THIS GIVEN SUNDAY: RAIDERS HOLD ON, FIRE REIGNITE
With four teams enjoying a bye week, this was the smallest cohort of games in any week of the European League of Football season so far and, with some lopsided matchups on the schedule, wasn’t anticipated to produce much in the way of fireworks. But when the two road teams expected to put up some points and make of game of it with tough opposition failed to even trouble the scorers, it was even more of a damp squib.
The Hamburg Sea Devils and Frankfurt Galaxy would, themselves, have foreseen more than a big fat zero on their side of the scoreboard, even against teams as formidable as Rhein Fire and Nordic Storm, but left Duisburg and Copenhagen respectively with their tails between their legs.
The Storm were coming off a bye week with an unbeaten record — the only team to enjoy that status aside from the resting Vienna Vikings — while Frankfurt rocked up in Denmark at 3-1 following a nail-biting home success over Paris. And it looked, early on, that the Galaxy were still suffering a hangover from that win as they allowed their hosts to romp into a 16-point lead in the opening quarter, and almost double their advantage before half-time. The Frankfurt defense stiffened after the break and a pointless third period was followed by the Storm only adding six more before the final whistle, but unable to score anything on their tough Nordic counterparts left the Galaxy on the wrong end of a 35-0 scoreline.
It was a similar story in the Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena, although Hamburg entered on a high and with genuine hopes of catching the Fire in a slump after two successive home defeats for the reigning champions — at least until gameday bombshell of QB Taulia Tagovailoa heading home for ‘family reasons’. Shaken, the Sea Devils then found their hosts in determined mood, desperate not to fall any further behind in the playoff race and especially keen to get one over on divisional rival. Like the Storm, they jumped out to a 16-0 first quarter lead, increased that slightly before the half and, after a scoreless third period, really piled on in the fourth, adding 20 unanswered points to win by 43 and return to .500. Hamburg native Moritz Maack, meanwhile, was once again thrust into action under center for the Sea Devils but endured a tough time against the hosts’ dominant defense. In contrast to Fire counterpart Chad Jeffries 122 yards and two scores, the 27-year old had only two of 12 passes find their target, with four interceptions and a mere seven yards gained.
Elsewhere over the weekend, it was again the Fehérvár Enthroners who stood out in defeat, putting up 21 points in resistance to the Berlin Thunder, who were probably relieved to be facing slightly less intimidating opposition after recent heavy losses. The Helvetic Mercenaries returned from their bye but appeared to still be slumbering as the Munich Ravens romped to a 35-point lead in the first quarter, before running out comfortable 58-14 winners, quietly improving their record to 3-1. Cologne, meanwhile, continued to look all at sea, becoming the only home side to lose in Week 5 as the Wroclaw Panthers salved the wounds suffered against Prague the previous Saturday by stomping the Centurions by 54 points. The Polish team excelled in all three phases, but the game was again lit up by a spectacular 103-yard kickoff return touchdown from Devan Burrell.
The weekend’s best game was saved for last and is reported below, leaving ELF fans hoping for better from a Week 6 slate that features some intriguing rematches of games far more competitive than those on show over the past 48 hours.
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WEEK 5 SCORES
14.06.2025
Wroclaw Panthers 57 @ 3 Cologne Centurions
Hamburg Sea Devils 0 @ 43 Rhein Fire
15.06.2025
Fehérvár Enthroners 21 @ 38 Berlin Thunder
Frankfurt Galaxy 0 @ 35 Nordic Storm
Helvetic Mercenaries 14 @ 58 Munich Ravens
Madrid Bravos 34 @ 35 Raiders Tirol
Bye Week
Paris Musketeers, Stuttgart Surge, Prague Lions, Vienna Vikings
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Game of the Week:
Madrid Bravos 34 @ 35 Raiders Tirol
The only outcome that could respectfully call itself close came at the Tivoli Stadion in Innsbruck, although even this one looked, at one stage, to be easing its way in favour of the home side.
The Raiders Tirol and Madrid Bravos had traded blows for much of three quarters before the Austrian side capitalised on a rare error from the visitors and suddenly doubled their advantage. Although Madrid pulled one score back, Tirol again opened a 14-point cushion to start the final quarter, but, undeterred, the league’s leading quarterback, Reid Sinnett, and favourite target, Aron Cruickshank went to work, pulling the Bravos back into the contest before leaving head coach Andrew Weidinger with a tough choice as the clocked rested with 16 seconds remaining.
The Raiders again leant on their rushing game, with Lukas Haslwanter and the returning Tobias Bonatti each crossing for a score, but also enjoyed more success through the air as QB N’Kosi Perry added to his own rushing touchdown with scoring passes to Jacorey Sullivan and Philipp Haun, going 16-of-27 for 216 yards.
Sinnett, meanwhile, added another five touchdowns to his already-impressive tally, going 24-of-37 for 254 yards amid seeing both completions and yards go begging. Cruickshank racked up another 146 yards and three scores, including the last-minute touchdown that brought Madrid to within one point of their hosts. With Sinnett having twice found Emilio Ibanez wide open for one-yard scores either side of half-time, a pass play seemed the likely option when Weidinger opted to go for the win rather than overtime, but Tirol sniffed out the run and stopped Eduard Molina — Madrid were without powerhouse RB Justus Seelig — in the backfield, leaving the formality of recovering the Bravos’ onside kick to ensure the home crowd went home happy.
Madrid gets a bye in Week 6 bye and sit on the same 3–2 record as their conquerors, who travel to Switzerland to face the Helvetic Mercenaries.
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MVP of the Week
Dawid Brzozowski (Wroclaw Panthers)
After their shock defeat, on home soil, to the Prague Lions in Week 4, Wroclaw knew they had to steady the ship and capitalise on a road trip to the wretched Cologne Centurions. The weather — more rain in the European summer — could have been something of a leveller for the home side, but the experience of Brzozowski and Panthers QB D.J. Irons kept the Polish side easing away, with the veteran running back accounting for 160 yards and two touchdowns from 36 and 70 yards respedtively — on the ground. As the conditions improved, the platform Brzozowski had established allowed Irons to go to work through the air ensuring a crushing victory over the worst team in the league.
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UPS
Russell Tabor (Munich Ravens)
The Ravens QB took Munich’s game against the Mercenaries by the scruff of the neck and racked up 216 yards and three touchdowns before half-time. With the result squared away, the American was able to put his feet up for the rest of the afternoon, allowing backup Levin Adrom to get vital time under center.
Jonathan Scott (Rhein Fire)
The Panamanian E-import had just 54 rushing yards to his name coming into the Week 5 encounter with Hamburg, but ran all over the Sea Devils collecting 135 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries as the Fire bounced back from recent defeats to Vienna and Paris.
Aron Cruickshank (Madrid Bravos)
Cruickshank continued to make his play for some sort of MVP recognition as, along with Bravos QB Reid Sinnett, he added another 146 yards and three scores in a losing cause against Tirol. Perhaps if he had been targeted on the two-point conversion with just 16 seconds on the clock, the result may have been different.
Reid Sinnett (Madrid Bravos)
Sinnett knows he’s got a good thing going with WR Aron Cruickshank and again looked for his fellow American early and often as Madrid chased the game in Innsbruck. Five more touchdowns were added to his tally, along with another 200+ yards, and Sinnett could hardly be blamed for the run call on the deciding play.
Max Parkinson (Nordic Storm)
The British DE may not have lead the Storm on the stat sheet, but definitely led by example as he inspired the newcomers to a fourth straight win with a sack and two tackles for loss. For the record, Swedish linebacker Hugo Dyrendahl was the most productive member of the defense with 12 total tackles.
Jadrian Clark (Nordic Storm)
While his defense again nailed another shutout — their second in four games — Clark’s offensive numbers again included zero sacks (alongside another three touchdowns), the QB now having been kept clean throughout the Storm’s stellar start to life in the ELF.
Samuel Oram-Jones (Berlin Thunder)
British, by way of USC, running back Oram-Jones provided some sweet relief for the Thunder offense, and combined well with QB Jakeb Sullivan to put the home team in command early against the Enthroners. Oram-Jones opened the scoring with a two-yard touchdown plunge to cap off a lengthy opening drive, and was a regular option for Sullivan as Berlin returned to winning ways.
Rhein Fire fans
Relieved? Impressed? Optimistic? Probably a combination of all three after the dismantling of Hamburg’s hitherto solid defense. Okay, the Sea Devils had very little in the way of an answer offensively, but the Fire defense made sure there was no chance of a third straight home defeat, giving Fire fans reason to believe in a third consecutive title.
DOWNS
Sea Devils fans
Getting hammered by any team, not least the Rhein Fire, would be enough to dampen the enthusiasm of even the most ardent fan, but the Hamburg faithful were already reeling from the sudden departure of QB Taulia Tagovailoa (yes, the younger brother of Miami Dolphin Tua…), which was announced just hours before the shellacking their team took in Duisburg.
Eduard Molina (Madrid Bravos)
It’s probably unfair to single out the backup running back like this, but Molina was the unfortunate ball-carrier who, in the absence of RB1 Justus Seelig, got stuffed before making it through the Tirol D-line in search of the two-point conversion that might have given Madrid a divisional road win.
Moritz Maack (Hamburg Sea Devils)
Again, perhaps an easy target, but Maack was the luckless soul tasked with facing the Fire defense once Tagovailoa left town, and his inexperience showed in some pretty scrawny passing stats. Micah Leon’s return from injury can’t come fast enough for Hamburg.
Frankfurt Galaxy offense
It’s not often that the Galaxy are shut out but, quite aside from an imposing performance from the hometown Storm defense, Frankfurt’s big guns didn’t help the cause, as QB Matthew McKay threw two interceptions and both Sandro Platzgummer and Gerald Ameln were guilty of fumbling.
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SEEN AND HEARD
“It’s good after last week; the win was important for us. We showed that we can finish. We knew they had a good offense, but our defense did very well. At the same time, we wanted to bring what we’re capable of to the field offensively – and we succeeded.”
Raiders Tirol RB Lukas Haslwanter
“First and foremost, I’m proud of the guys, [as] we managed to eliminate a lot of mistakes on offense. We didn’t get penalised, especially in the first half, when we needed to build a safe lead. In the second half, thanks to the big score, the coaches were able to rotate in other players. I think that’s really important for keeping the whole team in game shape. We’re happy with the win, but our focus is already on the rematch against Nordic Storm.”
Wroclaw Panthers RB Dawid Brzozowski
“We had the game under control from the first quarter. We gained an edge on the line and in the running game — something we struggled with in our previous two games. That allowed us to open up the playbook a bit. Despite the circumstances we’re facing, we played a pretty versatile game and remained in control the whole time. We also managed to score through special teams, which is always important. But most importantly, we’re heading back to Wrocław without any serious injuries.”
Wroclaw Panthers WR Przemyslaw Banat
“At the moment, our style of play reflects what we show in training during the week. We urgently need a week in which we can fully focus on football — with the necessary intensity and concentration.”
Hamburg Sea Devils TE John Levi Kruse
“Of course, we had hoped for a different result. But, especially after the changes to the team, it was clear that this would not be an easy task. We stand behind our players and will work together to learn from this defeat.”
Hamburg Sea Devils GM Mark Weitz
“Last week against Stuttgart, things didn’t go according to plan. We went back to the lab, analysed our mistakes — and today we saw the results.”
Munich Ravens DT Hiswill Awuah