There might be a new member of the DODDS-Europe Division I football elite.

The Stuttgart Panthers - formerly known as Patch - launched their new gridiron era Friday night with a convincing 18-9 defeat of the visiting Wiesbaden Warriors.

Stuttgart held Wiesbaden without an offensive touchdown, marking the second straight time Wiesbaden's usually-explosive attack has been blanked including last year's European championship game shutout loss to Ramstein.

The Panther offense had no such issues, totaling 400 yards from scrimmage. Quarterback Jamie Ensley completed eight passes for 116 yards, including five to Sean Loeben and a 19-yard touchdown toss to Eric Stiemke, and gathered 51 yards on the ground. Running back Myles Bryant carried 16 times for 141 yards and a touchdown.

Stuttgart twice denied Wiesbaden inside the 10-yard line.

Jeremy Nix had eight tackles and a fumble recovery to pace the Panther defense, while teammate Don Laitola returned an interception 38 yards for a score.

Carlos Ortiz returned a kickoff for Wiesbaden's only trip to the end zone.

While an official regular season matchup, Friday's game will not count in the divisional standings, which are used to determine the four playoff qualifiers from the six-team Division I ranks. That schedule begins next weekend.

The Panthers and Warriors will meet Oct. 23 at Wiesbaden for their divisional showdown.

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