The Saarland Hurricanes want to create the next sensation
On Saturday (23 September 2023), the Saarland Hurricanes will take on the Dresden Monarchs in the quarter-finals for the play-off game of the Erima German Football League 2023. The Saarlanders travel to Saxony as underdogs, but with the self-confidence that on a good day they can beat any opponent in the highest German division of American football.
From third place into the playoffs
The CANES have built up their confidence from game to game over the course of the regular season. The start of the new season in the GFL South Group was bumpy with a narrow defeat and, above all, with the loss of the foreign players from the USA who had just been brought in and who moved back to the USA at short notice for personal reasons. But the club’s officials were able to quickly find new solutions and add four new foreign players from the USA to the team roster for the second game of the season. The quarterback Robert Rowell was a real stroke of luck. This 23-year-old playmaker with the number 17 developed into one of the best ball throwers in the league right from the start and brought the Hurricanes into the top flight of the South Division with strong offensive strength and, if need be, with runs and touchdowns of his own.
Thus, on the last matchday of the GFL Group South, there was an extremely exciting constellation of three teams still playing for the championship title and the coveted home game rights for the playoffs. The Saarland team is right at the heart of the race. In a memorable end to the season in front of a record crowd of 7600 spectators, the Saarland Hurricanes defeated the reigning German champions and long-term title holders Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns for the first time in almost 10 years in their last home game (Saturday, 9 September 2023). The final result of 36:30 was “only” enough for third place in the final table, also because of the victory of the Allgäu Comets – however, after this inspiring home performance, the CANES will go into the playoffs with the certainty and confidence that they can defeat any opponent in this league.
Quarter finals for the German Championships in Dresden
As the third-placed team in the GFL Group South, the Saarland Hurricanes will now travel to the number two team from the north, the Dresden Monarchs. This is no easy task for the team around coaching staff Hendrik Voss and offensive coordinator Jakob Lawrence. They have never been able to win against the team from Dresden in the GFL history so far. In 2021, the Royals from Dresden were also the final stop for the football team from Saarland in their most successful play-off participation to date in the semi-finals for a place in the German Bowl. When the two teams last met in an interconference game this season at the Bärnsdorfer Strasse stadium, the Hurricanes lost 63-32, but the Saarlanders were still in the lead at half-time and could have done better.
With this knowledge and their great self-confidence from the last game, the Saarland Hurricanes will not only travel to Dresden as extras. On a perfect day, everything is possible for the Saarlanders, including a shock win over the Dresden Monarchs.
We wish the Saarland Hurricanes good luck and success.
The kickoff for the match is on Saturday, 23.09.2023, starting at 3 pm.
For more information on the game and a link to the live stream: https://saarland-hurricanes.eu/stream/