KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany -- For the Ramstein Royals, this was a crowning achievement.

A shutout.

Of the vaunted Wiesbaden Warrior offense.

Exacting vengeance for its only two losses of the last two seasons.

And most importantly, a championship.

The Royals defeated the Warriors 17-0 in the 2014 DODDS-Europe Division I championship game Saturday night at Kaiserslautern High School, swinging the schools' ongoing power struggle back in Ramstein's favor. Wiesbaden beat Ramstein for the title in both 2011 and 2013.

Now the Royals are back on the DODDS-Europe throne. The title is the second in three seasons for the Royals, who beat Patch for the crown in 2012

"Everything about it was perfect," Royals defensive standout Mason Dean said. "I'm speechless right now. I love our defense."

There was a lot to love on Saturday.

None of Wiesbaden's usual offensive flourishes - the reverses and quarterback keepers, the screen passes and shots downfield, the handoffs to one of a half-dozen big-play threats - found any foothold in the face of the swarming Royal defense.

The outcome was a complete reversal of the narrative that defined last year's championship game between these two teams. In 2013, the Warriors unleashed a speedy offensive attack the unbeaten Royals just couldn't catch up to. On Saturday, the Royals fielded a dominant defense the unbeaten Warriors simply couldn't get through.

"That's the most explosive offense in Europe," head coach Carlos Amponin said. "I think the most explosive that Europe's seen in a very long time."

In fact, Amponin and the Royals were so wary of Wiesbaden's big-play capabilities that they refused to entertain the notion of a shutout until the game clock nearly matched the zero on Wiesbaden's side of the board.

"I didn't feel real comfortable until I saw two seconds," Amponin said. "Because I was pretty sure they couldn't score three times in two seconds."

Actually, on this night, they couldn't score once in 48 minutes.

"They blitzed, they mixed it up a little bit," Wiesbaden coach Steve Jewell said. "We thought we had a pretty good strategy, we just couldn't sustain anything.

"They just outplayed us a little bit. That's part of football."

In the teams' Oct. 10 regular-season meeting, Ramstein found success limiting Wiesbaden's prolific offense in a 20-14 overtime loss, the Royals' only defeat of the season. But Ramstein played that game minus a few defensive regulars and without defensive coordinator Carter Hollenbeck calling the game from the sideline. Hollenbeck's unit dominated Saturday's rematch, leading Amponin to anoint Hollenbeck as the "architect of this championship."

As the Royal blueprint manifested itself, the Warriors grew increasingly frustrated.

"After a while, I could tell. They started getting down," said Donta Morris, the team's "defensive MVP" according to Amponin. "Our defense came out strong and we did our thing."

Two touchdowns - by Ben Ciero in the first quarter and Nile McIntosh in the third - and a field goal and two extra points by Dominik Kubas provided plenty of offensive support.

Ciero was thrilled to be competing for a title after a previous DODDS-Europe stint with struggling Lakenheath. The running back said he didn't assume he'd win a title after making the move to the Royals, but was thrilled that it worked out that way.

"Ramstein's noted for winning championships," Ciero said. "I took it head-on."

Wiesbaden and Ramstein were the clear frontrunners all season, quickly separating themselves from the rest of the six-team Division I field. The only time either was seriously challenged was when they played each other.

That’s nothing new in DODDS-Europe; either Wiesbaden, Ramstein or shuttered Heidelberg has claimed every Division I football title since the Royals beat the Warriors for the 2003 championship. Saturday’s game was the fourth time the Warriors and Royals have met for the title in the last 12 seasons, with three of those coming over the last four years.

In short, this growing large-school rivalry is only growing in intensity, even if the participants don't fully accept the premise.

"They're a heck of a program. I know they're going to be good every year," Jewell said. "But I don't look at just Ramstein, I look at everybody."

And after Saturday's dominant championship win, all Division I eyes are again trained on Ramstein.

"Now all I can think about is all the work I have to do next year," Amponin said. "Because I've got a target on my back again."

Ramstein 17, Wiesbaden 0Ramstein 7 0 7 3 -- 17Wiesbaden 0 0 0 0 -- 01st quarter 6:45 Ben Ciero 1 run (Dominik Kubas kick)3rd quarter 2:27 Nile McIntosh 3 run (Kubas kick)4th quarter 1:18 Kubas 28 field goal

broome.gregory@stripes.com

Twitter: @broomestripes

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