Vilseck quarterback Austin Archangel hands the ball to Marquez Monley in Friday night's game against the Wiesbaden Warriors. Despite a 17-13 halftime lead, the Warriors came back in the second half to beat the Falcons 32-17. (Eric A. Brown/Stars and Stripes)
Vilseck quarterback Austin Archangel hands the ball to Marquez Monley in Friday night's game against the Wiesbaden Warriors. Despite a 17-13 halftime lead, the Warriors came back in the second half to beat the Falcons 32-17. (Eric A. Brown/Stars and Stripes)
Wiesbaden kicker Eric Arnold attempts an extra point in Friday night's game against the Falcons. The Warriors eventually beat the Falcons 32-17 despite being down at halftime. (Eric A. Brown/Stars and Stripes)
Wiesbaden's Travis West gets a sack of Vilseck's Austin Archangel in a game Friday, Sept. 26, 2014. The Warriors went on to beat the Falcons 32-17. (Eric A. Brown/Stars and Stripes)
Wiesbaden receive Alfred Freed prepares for the snap during a game against Vilseck. The Warriors beat the Falcons 32-17. (Eric A. Brown/Stars and Stripes)
Wiesbaden's Deshon Barrow breaks free of the defense in a home game against Vilseck on Friday, Sept. 26, 2014. The Warriors went on to beat the Falcons 32-17. (Eric A. Brown/Stars and Stripes)
Vilseck's Gabe Lewis looks for a clear path to run the ball through the Wiesbaden defense Friday night. Lewis ran for14 yards of his 89 yards, but the Warriors eventually beat the Falcons 32-17. (Eric A. Brown/Stars and Stripes)
WIESBADEN, Germany – Defending Division I champion Wiesbaden earned a 32-17 win against rival Vilseck and improved to 3-0 under Friday night lights. But fans who watched the first half saw a game very much in doubt.
“Vilseck surprised our guys a bit with their intensity,” Warriors head coach Steven Jewell said. “They played with a ton of heart.”
The Falcons, 1-0 entering the game, were the first opponent to get the football into the Warriors’ end zone this season thanks to a 12-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Austin Archangel to Tristian St. Clair in the first quarter.
The Warriors tried to tie the game and scored on Tim Cuthbert’s 80-yard pass to Carlos Ortiz, but botched the extra point attempt and trailed 7-6.
And the scoreboard highlighted a Falcons’ 17-13 lead following a touchdown by Falcons’ Lee Mendez, who recovered a fumble in the end zone, and a 27-yard field goal by Caleb Miller.
Jewell said it was clear the Warriors needed to modify the game plan.
“Our defensive team made some adjustments in the second half,” Jewell said.
Clearly something worked, with the Warriors scoring 19 unanswered points in the final two quarters. “We talk to our kids about being a second-half team and understanding that games are won in the fourth quarter,” Jewell said.
Cuthbert ran for four touchdowns and threw for one, an 80-yard touchdown to Carlos Ortiz in the first half. Teammate Anthony Little carried in one TD and ended the night with a total of 135 yards rushing.
The last time the two rivals went head-to-head was during last year’s regular season when the Falcons shocked the Warriors 14-13.
“We have to play the fourth quarter just like we play the first,” Vilseck’s Drew Pinckney said.
“They don’t want to see us in the playoffs again,” Falcon Marques Monlay said following the game. Monlay rushed 15 times for 109 yards. Gabe Lewis rushed 14 times for 89 yards for Vilseck.
The Warriors have a bye next week and then hit the road for two games: at Ramstein on Oct. 10, and at Patch the following weekend. The Falcons stay home to play the Panthers next week and travel to Kaiserslautern to face the Raiders the following weekend.
