Weekend roundup of European
high school football games
Division I
Würzburg 21, Wiesbaden 16
Stars and Stripes
Keith Boydston / Stars and Stripes
Hohenfels linebacker Louis Sanchez (20) sacks Naples quarterback Alonzo Tafur, forcing a
fumble during a Division III semifinal playoff game Saturday in Naples, Italy. Hohenfels
won, 20-0.
(Jump to story) |
WIESBADEN, Germany — Defending European Division I football champion Würzburg
survived a tough test Saturday in the semifinals of the DODDS-Europe Division I playoffs.
The high-powered Wolves led 21-7 at halftime, then held off Wiesbaden 21-16.
Würzburg will play at Ramstein on Nov. 10 for the Division I championship. The Royals
defeated Heidelberg 43-0 on Saturday.
"Our defense outshone our offense today," said Würzburg coach Dave Eidem,
who credited his kicker, Aurturo Perez, with two touchdown-saving tackles on special
teams. "Wiesbaden played extremely hard. They have nothing to hang their heads
about."
The Wolves’ defense scored the game’s first touchdown and preserved a
five-point in the fourth quarter by recovering a fumble on their own 10-yard line.
The TD was scored when defensive stalwart Mike Woolford fell on a the ball in the end
zone after an errant Wiesbaden snap.
After the Wolves’ first score, Wiesbaden’s Kyle Jons, who had 106 yards on 34
carries, capped a 65-yard drive that would tied it 7-7.
Würzburg countered with an 81-yard touchdown run by Roderick Haynes. Haynes took the
pitch from quarterback Andrew Wempe, then broke loose when Korey Gunther cut down the
cornerback to open the way.
The Wolves followed with a 24-yard scoring pass from Wempe to Gerard Fox, who became
open when a defender fell on the wet turf. The TD pass came in the closing moments of the
half and followed a pass interference penalty that nullified an interception.
In the second half, T.J. Sanders came in on a blitz and sacked Wempe in the end zone
for a safety to cut the deficit to 21-9. Taking the ball after a free kick, the Warriors
made it 21-16 on a 6-yard play-action pass from Alex Carino to Jons.
Würzburg’s defense, led by Woolford, Brandon Richardson, Wempe and Daryl Diltz,
stopped Wiesbaden three times inside the 20 in the final quarter.
Würzburg did little on offense in the second half against the Wiesbaden defense led by
Sanders (15 tackles), Tyler Ruger (11) and Brandon Stevens (eight).
Wiesbaden completed its season 3-2.
Ramstein 43, Heidelberg 0
RAMSTEIN AB, Germany — Arranging a rematch of last year’s Division I
championship game proved easy Saturday for the Royals, who thumped the Lions for the
second week in a row.
The Royals, Division I regular-season champions, will play to host Würzburg in the
Division I championship game. Ramstein beat Heidelberg 41-3 last weekend.
Jeff Gilmore’s 2-yard TD run with 8:11 remaining pushed the game beyond the
40-point mercy rule, ending it.
Ramstein took a 14-0 first-quarter lead on Matt Welsh’s 3-yard TD pass to Isaiah
Fluellen, a 1-yard plunge by Welsh and a pair of PATs by Vincent Del Greco, who returned
from a sore knee that sidelined him the previous week.
The winners made it 30-0 at the half on an 18-yard interception return for a touchdown
by Derrick Curtis, who finished with three sacks and a blocked punt, a 29-yard Del Greco
field goal and a 10-yard TD run by Kenneth Williams.
Steve Bugenske ran a yard for a TD that made it 37-0 after intermission.
Fluellen had four catches for 43 yards and Ramstein’s B.B Oyefeso led all rushers
with 69 yards on nine carries.
Mark Price and Brian Jenkins helped Curtis on defense. Jenkins had six solo tackles and
two assists and Price added one sack, three solos and three assists.
Heidelberg’s Craig Lee, who caught four passes for 33 yards, registered nine
unassisted tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery.
Arthur Jackson and Ethan Thomas led the Lions tacklers, with 14 and 10 solo stops,
respectively.
Ramstein improved to 5-1; Heidelberg finished 2-4.
Division II
SHAPE 29, Vilseck 13
By Gregory Piatt,
Belgium bureau
Gregory Piatt / Stars and Stripes
SHAPE's Eshawn McNiel barrels through the Vilseck line in the third quarter to score the
Spartans' second touchdown. |
MONS, Belgium — The "Belgium Bowl" is back, the announcer bellowed over
the public address system as time ran out in Saturday’s football game here.
SHAPE beat Vilseck 29-13 in the DODDS Division II semifinal, setting up the Nov. 10
title game against its rival from the Belgian capital, the International School of
Brussels. SHAPE will play host to ISB, which defeated Aviano 20-14.
"I was talking with the ISB coach this week and if we met in the final we would
call it the Battle of the Bulge," said Kregg Kappenman, the high school football
coach at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Command Europe. "The last time we met them
earlier this year at our homecoming, we beat them 9-3.
"It was a war and anybody’s game until the last snap."
On Saturday, SHAPE (6-0) used a smashmouth ground campaign to wear down Vilseck (3-3).
Three Spartans running backs gained at least 70 yards.
Junior Greg Najac, who ran for 70 yards on three carries, scored touchdowns on runs of
65 and 12 yards. Senior Eshawn McNiel scored on a 6-yard run and ran for two two-point
conversions while rushing for 107 yards on 16 carries. Junior Marques Wynn added 91 yards
on 13 carries.
"They were blowing us off the ball," said Vilseck coach Tim Connolly.
On one of the few times SHAPE went to the air, it scored on a 34-yard pass from Ryan
Rice to Markaza Johnson in the first quarter.
But it took SHAPE more than a half to take control. The Spartans were stunned on the
opening kickoff when Vilseck’s Antonio Harris ran it back 85 yards for a touchdown.
"It was a shot in the stomach," Kappenman said.
SHAPE quickly came back with the touchdown pass on its first possession.
The rest of the first half was played between the 40-yard lines and was filled with
fumbles, penalties and punts.
Kappenman said he made some changes at halftime, and SHAPE’s offensive line and
defense took over in the second half.
"They moved it into the next gear and we didn’t have an extra gear,"
Connolly said.
McNiel’s touchdown put the Spartans ahead for good with a little more than four
minutes left in the third quarter and SHAPE’s defense, led by Alex and Richard
Rendon, took over.
"We had some good blocking, but it was our defense that shut them down in the
second half," Kappenman said.
Vilseck scored late in the game when sophomore Carral Billie scored on a 24-yard run.
Billie ran for 40 yards on five carries and had seven tackles.
ISB 20, Aviano 14
AVIANO AB, Italy — Darrel Davenport gained his 200th rushing yard of the day with
20 seconds to play Saturday, giving the Raiders a victory over the Division II-South
champion.
Davenport crashed over from the 1-yard line for the decisive score to cap a 21-yard
fourth quarter drive that moved the Raiders into the Division II championship game against
SHAPE.
Davenport kept the drive going with a 10-yard gain on third and 10 before quarterback
Will Hendrickson scrambled to the Aviano 1-yard line. Davenport went in on the next play,
his 28th carry of the afternoon.
ISB got great field position for its winning drive when it forced Aviano to punt out of
its end zone. The kick carried to the Aviano 37 and was returned 16 yards.
The Saints had started their possession at their 1 when free safety Aurilio Irizarry
intercepted Hendrickson’s pass just outside his end zone. Three plays against the
muscular ISB front gained nothing.
The Saints took a 14-0 first-half lead on quaterback Mike Broderick’s 12-yard
scoring pass to speedy Dur Till, and a 1-yard TD plunge by Mike Scott, who carried 21
times for 103 yards. Broderick went 7-for-12 for 110 yards.
ISB answered with a 46-yard halfback-option pass from Davenport to Mike Barrett that
made it 14-6 at halftime.
ISB, the II-North runner-up, used its superior size and the formidable lead blocking of
250-pound fullback Jim Rostick to take charge in a second half that was played mostly in
Aviano territory.
Davenport dented the Aviano defense for a 6-yard TD run, and a two-point conversion
pass from Hendrickson to Barrett tied it 14-14 in the third quarter. Hendrickson passed
for 70 yards and completed eight of 14 passes.
Irizarry led Aviano with 20 tackles, Tom Pasch was in on 14, Matt Refsnider had 12 and
Cameron Hopf added 11.
Aviano ends its season 6-1. ISB (6-1) lost at SHAPE 9-6 on Oct. 13.
Division III
Hohenfels 20, Naples 0
By Keith Boydston,
Naples bureau
Keith Boydston / Stars and Stripes
Hohenfels linebacker James Panui delivers a crushing blow to Naples running back Jo-Jo
Tutt (17) during Saturday's game. |
NAPLES, ITALY – All-everything running back James Panui rushed for 150 yards and a
touchdown, and Marcus Tillberg returned an interception 55 yards for another score
Saturday as Hohenfels blanked Naples 20-0 in a Division III semifinal in Naples, Italy.
"He’s very solid, he does everything extremely well," Hohenfels head
coach Shawn Rodman said of Panui, a senior who also plays linebacker on a stingy defense
that limited the Wildcats to 150 yards. "He’s just a super football player and a
great kid."
The Tigers endured a 20-hour bus trip from Germany to southern Italy and it caused some
concern.
"It makes a big difference, I think they’re tired," Rodman said before
the game. "It’s been a long trip and I just hope they’re able to
concentrate."
Any worries about the long trek were quickly put to rest.
On the second play from scrimmage, the speedy Panui took a handoff from quarterback
Robin Hair, started right, cut left and outraced the defenders on an 82-yard touchdown
run. Hair’s extra-point kick missed, but the Tigers led 6-0 28 seconds into the
contest.
Minutes later, Tillberg picked off Alfonzo Tafur’s pass and raced 55 yards for the
Tigers’ second score. Hair’s extra-point attempt was good and Hohenfels led
13-0.
Stellar defense dominated the rest of the half. After Kurt Jacobs recovered a fumble
for the Wildcats at the Hohenfels 26-yard line late in the first half, Brandon Gogian
sacked Tafur for a 9-yard loss on fourth down, preserving the 13-0 margin.
The defensive struggle continued in the second half until Street took a handoff and
sprinted 60 yards for a touchdown with eight minutes left in the game.
"They have a tough defense and a great offense," Naples first-year head coach
James Hall said about Hohenfels. "The key today was defense and big plays. Take away
three plays and this was a good ballgame."
Hohenfels (6-0) will defend its Division III title against London Central (6-0) at a
site to be determined Nov. 10. Naples finished the year 3-3.
London Central 20, Ansbach 12
WEST RUISLIP, England — Mike Clark, who completed six of seven passes for 133
yards, hit Mark McKiethan in the flat with a pass that turned into a 41-yard scoring play
Saturday as unbeaten London Central marched into the Division III championship game.
The third-quarter play allowed the Division III-North champion to extend its 14-12
lead.
Ansbach took a 6-0 lead when Miles Sheppard returned the opening kickoff 70 yards for a
touchdown. London Central answered with a 7-yard scoring run by McKiethan and Clark’s
23-yard run to make it 14-6 at halftime.
Ansbach cut the deficit to 14-12 on Sheppard’s 7-yard run. The Cougars had the
ball with less than a minute to play when Walter Coleman picked off a pass to end
Ansbach’s final threat.
McKiethan played authoritative defense on Saturday, registering 10 solo tackles and six
assists. London Central’s Robert Hyrniewiecki added seven solos and five assists.
Jensen Santos picked off a pass for Ansbach and made six unassisted tackles. Defensive
tackles Jacoby Boykins added four unassisted stops and two assists.
Ansbach, runner-up to Hohenfels in Division III-South, ended its season 3-2.
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