Full Highlights
On Sunday, August 1st, the Berlin Thunder traveled to Leipzig to face the Kings, where quarterback Michael Birdsong made his return following an injury early in the season. Leipzig would get a much-needed win, with a final score of 37-24. The Kings will advance to a 2-4 record on the year, while the Thunder move to a 1-5 record.
Recap
The Kings received the ball to begin the game, and Michael Birdsong would be back at quarterback after missing the last few weeks due to an injury. Both teams were off to a slow start, and the 1st quarter would remain scoreless after a Leipzig punt and a long drive by Berlin only to turn the ball over on downs.
Early in the 2nd quarter, Birdsong and the Kings would get on the board first, capping off a methodical drive with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Timothy Knuttel. They’d miss the PAT making the score 6-0.
The Thunder’s slow start continued, and they’d have to punt the ball away on their next drive. The Kings returned to the field and put another solid drive together, capping it off with a 6-yard touchdown to Anthony Dable-Wolf. They’d convert the 2 point attempt increasing their lead to 14-0.
Berlin would finally find the endzone on their next drive, with quarterback Bryan Zerbe finding Seantavious Jones on a goal-line fade and converting the 2 point attempt, making the score 14-8.
Leipzig returned to the field and would quickly answer with another touchdown. A few nice plays by running back Jason Aguemon and wide receiver Anthony Dable-Wolf would set up a 36-yard bomb from quarterback Michael Birdsong to wide receiver Alpha Jalloh for a touchdown. They’d make the PAT and increase the score to 21-8.
On the following drive, the Thunder were forced to punt the ball away once again. Leipzig returned to the field, and after a few nice plays by wide receiver Anthony Dable-Wolf, quarterback Michael Birdsong would find Timothy Knuttel for a 20-yard touchdown reception in the back corner of the endzone. The PAT would be blocked, making the score 27-8 as we approached halftime.
Following the halftime break, the Thunder received the ball, and Calvin Stitt would enter the game at quarterback, but they’d be forced to punt it away yet again. The Kings were finally slowed down a bit and got held to a field goal attempt on the ensuing drive, which they’d miss wide left. The Thunder would continue to struggle on their next drive and again be forced to punt.
When Leipzig returned to the field, they’d get the ball rolling again, with some solid running by Luc Schneider and capping off the drive with an excellent screen pass to Jason Aguemon for a 26-yard touchdown. Anthony Dable-Wolf would convert the 2 point attempt, making the score 35-8 early in the 4th quarter.
Berlin quarterback Calvin Stitt would throw an interception to Alpha Jalloh on the team’s next drive. On their following drive, Leipzig would quickly turn the ball over as well, with Luc Schneider losing a fumble.
The Thunder would capitalize on the fumble, putting together a good drive on the ground with running back Joc Crawford and quarterback Calvin Stitt running the option. Stitt would run the ball into the endzone on an option play, and wide receiver Emil Drossard converted the 2 point attempt, making the score 35-16.
The Kings began running the clock down with Jason Aguemon when they returned to the field but would have to punt the ball away.
At this point, the game was basically put away, but the Thunder did not quit. Quarterback Calvin Stitt would rush into the endzone on a read-option play, and wide receiver Seantavious Jones converted the 2 point attempt, making the score 35-24.
Leipzig was forced to punt on the next drive, but the Thunder muffed the punt and recovered in their own endzone for a safety. The Kings lead would increase to 37-24, and they’d run the rest of the clock out.
The Kings would take the victory and advance to a 2-4 record on the year, while the Thunder move to a 1-5 record.
Next Opponents
The Leipzig Kings will host the Stuttgart Surge on Sunday, August 8th, at 9 am EST.
The Berlin Thunder Will have a bye next week and will host the Hamburg Sea Devils on Saturday, August 14th, at 7 am EST.
