invaders managed to turn the game around with a touchdown and a subsequent two-point conversion shortly before the end. They took a 31:28 lead over the Unicorns and didn’t let it slip away. When their own game was long over, there was another huge cheer in the “Heinz Field” shortly after 6:30 p.m.

Next week fight for entry into the German Bowl

The “Royals” were happy to avoid the knockout game in Hall, especially since they suddenly have home advantage again due to Hildesheim’s victory in the semifinals. Next Sunday evening, September 28th, there will be another Monarchs party at the Heinz Steyer Stadium from 4 p.m. Their opponents will be the Hildesheim Invaders. And for the Dresden team, it’s nothing less than a place in the German Bowl two weeks later in Essen!

DNN