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(Stars and Stripes)

The Ramstein Royals clinched the second seed and a first-round bye in the Division I playoffs Friday with a 43-3 victory at Wiesbaden.

The Royals improved to 3-2 and own the tiebreaker over Stuttgart to take second place at the end of the regular season. The two top schools in D-I get next weekend off, while the other four teams play for the right to reach the semifinals.

Ramstein jumped out to a 20-3 lead in the first quarter. It started with a 26-yard interception return for a touchdown by Leon Pierre Louis, followed by a 7-yard pitch and catch from senior Lucas Hollenbeck to senior receiver Liam Delp. A 6-yard run by running back Landon Torroll completed the big opening frame.

The Royals dropped another 23 points in the second period to invoke the mercy rule. Receiver Caden Nims caught a 7-yard score, junior Christian Roy scored on a 5-yard run and Delp added a second receiving touchdown, this one from 4 yards out.

Hollenbeck was 7-of-9 passing for 79 yards and three touchdowns. Roy also played signal caller, going 2 of 6 for 30 yards. Delp had 55 yards on four receptions, while Nims had two catches for 27 yards.

The ground game burst for 185 yards on 35 carries. Torroll paced Ramstein with 61 yards on eight attempts, Jackson Arthaud contributed 35 yards on seven carries and sophomore Shaun Young averaged 17.5 yards on two rushes.

Defensively, senior defensive lineman Matt Rutlege was a menace, recording three tackles for a loss, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Up next, Wiesbaden (0-5) travels to third-seeded Stuttgart for a first-round playoff matchup.

Stuttgart 26, Vilseck 14: The Panthers grabbed the third seed and a first-round home playoff game with a home win over the Falcons on Friday.

Stuttgart did most of its damage through the arm of Ty Jones. The junior quarter completed 24 of 40 passes for 340 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Senior Jace Holmes was Jones’ favorite target, as he caught eight balls for 132 yards and a score. Fellow senior Aiden Heumphreus grabbed another touchdown pass and accrued 89 yards on 10 receptions, while sophomore Seth Long scored and totaled 89 yards on four catches.

Senior Jack Gruver added a 1-yard rushing touchdown.

On defense, Gruver amassed 22 tackles, senior linebacker Dan Myrick had eight, senior Dan Greer had six tackles and a sack, junior Cooper Graham had six tackles, and Kai Lewis, TyShawn Rusu and Johnathan Vernetti each nabbed an interception.

For the Falcons, Jahtez St. Ann had a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and Gabe Mallard gashed the Panthers for 165 yards on 25 carries.

Defensively, Jayden Freeman had 11 tackles, while Garrett Hyten chipped in with nine. Damon Saxton and Arthur Tavaraes each got to Jones for a sack.

Both teams will be hosting first-round matchups next week. Stuttgart will face off against sixth-seeded Wiesbaden, while Vilseck will see fifth-seeded Kaiserslautern come to town.

Lakenheath 21, Kaiserslautern 14: The Lancers needed another late comeback to finish the regular season perfect with a home in over the Raiders.

Kaiserslautern (2-3) took the lead with 6:34 left in the game when running back Aaron Potter powered in a 2-yard score and quarterback Rueben Todman completed a pass to receiver Logan Bell for the two-point conversion.

Lakenheath (5-0) then marched the length of the field, leading to a Nico Marchini 1-yard quarterback sneak with 1:15 left. A diving catch by receiver Brian Miles for 27 yards put the ball on the Kaiserslautern 1-yard line before the score.

Marchini proved to be the main man once again. The signal caller went 13-of-24 passing for 199 yards and two touchdowns – a 33-yard pass to wide receiver Dante Thompson on the first drive of the game and a 20-yard throw to Tyler Bane in the third frame. Marchini added 40 yards on seven rushes.

Miles finished the game with nine receptions and 109 yards. Thompson added 49 yards on two catches.

Defensively for the Lancers, Vincent LaStarza had six tackles, four of which went for losses.

Todman got the Raiders on the board with a 2-yard run two seconds before halftime.

Lakenheath gets a bye in the first round of the playoffs, while Kaiserslautern heads to Vilseck on Oct. 14.

Division II

Naples 47, Vicenza 0: The Wildcats stayed perfect with a mercy-rule victory over the Cougars in their regular-season home finale on Friday.

Robert Oliver scored Naples’ first three touchdowns of 35, 33 and seven yards. The running back finished with 115 yards on six rushes for the Wildcats (5-0).

Michael Daniles added a 75-yard punt return touchdown. Gab-riel Daniels ended the first quarter with a 35-yard strike from Camden Kasparek, who finished 4-of-7 passing for 93 yards.

In the second quarter, Daniels scored on a 15-yard scamper, and Leishieh Morgan capped off the night with a 40-yard touchdown.

Defensively, Matthew Butler and Jeramiah Robinson each picked off a pass, while Butler also recovered a fumble.

Naples ends the regular season with an away game at Aviano on Oct. 14 and will host the D-II title game the next week, barring a victory of at least 13 points by the Saints. Vicenza (1-4) host Rota the same day.

Aviano 39, Rota 0: The Saints took care of the Admirals in a road victory on Saturday.

Deon Walker did the most damage for Aviano (4-1), going for 98 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Andrew Walker added 31 yards and a score, while Patrick Romanazzi posted an 8-yard receiving touchdown.

Josh Bartholdi blocked a punt and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to round out the scoring.

The Saints host Naples on Oct. 14 in a preview of the championship in two weeks’ time. Rota (0-5) finishes its season with a trip to Vicenza.

Division III

Spangdahlem 53, Hohenfels 0: The unbeaten Sentinels clinched a spot in the DODEA-Europe Division III title game with a win over the Tigers on Saturday in a game that was officially over at halftime.

No other information was available.

Sigonella 60, Ansbach 52: the host Jaguars and visiting Cougars almost broke the scoreboard Friday night before Sigonella prevailed in a battle to stay in the D-III title race.

Jaydon Reed scored seven times for the Jaguars (4-1), returning two kickoffs all the way, catching another touchdown and rushing for four more. Ansbach (3-2) fell into fourth place.

Sladen Hager completed 12 of 21 passes for 200 yards and three scores for the Jaguars. Everett Eggan scored on a rushing touchdown and Noe Gomez caught a pass for a TD.

AFNORTH (4-1) travels to Sicily next weekend in a matchup that could determine who gets a rematch against Spangdahlem in the championship game. The Sentinels already defeated Sigonella and AFNORTH this season.

AFNORTH 57, Brussels 12: The Lions recovered from an opening drive touchdown by the Brigands to pick up a home win on Friday evening.

Brussels (2-3) began with a long, physical drive. Sawyer Ter Horst capped it off with a rushing touchdown.

After that, it was almost all AFNORTH. Nathan Goldsmith answered with 1- and 45-yard touchdowns, Davon Jones added a pair of rushing scores, quarterback Anthony Romar and James Bennett combined for two passing touchdowns and Nik Fulde found paydirt in the ground game.

Paulo Adorno intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown.

Alconbury 44, Baumholder 0: The host Dragons got their second victory of the season and kept the Bucs winless. No other information was available.

Belgium-Netherlands League

SHAPE 46, International School of Brussels 14: The Spartans jumped out early with a 60-yard scoring drive and didn’t look back in a road win over the Raiders on Friday.

Quarterback Keller Schutt led SHAPE (2-2) through the air and on the ground. The junior went 6-of-8 throwing for 96 yards and two touchdowns, and he added 66 yards and two scores on 12 rushes.

Schutt’s two throwing touchdowns went to senior Kayson Boos, who had 49 yards and a rushing touchdown on 11 attempts and 38 yards on two receptions, and Wyatt Smith, whose lone catch was an 11-yard score.

Also contributing on the ground were senior Jorge Nubla with 35 yards and a touchdown on four carries and Nacho Calzada de la Pisa with 27 yards on five rushes.

To go along with his offensive performance, Boos returned one fumble for a score and amassed six tackles. Senior newcomer Gonzalo Paz Rios added six tackles in the winning effort.

The Spartans face a big test when league-leading Izegem Tribes comes to Mons, Belgium, on Oct. 14.

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Matt is a sports reporter for Stars and Stripes based in Kaiserslautern, Germany. A son of two career Air Force aircraft maintenance technicians, he previously worked at newspapers in northeast Ohio for 10 years and is a graduate of Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
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Kent has filled numerous roles at Stars and Stripes including: copy editor, news editor, desk editor, reporter/photographer, web editor and overseas sports editor. Based at Aviano Air Base, Italy, he’s been TDY to countries such as Afghanistan Iraq, Kosovo and Bosnia. Born in California, he’s a 1988 graduate of Humboldt State University and has been a journalist for 40 years.

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