Ramstein defensive back Rhett Dalling stretches out to intercept a pass that was batted into the air after teammate Ahmad Williams and Kaiserslautern receiver Jakob Bell jostled for the ball during a Sept. 5, 2025, game at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

The result of the 2024 DODEA-Europe Division I championship football game still weighs on the back of the Stuttgart Panthers’ minds more than a year later.

Ramstein exploded in the second half to pull away for a 20-point victory that ended the Panthers’ dynasty.

“That tortured us, just getting beat down,” Stuttgart running back Sam Johnson said. “We came back and realized we just couldn’t win it by players. We all got to put a piece to the puzzle. We all knew we had to play as a team.”

Friday evening, Stuttgart returns to the scene of its demise when the team travels to Ramstein High School to take on the Royals in the 11-man football title game.

The game marks the first time the two longtime rivals have met since that Nov. 1, 2024, contest. With the changes to the DODEA European football landscape this fall, Stuttgart (7-0) and Ramstein (7-0) competed in different conferences with no cross games until the playoffs.

The Panthers hosted and beat Kaiserslautern 28-8 in one semifinal on Nov. 1, while the Royals jumped out to a big lead and held on for a 28-13 victory over Naples in the other on the same day.

The two programs are used to playing each other at least once and often twice per season. Not playing this season lends a bit of a mystery to the matchup.

“It definitely makes us more nervous,” Ramstein senior Will Schmiedel said of having not yet played the Panthers. “They’ve changed a lot; we’ve changed a lot. But it also makes it more exciting. Not playing the same team over and over again definitely brings thrill to it.”

The game has a very good chance of being a thrilling one, if both teams’ performances over the season are any indication.

Along with both being undefeated, Stuttgart and Ramstein hold point differentials of 219 and 176 points, respectively. Only two teams – the Wildcats and Raiders – have scored on the Panthers all season, while the Royals shut out Kaiserslautern in both regular-season meetings.

Panther freshman Collin Robinson is entering his first Ramstein-Stuttgart matchup. Because of that, he has been leaning on his veteran teammates to prepare him for what he will experience Friday evening.

“I hear every day in the locker room how exhilarating it is to play them not just in the championship, but in the regular season,” the wide receiver and safety said.

Offensively, the Royals will try to ground and pound the ball with running backs Shaun Young and Elijah Morris and fullback Drew Varholy.

But as they showed in the semifinal win, they aren’t afraid to let sophomore Xavier Schumacher air out the ball, as he connected on his first 12 passes of the game.

For Stuttgart, Schmiedel said the play of quarterback Kai Lewis stands out on film. The Panthers also utilize their skill players in a spread formation, which will test the Ramstein defense.

“They’ve got some fast kids,” Schmiedel said. “Just purely off film, they’re going to be the best competition that we’ve seen.”

Both teams pointed to team chemistry as the key to success on Friday evening.

“If we just do our one job, then we’re going to be good,” Schmiedel said. “Trust in everyone to do their one job, then we’ll be good.”

“We play as a team, just trusting each other,” Robinson said. “You have to have trust to dominate.”