The DODDS-Europe Division I season opener on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015, between the Vilseck Falcons and visiting Ramstein Royals was a defensive battle, leading to a 7-7 tie. The season is only a week old, but Vilseck tying the defending champions might be a sign that the division's power structure is changing. (Michael S. Darnell/Stars and Stripes)
The Vilseck Falcons pulled off a season-opening surprise last Saturday, playing defending champion Ramstein to a rugged 7-7 tie. The game might have been a breakthrough for a solid program that has struggled to turn its defensive acumen and hard-nosed hitting into victories.
But Vilseck coach Jim Hall is preaching restraint as his team prepares for its follow-up, a weekend visit to Stuttgart.
“The team is excited that they did OK against Ramstein,” Hall said. “But we are working on keeping the team on an even psychological plain.
“One game does not dictate our ability.”
The next few games, however, will determine just what this Falcon team is capable of. And the answer to that question will reverberate throughout Division I football.
If Vilseck, which went 1-4 a year ago and missed the playoffs, is legit, then one of 2014 postseason squads Ramstein, Wiesbaden, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern might give way to the Falcons. The early favorite to yield its spot is Kaiserslautern, which lost to once-hapless Lakenheath to open its season last weekend.
The Falcons certainly had the look of a playoff-worthy squad Saturday, finding some offensive success against Ramstein while living up to their own reputation for defensive stinginess. Offense has been Vilseck’s weak spot in recent seasons; if that unit can match the Falcons’ proficiency on the other side of the ball, the team will be difficult to beat.
But as Hill alluded to, it’s premature to declare Vilseck a contender.
First of all, the existing sample size is small: four opening-weekend quarters, with new and inexperienced players all over both rosters. The Falcon offense will need to post more than one touchdown per outing to power a playoff berth.
Adding further context to the tie is the fact that the game didn’t count towards divisional standings, meaning it didn’t materially help Vilseck’s playoff hopes or damage Ramstein’s. The five-week Division I schedule that will determine which four of the six teams reach the semifinals begins this weekend.
To that end, last weekend’s surprising scores – Vilseck’s tie with Ramstein, Stuttgart’s win over 2014 runner-up Wiesbaden, and Lakenheath’s defeat of Kaiserslautern – could be the harbinger of a new era of large-school parity or the dismissible byproduct of a schedule quirk.
Twitter: @broomestripes
