German Bowl XL was the 40th annual Championship Game of the

German Football League The German Football League (GFL) is an American football league in Germany and was formed in 1979. Playing rules are based on those of the American NCAA. In 1999, the league switched its name from ''American-Football-Bundesliga'' to ''German Foot ...

crowning the winner of the 2018 season. Frankfurt Universe reached the Bowl for the first time, but lost to defending champion

Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns The Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns are an American football team from Schwäbisch Hall, Germany. The club's greatest successes were winning the southern division title in the German Football League in 2009 and in every season played since 2011 (as of ...

by 21–19.

Background

Frankfurt Universe had been founded by fans of the defunct Frankfurt Galaxy after the 2007 NFL Europa season ended with both the league and the Frankfurt franchise being dissolved on the orders of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who had taken over the office from NFL Europe booster and founder

Paul Tagliabue Paul John Tagliabue (; born November 24, 1940) is an American lawyer who was the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL). He took the position in 1989 and served until September 1, 2006. He had previously served as a lawyer for the NFL ...

the previous year. Taking the field for the first time in 2008 in the fifth tier ''Landesliga Hessen'', they would make their way through the American football league pyramid of Germany, before reaching the first tier

playing their first season in the top flight of American football in Germany in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. While the team proved an immediate playoff contender, their 2016 campaign ended in the quarter-finals with a 10–7 defeat to the

Kiel Baltic Hurricanes The Kiel Baltic Hurricanes are an American football team based in Kiel, Germany. The club has been, of recent, a strong force in the sport in Germany, playing in five consecutive German Bowls from 2008 to 2012, losing the first two, winning the t ...

while in 2017 the defending champion

Braunschweig Lions The New Yorker Lions are an American Football team from Braunschweig, Germany. Until late 2010, the team was known as the Braunschweig Lions.

knocked them out in the semifinal 23–21 after Universe had given the

Dresden Monarchs The Dresden Monarchs are an American football team from Dresden, Germany. They have been a member of the first tier German Football League since 2002 and play in its Northern Division. They are the reigning champion after having won German Bowl XL ...

their first quarter-final defeat in eight years. Universe was the first team from

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

since the

Frankfurter Löwen The Frankfurter Löwen ( en, Frankfurt Lions) were an American football team from Frankfurt, Germany. The ''Löwen'' were the first American football club to be formed in Germany.northern dominance by shutting out the North from the final for the first time in 37 years. The Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns reached the German Bowl comfortably by dominating their division (the only games where the result was in much doubt were those against Frankfurt) and prevailed in the playoffs to reach their fifth consecutive German Bowl with the possibility of defending their 2017 title and earning their fourth national championship in club history. The conventional wisdom in the GFL said that no team usually wins ''three'' matchups against the same opponent in one season (notwithstanding that Braunschweig had done so as recently as German Bowl XXXV when they dealt the

their third defeat against the same opponent that year) and the Frankfurt team, bolstered by their sponsors Samsung and strong attendance figures, had assembled a veritable "All Star Team" of players that had been on the rosters of various top teams throughout Europe in previous years went into the game confidently, especially since they had eliminated the strongly rated Braunschweig squad in the semifinal on the road to reach the Bowl. Still, the Unicorns as defending champions and observers expected a close matchup with small individual actions perhaps making the difference between victory and defeat.

Road to the Bowl

The biggest surprise of the quarter finals was ironically the difficulty Frankfurt had in overcoming the

Berlin Rebels The Berlin Rebels are an American football team from Berlin, Germany. The team is playing in the German Football League, the highest level of American football in Germany. In the most recent seasons the Rebels managed to qualify for the play-offs ...

in a game with now touchdowns, ultimately prevailing 6–5 on two out of two attempted Field Goals being good. Otherwise, all home teams won their quarter finals in convincing fashion. In the semifinal the

had to travel to Schwäbisch Hall for the fourth time since 2014 and once again the Unicorns defeated their Saxonian rivals. The other semifinal saw a repeat of the one from the previous year with the

Braunschweig Lions The New Yorker Lions are an American Football team from Braunschweig, Germany. Until late 2010, the team was known as the Braunschweig Lions.

hosting Frankfurt Universe. In a close game, the score remained tied 10–10 at the end of regulation and overtime according to (modified) NCAA-rules had to be played. Each team would get a chance at scoring starting at the opponent's 25 yard line in turn until after an equal number of possessions, one team was ahead. Braunschweig having a chance to score first, both teams scored touchdowns and

point after Touchdown The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

s on their first possession but on the second possession, the Frankfurt Defense managed to grab an Interception and thus on the ensuing possession by Frankfurt all it took them was an easy Field Goal to advance to their first ever German Bowl, leaving record champion Braunschweig out of the final for the first time since 2012.

Game summary

Frankfurt had the better start and scored both the first Touchdown on an 11-yard run by French Runninback Andreas Betza and the second one on a 13-yard pass by Eiffers to the Finnish Wideout Sebastien Sagne who had played for the

the previous two seasons. However, the first

Point after Touchdown The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

attempt was blocked and so it was "only" 13–0 at the end of the first quarter. Hall's first drive ended in an Interception in their own half when Poznanski picked off a pass intended for Ari Adegbesan and their second drive fizzled out around mid field forcing them to punt. The Unicorns, led by the Quarterback of the Germany national American football team, Marco Ehrenfried, who had already led his team to victory in German Bowl XXXIX and the 2014 European Championship finally got on the scoreboard in the second quarter, when Ehrenfried found Tyler Rutenbeck for 42 yard Touchdown pass making it 13–7 with the PAT. The rest of the second quarter saw both teams trade punts until Frankfurt failed to convert on fourth and nine with seconds to go in the half, giving Hall the ball back with not enough time to take advantage of it. The Unicorns received the Kickoff to open the second half but after driving down to their opponents' 33-yard line, Ehrenfried was sacked on fourth and 9 giving up the ball on downs. Frankfurt drove the ball down all the way to the 16 yard line but after a delay of game penalty, Duis – whose Field Goals had been instrumental to winning the Quarter Finals and Semifinal – missed a 39-yarder leaving Universe with nothing to show for their trip to the Red Zone. On the next drive, Ehrenfried fumbled the ball at their own 22 yard-line but the one yard line would be as far as Frankfurt would get and Duis once again missed a Field Goal attempt – this time from only 18 yards out. Universe thus failing to take advantage of Hall's mistakes gave Ehrenfried another opportunity to drive down the field and this time he took it, ultimately scoring on a 2-yarder to Nate Robitaille, giving Hall the lead for the first time early in the fourth Quarter at 14–13. Frankfurt now under pressure began to show nervousness and Niclas Knoblauch scored on a strip-sack when Frankfurt's Quarterback Andrew Elffers couldn't hold onto the ball after being hit by Wilson. Schwäbisch Hall was now up 21–13 and Frankfurt would now need a Touchdown and a

Two Point Conversion In gridiron football, a two-point conversion or two-point convert is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that just scored must ru ...

to even the score, their failed kicks now hurting them dearly. Both teams followed up with quick three-and-outs before Frankfurt got the ball back with 2:42 remaining. Quickly moving the chains, Elffers found Thomas for a 12-yard Touchdown pass and now the Two Point Conversion attempt would decide whether Hall would hold onto a narrow lead. Thrown back to the 8-yard line by a delay of game penalty, the two point conversion attempt failed. However, Frankfurt would still get another chance to win the game when they somehow recovered the ball when a Hall player touched but could not secure the ensuing kickoff with a Frankfurt player ultimately coming up with the ball. Frankfurt had just enough time to get into what should have been Field Goal range, but Duis once more failed to hit the target on a 33-yarder giving Schwäbisch Hall their second consecutive German Bowl win to end with a missed Field Goal attempt by their adversaries.Frankfurt Universe vs Schw.Hall Unicorns (13.10.2018)
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References

Notes

{{Notelist German Bowls 2018 in American football 2018 in German sport October 2018 sports events in Germany