Stuttgart, Ramstein remain perfect in D-I football

The playoff picture in the 11-man football division became a little clearer after reaching the halfway mark of the regular season this weekend.

Kaiserslautern put itself in the driver’s seat for second place in the North Conference with a win over Lakenheath, while Stuttgart took control of the South Conference with a tight win in Naples.

The top two teams in each division advance to the semifinals on Oct. 24.

Stuttgart 21, Naples 14: The Panthers held off a late Wildcat surge on Saturday to sit atop the North Conference standings.

Trailing by 14 points in the fourth quarter, Naples (2-1) made things interesting Terry Herbert III caught a short pass and took it 80 yards with 2 minutes remaining in the game.

The Wildcats recovered an onside kick and moved the ball to the Stuttgart 30-yard. On a fourth down, Naples took a shot at the end zone, only to fail.

Herbert III opened Naples’ scoring in the second half with a 12-yard rush.

Jeremiah Robinson picked off a Stuttgart pass and set up the Wildcats in great field position for Herbert’s second TD. Diondre Tilo blocked a field goal.

Nathaniel Moriarty recorded two sacks for the Wildcats.

Kaiserslautern 21, Lakenheath 7: The Raiders scored 21 unanswered points to defeat the Lancers at Lakeneath on Friday evening and take firm control of the runner-up spot in the North Conference.

Lakenheath’s Parker Grimm and T.J. Anderson got the Lancers on the board. The duo connected on a 78-yard touchdown pass in the first frame.

That proved to be it offensively for the Lancers (1-2), and after that, it was all Raiders (2-1).

Broc Leroy returned a fumble 73 yards for a score to get off the schneid.

In the second half, James Leonard produced an 18-yard touchdown. Then, on a fourth-and-1 in the final frame, the signal caller scampered 60 yards to seal the victory.

Fellow Kaiserslautern running back August Crisp had 125 yards on 19 carries. Crisp also had a 62-yard catch.

On defense, Braden Carson led the way with 10 tackles and two sacks, and Garrett Vitter had three sacks.

For the Lancers, Grimm threw for 173 yards. Milo Stroman had seven tackles and an interception.

Ramstein 49, Wiesbaden 7: The Royals jumped out early en route to invoke the mercy rule in the third quarter at Wiesbaden High School on Friday night.

Junior Rhett Dalling had a pair of first-half touchdowns in the first half – a 25-yard run in the first quarter and a 50-yard punt return.

Running back Drew Varholy added a 2-yard score at the 2:50 mark in the first quarter.

Ramstein (3-0) really blew open the contest with a pair of long passing TDs in the second frame. At the 7:47 mark, Xavier Schumacher hit Josiah Evens for a 74-yard score. Then, Connor Scott hit pay dirt on a 43-yard pitch and catch to make it 35-7 at half. Early in the third quarter, Elijah Morris punched the ball across the plane of the goal line, and then Ryan Parvin blocked a 36-yard field.

Morris finished the game with 71 yards on 10 carries.

Defensively, Lukas Bell also had an interception for the Royals.

Egon Gonzalez-Escalante produced Wiesbaden’s lone score with an 11-yard receiving touchdown in the second quarter.

Vilseck 26, Vicenza 14: The Falcons picked up their first victory of the season after crossing the Alps into Italy. No more information was available.

9-MAN

AFNORTH 50, Aviano 14: The Lions handled the Saints at home on Friday evening to improve to 2-0.

Cruz Cottingham and Andre Sunia paced the Saints (1-1) on both sides of the ball. Cottingham ran for 65 and a touchdown on offense, while making seven tackles and one sack and picking off one pass on defense. Sunia rushed for a touchdown and amassed 10 tackles on defense.

Kristian Thomas paced Aviano with 78 yards and a score on three carries. He also totaled seven tackles on defense, while adding two sacks.

Quarterback Brylee Hillis recorded eight completions for 85 yards and a TD – a 7-yard connection with Cooper Oakley. Kamryn Rutland was Hillis’ favorite target, going for 76 yards on six receptions.

Sigonella 36, Rota 12: Holding a six-point advantage at the break, the Jaguars shut out the Admirals in the second half to pull away for their first win of the season on Saturday at home.

Ryan Miniard paced Sigonella (1-1) offensively. The senior signal caller passed for 115 yards and two touchdowns and led the Jaguars on the ground, too, with 123 yards and two scores.

Miniard connected with junior tight end Gage Keck (30 yards) for a touchdown, while his other went into the hands of James Stinyard. The junior wide receiver 36 yards receiving and added another 55 yards and a score on the ground.

Senior running back Gideon Tesfay amassed 106 yards of total offense -- 62 on the ground and 44 through the air. Fellow senior tailback Aiden Shaposka chipped in with 88 rushing yards.

Senior cornerback Jacob Maloney picked off two passes by Rota (0-2).

6-MAN

Alconbury 52, Baumholder 31: The Dragons opened their campaign with a Week 2 win over the Buccaneers at home on Saturday.

Alconbury (1-0) held Baumholder (0-2) to negative-24 yards rushing in the first half and just 14 total in the game. The hosts, meanwhile, amassed 312 on the ground while outgained the visitors 387-276 in total offense.

Leading the way for the Dragons were running backs Jacob Stuhler and Josiah Garner. Stuhler had 131 yards on 23 attempts, while Garner gained 154 yards on nine carries.

Gregory Makubuya had himself a day for the Buccaneers. The senior amassed 250 of the team’s 262 yards receiving.