THIS GIVEN SUNDAY: THE GAP WIDENS — IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE
Week seven of the European League of Football served to confirm one suspicion in two ways: namely that the playoff favourites were beginning to separate themselves from the pack, and that the on-field divide between franchises continues to mirror that which exists between them off it.
Once again, two of the eight scheduled games were decided by 50 points or more, and another by 35+. The Prague Lions, previously cellar dwellers in this parish, downed inaugural ELF champions Frankfurt by 21 — and one game fell by the wayside entirely as the Helvetic Mercenaries were unable to field enough healthy players to allow their game against the Nordic Storm to go ahead.
Thankfully, there were much closer games in Munich (see Game of the Week) and Innsbruck, where the latest round of the Austrian ‘derby’ between the Vienna Vikings and Raiders Tirol was decided by a single score. Prague’s win at PSD-Bank Arena was closer than the final score suggested and was determined by another strong performance by 2025’s surprise team, while Wroclaw Panthers might count themselves fortunate to have escaped from Hungary without becoming the Fehérvár Enthroners’ first victims of the season.
A candidate for the best matchup of Week 7, the return fixture between the Raiders and Vikings appeared to only be going one way at the two-minute warning of the opening half, as the visitors — who have never lost to Tirol in the ELF — extended their lead to 30-7. However, a fake punt by Felix Reitter extended the next Tirol drive, allowing Lukas Haslwanter and Marco Schneider to make big plays that resulted in Schneider scoring an eight-yard touchdown. With the subsequent two-point conversion successful, the teams went into the locker room with the score at 15-30 Vienna.
Although TE Florian Bierbaumer extended the Vikings’ lead at the end of the third period, the Raiders refused to bow out and a field goal and Jacorey Sullivan touchdown closed the gap to 24-37. After Reece Horn scored again, Vienna looked to run the clock each time they got possession, but were made to sweat as both Markus Schaberl, with his second score, and QB N’Kosi Perry went over for Tirol, before time finally ran out and the game ended 38-44.
The Prague Lions are no longer headline material. Instead, their games are becoming must-watch because they are no longer the underdog causing upsets. The 37-16 win over Frankfurt — following on from previous road wins in Wroclaw and Hamburg — was the best yet, with the defense stifling Matthew McKay and the Galaxy offense to the tune of three interceptions and three sacks. Meanwhile, Javarian Smith and Willie Patterson went to work. QB Smith starred on the statsheet, with four touchdown passes and no interceptions, but Patterson continues to be the engine that makes the new-look Prague team hum. The ELF veteran claimed a couple of touchdowns while adding almost another 100 receiving yards to an already-impressive total. Smith, on the ground, and David Luksan also added to the Lions total as they moved to 4-2 on the season.
The early stages of the clash between the Panthers and Enthroners at First Field in Székesfehérvár belonged to the visitors, who scored twice in the opening quarter through Darrell Stewart Jr and Dawid Brzozowski, with Jakub Aldaś adding a field goal to extend the margin to 17 points. The Enthroners, however, finally added points of their own before the break, and that seemed to spark the Hungarian side into life. Although Wroclaw re-established their lead through Stewart, the Enthroners found a higher gear, scoring two touchdowns to ensure that the end of the match was tense for both sides, before the Panthers emerged with a modest five-point victory.
The Rhein Fire were already back on form after victories against Hamburg and Vienna in recent weeks, and had no problem cruising through their game in Berlin against a Thunder side that seems to be lurching from one crisis to another. With backup quarterback Ferras El-Hendi starting in place of Jakeb Sullivan for Berlin, it was little surprise that the offense struggled, especially in the face of some suffocating Fire defense. With the visitors relying heavily on their ground game, however, points weren’t exactly flowing early on, with Rory Starkey Jr’s 80-yard punt return touchdown the only score of the first quarter.
In contrast to their offense, the Thunder D was holding up their side of the bargain, and Rhein were unable to extend their lead until WR Clemens Schuldt got on the end of a rare Chad Jeffries pass. From then on, despite the opposing defense’s best efforts, Jonathan Scott and Sergej Kendus shaped the Fire’s offense, with Scott and WR Onuora Joseman taking the half-time score to 28-0. Scott and Schuldt — on a 29-yard pass from backup QB Rohat Dagdelen — added further scores after the interval before the reigning champions appeared to show mercy on their opponent, with the Thunder eventually getting on the board with a seven-yard touchdown pass from El-Hendi to Tyler Foster.
The remaining two games saw 119 points scored in total — by just two teams — as the Madrid Bravos and Paris Musketeers ran up 57- and 62-point shutouts against Hamburg and Cologne respectively. With Edward Molina establishing Madrid’s ground game, and being rewarded with a score of his own, the Bravos’ ‘dream team’ of QB Reid Sinnett and WR Aron Cruickshank feasted, padding their seasonal stats before deferring to backups with the game salted away.
Meanwhile, in Cologne, QB Jaylon Henderson steered the Musketeers to another win to ensure they remain in the playoff race, while the Paris D hammered what must surely be another nail into the Centurions’ ELF coffin by limiting the home offense to less than 60 total yards in between five sacks.
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WEEK 7 SCORES
28.06.2025
Madrid Bravos 57 @ 0 Hamburg Sea Devils
Wroclaw Panthers 24 @ 19 Fehérvár Enthroners
Helvetic Mercenaries P @ P Nordic Storm
29.06.2025
Prague Lions 37 @ 16 Frankfurt Galaxy
Rhein Fire 44 @ 7 Berlin Thunder
Vienna Vikings 44 @ 38 Raiders Tirol
Paris Musketeers 62 @ 0 Cologne Centurions
Stuttgart Surge 33 @ 36 Munich Ravens
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Game of the Week:
Stuttgart Surge 33 @ 36 Munich Ravens
With full acknowledgement of the eighth ‘Battle For Austria’, two of Germany’s stronger teams earned the right to feature in this slot after slugging it out for four quarters at the Sportpark Unterhachingen and producing a result only decided in the final seconds.
The first half of the game gave an inkling to how the rest of the day might play out, with the sides exchanging touchdowns in the opening quarter and, again, after the change of ends, with just a single point separating them at the interval after Stuttgart’s attempt at a two-point conversion came up short and Munich’s fina drive resulting in an interception of Russell Tabor. The Ravens QB had again showed why he is highly-rated in the ELF by finding Malik Stanley for the game’s opening score, but had to play second fiddle to the wide receiver next time around, as a trick play saw Stanley receive a lateral pass before hoisting one into the end zone for Philip Okonkwo.
Tabor was able to show the full extent of his abilities shortly into the second half, scampering for a 29-yard score, but Munich’s enlarged advantage was short-lived as Tomiwa Oyewo answered with a short-yardage score for the visitors, although the Surge’s attempt at bringing the teams level failed once again, sending them into the final quarter with the Ravens leading 21-19.
The final period began with an exchange of touchdowns that saw Stuttgart take the lead for the first time through QB Reilly Hennessy’s one-yard plunge on a play set up by a Kai Hunter breakaway that left the running back just short of scoring. Munich responded immediately, however, retaking the lead when Tabor found Julian Malki for the Ravens’ fourth touchdown of the afternoon.
After the combatants had swapped interceptions, Stuttgart made another bid for the win, with Oyewo bursting through the Munich defense for a 48-yard score on the first play after regaining possession, but there was too much time on the clock for the Surge to feel comfortable, and Tabor used it all, methodically marching his side down the field before finding Okonkwo in the middle of the end zone for the deciding score. Just 12 seconds remained when the tight end came down with the ball, enough for Stuttgart to get three plays off, but never enough for them to change their fortunes.
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MVP of the Week
Javarian Smith (Prague Lions)
With the reliable Willie Patterson as his go-to, Prague QB Smith is quickly becoming one of the more productive players in the ELF. In what should have been their toughest game of the season to date, the American threw for four touchdowns and no interceptions, as well as grabbing a rushing score of his own for good measure. Although he threw for only 153 yards, they were all quietly efficient and adding another 74 on the floor ensured that the Lions’ were too much — and too varied — for Frankfurt to handle.
UPS
Aron Cruickshank (Madrid Bravos)
Alongside the likes of Reece Horn and Willie Patterson, Cruickshank is highlighting the depth of receiver talent in the ELF, and currently leads all three ‘triple crown’ categories after adding 203 yards and three touchdowns against hapless Hamburg. The American had also broken the 1000-yard receiving barrier by half-time in his sixth game!
Jaylon Henderson (Paris Musketeers)
With the Musketeers seemingly now stuck in high gear, Henderson contributed 209 yards of total offense — 156 of which came through the air — and added five touchdowns, the first of which was a six-yard QB keeper.
Kyle Kitchens (Hamburg Sea Devils)
Having finally got his sack game rolling against Prague last week, DE Kitchens added three more to his tally against the Bravos — but was denied a rare touchdown after returning a blocked PAT to within a yard or two of the Madrid end zone.
Philip Okonkwo (Munich Ravens)
Tight end Okonkwo led all Ravens in the receiving game in the vital win over equally high-flying Stuttgart, hauling in three scores — including the clinching touchdown with 12secs left — and adding 80 yards on just six receptions.
Florian Bierbaumer & Reece Horn (Vienna Vikings)
In a close game against their biggest rivals, the Vikings receiving game came up trumps, with TE Bierbaumer and American wideout Horn combining for five of Vienna’s six total touchdowns in Innsbruck. Noah Touré, meanwhile, outstripped both in terms of ground gained on a day when QB Ben Holmes went 24-of-33 for 255 yards.
Malik Stanley (Munich Ravens)
Ravens wideout Stanley may only have contributed 38 yards and one score to the team’s victory over Stuttgart, but had a part in the play of the day as he caught a lateral from QB Russell Tabor and casually lofted the ball into the end zone for a six-yard passing score.
Reilly Hennessy (Stuttgart Surge)
‘Reliable Reilly’ put up 296 yards on 19 completions and added a balanced 2-2-2 for touchdowns, interceptions and sacks in the losing cause against Munich.
Jonathan Scott (Rhein Fire)
The Fire running backs shouldered the load against Berlin, with Scott putting up two scores and 154 yards against the Thunder.
Nicholas Khandar (Paris Musketeers)
French RB Khandar racked up 131 yards on 12 carries and contributed scores in both the run and pass games as Paris crushed Cologne.
Hubert Ogrodowczyk (Wroclaw Panthers)
Linebacker Ogrodowczyk exemplified the entire Panthers defense in what became a tougher-than-expected game against Fehérvár, contributing two sacks and two tackles for loss.
Willie Patterson & David Lukšan (Prague Lions)
While QB Javarian Smith earned the plaudits, he could not have posted the stats he did without either his favourite receiver — with Patterson going 7-for-94 and two touchdowns — or the Lions’ newest contributor to the scoreboard, with Lukšan chipping in with his first scores for the team
Reid Sinnett (Madrid Bravos)
The league’s leading passer further embedded himself in top spot with 348 yards and six touchdowns against the Hamburg Sea Devils. As his position was hardly under threat, with both Jakeb Sullivan (Berlin) and Jadrian Clark (Nordic) unexpectedly not in action, Madrid had no qualms taking Sinnett out of the action late on.
DOWNS
Helvetic Mercenaries fans
The Swiss side claimed a shortage of healthy players as reason for not being able to fulfil their scheduled fixture in Copenhagen against the unbeaten Nordic Storm, but used the unexpected break to fire head coach Marcus Herford, citing the team’s disappointing early-season results, but also hinting at turmoil behind the scenes. The drama will come as a shock to Mercenaries fans believing that the franchise may be turning a corner after some decent performances, and could case clouds over its future.
Berlin Thunder fans
In an eerie echo of the loss of another former NFL Europe franchise, the Thunder’s declining results are now being matched by online ridicule of their stadium. Several unflattering angles of the ageing Preussenstadion began doing the rounds after the visiting Rhein Fire made short work of their hosts, and comments from CFO Ulrich Kramer suggesting the team would use the Olympic Stadium if fans would pay €350 for tickets has not gone down well. Kramer resigned as GM in March, claiming the team’s financial situation was ‘significantly more difficult than originally assumed’.
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SEEN AND HEARD
- “It’s frustrating. We fought until the last second, and it was all in the balance until the very end. But we started slowly and made too many mistakes, which is unacceptable against the Vikings. The team’s character is right there. Our fans were fully into it until the last second; it’s great to play here.”
Raiders Tirol WR Adrian Platzgummer