BAUMHOLDER, Germany — Defense and the kicking game, football coaches never tire of intoning, win championships.

And the Heidelberg Lions used both Saturday night to dethrone the two-time defending champion Ramstein Royals 9-6 in the European Division I championship game. Kyle Ulses kicked a 32-yard field goal in the first quarter, and the Lions’ defense kicked everything in sight all game long.

"It was a knife fight out there," summarized Heidelberg defensive end J.C. Sharer, a 6-5 senior who collected one of the Lions’ six sacks, knocked down two passes and blocked an extra-point kick.

Both sides wielded the blade. Heidelberg held Ramstein to 92 net rushing yards on 47 carries and 3-for-10 passing for 22 yards. Ramstein confined the Lions to 82 net rushing yards in 28 tries and 3-for-5 passing for 84 yards, 54 of which proved decisive.

Heidelberg quarterback Jimmy Montfleury, subjected to a ferocious rush all night, exploited that pressure with 35 seconds left in the third quarter. Heavily pursued while rolling out to his right, Montfleury hit Chris Cuthbert with a screen pass the sophomore carried down the right sideline for a 54-yard touchdown.

"It’s not about me," Cuthbert said of his game-changing run behind a wall of blockers. "It was my whole team giving everything they had."

Montfleury, however, thought Cuthbert played a prominent role in the play.

"I knew I had to get the ball off quickly or get killed," the junior recalled. "Chris has the softest hands on the team. I knew if I got the ball to him he’d catch it."

The completion also marked Montfleury’s passing grade on the final exam Ramstein put together for him.

"They brought a whole new scheme," he said while reflecting on Heidelberg’s 17-10 regular-season road conquest of the Royals on Sept. 27. "It was a lot harder to pass this time."

The running game wasn’t exactly easy street, either, despite the remarkably good footing Minick Field retained throughout while hosting its fourth game of the day.

Offensive MVP Ulses, who rushed for 100 yards a week earlier in a 41-14 semifinal romp over Kaiserslautern, netted just 32 yards on 15 tries Saturday. Ulses grasped the day’s tone on Heidelberg’s second possession, which began with a fumble recovery on the Royals 10-yard line. Three carries by Ulses resulted in zero net yards, and the Lions settled for his 32-yard field goal.

"We knew it would be a defensive battle," said Heidelberg assistant Sal Katz. "What was important was the way our underclassmen stepped up," he added, citing the defensive effort of Cuthbert and his fellow sophomore Xavier Moore, who made two sacks, and junior defensive tackle Ramon Rosario.

Those youngsters were key as the Lions held Ramstein to just 41 total yards after the Cuthbert TD. Overall, Heidelberg surrendered just one sustained drive, a 17-play, 70-yarder helped along by a facemask penalty and capped by Evan Canfield’s two-yard plunge 10:25 before halftime.

"Defense is our identity," Sharer said. "We knew that if everyone stepped up, we’d be in the game."

Everyone did, in Katz’s estimation.

"The Heidelberg defense was dominant," said Katz, who coached this game wearing a Samoan lava-lava wrap inspired by defensive MVP Alex Savusa, a senior linebacker from Pago Pago. "But both teams played a fantastic game."

The Lions, joined by their lava-lava wearing cheerleaders, joined in a post-game Samoan war chant led by Savusa, who made 10 unassisted tackles, but both teams were in the running throughout for postgame celebrations, according to Heidelberg head coach Brad Shahan.

"That was the best defense we’ve played this season," he said with a nod toward the disconsolate Ramstein sideline. "They could have won this game and the game at Ramstein as well."

Instead, Heidelberg claimed its ninth European championship to tie Ramstein for most all-time titles.

For Montfleury, the scoreboard lights reflected near-cosmic justice.

"The coaches’ poll [an informal prediction tally by the school system’s football coaches] doubted us," he said. "It was 9-6 in favor of Ramstein. But on the scoreboard, it’s 9-6 in favor of us."

Correction

An article in Saturday’s editions incorrectly identified the captain of the Naples High School volleyball team. She is Sheridan Farrell.

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