THIS GIVEN SUNDAY: LIONS ROAR, VIKINGS FALL, STORM LEFT STANDING

And then there was one! The Nordic Storm — the newest team in the European League of Football — are the last to remain unbeaten in the 2025 season, following their second win over the Wroclaw Panthers and Rhein Fire’s revenge in Vienna.

On a weekend of intriguing rematches, the Storm welcomed Wroclaw to the Gladsaxe Stadium, and even gave the Polish side a sense that they might have a chance of ending the four-game run that has propelled the new boys to the top of the North Division. To their credit, the Panthers played consistently on both offense and defense, and were the first to score thanks to Dawid Brzozowsk, the running back supported on the board by American quarterback D.J. Irons.

Then, however, Storm QB Jadrien Clark got to work, turning the game on its head in a matter of minutes before half-time and stretching the home side’s advantage after the interval. Although Wrocslaw had put the former league MVP under pressure early on, once in rhythm, the Storm completely dominated the Panthers through the final two quarters and deservedly won.

In France, the Paris Musketeers hosted the Frankfurt Galaxy still smarting from the last-second defeat they suffered despite mounting an almighty comeback in their first encounter of the season. This time around, there was almost no doubt as to which team would come out on top — although the first quarter did suggest it might be Frankfurt as the Musketeers’ first three possessions ended in two interceptions and a quarterback fumble. Having spotted their opponents the lead, however, Paris — and QB Jaylon Henderson — took control, with Austin Mitchell providing the offensive spark to carry them to a comfortable, and important, win.

Proving that the league’s bigger names shouldn’t hog all the headlines, however, perhaps the most intriguing game of the weekend took place in Hamburg, where the mercurial Sea Devils hosted a Prague Lions team on a two-game tear kickstarted by a road win in Wrocslaw two weeks ago. After a cagey first half in which the visitors led 3-0, the Lions jumped out to a 16-0 advantage before Chrismen Kyai put Hamburg on the board late in the third quarter. With their tails up, the Sea Devils restricted Prague to a field goal over the remainder of the game and, having added a second touchdown, were pressuring the Czech side until Lucca Fechia picked off a Micah Leon ‘Hail Mary’ in the closing moments.

With the weekend’s biggest game taking place on Saturday evening at the Generali Arena in Vienna, a lot of what went on around the league was always going to be overshadowed — and largely proved to be one-way traffic. The Raiders Tirol kicked things off with another quietly comfortable win on Saturday afternoon, this time in Switzerland over the plucky Helvetic Mercenaries. Knowing they needed a win to remain ahead of their Austrian rivals in the South Division, Munich similarly went about their business to dispatch the Berlin Thunder, with QB Russell Tabor putting in another authoritative performance. Nothing could compare, however, to the shellacking handed out by Stuttgart in their meeting with the hapless helpless Cologne Centurions. Already almost halfway to their eventual 88 (yes, EIGHTY-EIGHT) point total, the Surge swapped out their starters to give the backups some valuable pitch time… and the result was still the same. Although they were able to get seven points of their own on the board, the Centurions have yet to concede less than 47 points in any game, which suggests that Galaxy may have gone easy on them.

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WEEK 6 SCORES

21.06.2025

Raiders Tirol 44 @ 12 Helvetic Mercenaries

Wroclaw Panthers 19 @ 47 Nordic Storm

Rhein Fire 33 @ 26 Vienna Vikings

22.06.2025

Prague Lions 19 @ 14 Hamburg Sea Devils

Munich Ravens 35 @ 12 Berlin Thunder

Frankfurt Galaxy 16 @ 35 Paris Musketeers

Cologne Centurions 7 @ 88 Stuttgart Surge

Bye Week

Madrid Bravos, Fehérvár Enthroners

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Game of the Week:
Rhein Fire 33 @ 26 Vienna Vikings

It was only three weeks ago that the Fire and Vikings met in a rematch of last season’s Championship Game, a contest rightly lauded for its competitive aura as Vienna extracted no small measure of revenge with a 12-7 victory on the road. The Fire then lost at home again the following week, this time more comprehensively to Paris in the midst of upheaval in their coaching ranks. Dominating Hamburg just six days later salved a lot of the champions’ scars, however, and should have put the Vikings on alert for Week 6.

Rhein were unfazed by the fantastic atmosphere provided by over 11,000 fans and started strongly, the first offensive series lasting just three plays before quarterback Chad Jeffries found a wide-open Harlan Kwofie for a 55-yard score. Kick converted, the Fire led 7-0 after less than 90 seconds, but Vienna hit straight back to underline that this was not going to be a repeat of the defensive struggle in Düsseldorf. When Ben Holmes threw a spectacular 40-yard score to wide receiver Reece Horn, only Dennis Tasic’s missed the extra point separated the teams until the end of the quarter, when Rhein began to establish their running game, and Jeffries capitalised on Jonathan Scott’s hard yards to dive over on a QB sneak.

Despite Holmes’ best efforts, and big catches for both Noah Touré and Florian Bierbaumer, sacks by Bennet Dümmer and Hugo Klages halted the Vikings’ momentum, and the teams swapped field goals before the interval to leave the score 17-9 in the visitors’ favour.

Incredibly, the Fire then sleepwalked into an ambush as soon as the second half began, allowing Horn to reel in touchdown passes of 10 and 59 yards before a safety — as Lucky Ogbevoen sacked Jeffries in the Rhein end zone — catapulted Vienna into a 26-17 lead. Jeffries then threw an interception and the Fire were having to dig deep to avoid a third defeat to potential playoff opponents in four weeks.

It took mistakes from their hosts to allow them back into the game, an errant snap leading to a Vikings’ punt being blocked deep in the Vienna half. Safety Darrius Nash took the ball into the end zone for the touchdown, and Eritros Haggi’s extra point brought the deficit down to 24-26. Now the Fire defense came back into its own, forcing Vienna into a quick three-and-out before Haggi’s next field goal put the German side back into the lead.

Vienna tried to respond by varying its offense with quick passes — mostly to Horn — and runs via Johannes Schütz but, with just under five minutes left, Rhein linebacker Marius Kensy strip-sacked Holmes at the Fire 46 and Lino Schröter picked up the loose ball and carried it into the end zone for the final score of the game.

Ending Vienna’s unbeaten home streak — which had lasted from September 2022 — proved to be an emotional moment for the Fire, who now sit second in the North Division behind the unbeaten Storm, who they meet for the first time on 13^th July.

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MVP of the Week
Dijion Walls (Raiders Tirol)

In a game in which the Raiders should have been on top from the start, it took a defensive spark from cornerback Walls — who intercepted new Mercenaries quarterback Josiah Norwood and returned the ball 98 yards — to get the first touchdown on the board. On a day when the Raiders had to rely heavily on their run game to pull away from an initially stubborn Helvetic side in the absence of QB1 N’kosi Perry, Walls blocked two of the Swiss team’s kicking attempts, the second of which was returned for six by Jan Mayerhofer as Tirol eased away in the final period.

 

UPS

Jadrian Clark (Nordic Storm)

Quarterback Clark helped the Storm emerge as the last unbeaten team in the 2025 ELF campaign with 370 yards passing and six more touchdowns to add to an already impressive early season tally. If there is a downside to the American’s run, it would be throwing his first interception of the year but, coming after 20 touchdown passes, he can probably be forgiven for the slip. Clark currently has 22 touchdowns has surpassed 1,500 yards through five games.

Kyle Kitchens (Hamburg Sea Devils)

If anyone wasn’t going to let Prague quietly steam a road victory out of Hamburg on Sunday it was Kyle Kitchens although, this time, his efforts proved to be in vain. The three-time ELF Defensive Player of the Year — who joined Hamburg from Berlin this season — racked up 10 tackles, including eight for loss, and added four sacks of Javarian Smith for good measure.

Adria Botella Moreno (Nordic Storm)

On an afternoon where Jadrian Clark’s favourite target, Brendan Beaulieu, was held without a touchdown, Wrocslaw appeared to lose touch with Botella Moreno who, despite notching only 63 yards receiving (albeit at 7.88 per catch), got on the end of his quarterback’s six touchdown passes as the Storm moved to 5-0.

Lukas Haslwanter (Raiders Tirol)

With backup QB Adrian Platzgummer again under center, and needing the defense to get things going in Switzerland, Haslwanter again took on the role usually filled by Tobias Bonatti, putting up 108 yards on 14 carries and, more importantly, adding two scores — of one and 57 yards — to the Raiders total.

Russell Tabor (Munich Ravens)

Ravens quarterback Tabor produced another understated statline for the visitors as they overcame a stubborn Berlin Thunder side in the capital. Going 18-of-25 for 265 yards and three touchdowns — all while avoiding an interception — keeps Munich at the top of the South Division.

Reece Horn (Vienna Vikings)

Even in a rare losing effort, it is difficult to keep Horn quiet, the former NFL receiver teaming up with Vikings quarterback Ben Holmes for three touchdowns as the home side fought back against the Rhein Fire. Although the reigning champions then staged their own comeback to claim the W, Horn ended the day with nine receptions for 159 yards and three scores.

Josiah Norwood (Helvetic Mercenaries)

Signed at just three days’ notice to replace IR-bound Isaiah Weed, the dual-threat Norwood showed his worth on debut for the Mercenaries against Raiders Tirol. It was on the ground that the former Wrocslaw Panther showed out, running for 170 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. Although he was picked for the Raiders opening touchdown, as Dijion Walls wrested the ball from the grasp of ex-NFLer Keelan Cole, Norwood should give Helvetic optimism going forward.

Jaylon Henderson (Paris Musketeers)

For the first quarter of the Musketeers return game against Frankfurt, Henderson looked bound solely for the Downs section of this review, but turned his — and his team’s — day around thereafter. Having gone INT-INT-Fumble on his first three posessions, the American then contributed heavily both through the air and on the ground adding a score and 93 yards rushing to two touchdown tosses and 188 yards passing. We’ll let him off lightly this time as Paris moves firmly into the playoff picture.

Stuttgart Surge backups

While Reilly Hennessy might feel a little aggrieved at not being allowed to pad his stats against the worst team in the league, he will also thank his coaches for preserving his body for future encounters. The import had thrown for two touchdown and 82 yards on a perfect 5-for-5 opening, but then sat back and watched backup QB Lars Heidrich add two of his own, alongside 201 yards, and the Surge run game, on the shoulders of Kai Hunter, Micah McCullough and Bryan Yankson, get in on the act with two scores apiece in an 88-7 thrashing.

 

DOWNS

Vienna Vikings

Despite a brave performance in front of over 11,000 fans at the Generali Arena, the hometown Vikings finally saw their 1000-day winning streak come to an end at the hands of the Rhein Fire.The Vienna side — which won in Düsseldorf three weeks ago to avenge last year’s Championship Game defeat — last lost at home on September 4^th 2022 against Wroclaw.

Keegan McCormick-Reamer (Cologne Centurions)

Signed just days before the start of the 2025 campaign, having previously played for the Münster Blackhawks in Germany’s Regionalliga, McCormick could never have imagined being on the wrong end of eight sacks, and many more hits, as QB1 for the Centurions. Unfortunately, such is Cologne’s plight and games against Paris (twice) and Frankfurt to come before the rematch against the Surge, there will be many more to come.

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SEEN AND HEARD

• “As always, it’s a team effort — that’s all that matters. We showed it last year and again this year: We don’t retreat after a loss. We have that mentality — both among the coaches and the players.”
  Rhein Fire LB Lino Schröter

• “The scoreboard shows how the match went, so I don’t want to comment on that. We started this match well and, if we had kept up this pace, I guess the result would have been completely different. Now we have to correct our mistakes and work on making it even better. Coach Samel has been with our offensive line for a week and we can see great progress in this aspect. The training sessions are well-organised and the game plan is really good, so now we just have to translate all this work into results on the pitch.”
  Wroclaw Panthers C Rafal Rogaczewski