German Football League 2006

German Football League 2006
master	Braunschweig Lions (5th title)
final	German Bowl XXVIII
Relegated	Düsseldorf Panther , Munich Cowboys
Teams	12
Games	72 + 7 play-off games
← GFL 2005 GFL 2007 →
2nd Bundesliga - 2006 ↓

The German Football League 2006 was the 28th season of the top German league in American football . The Braunschweig Lions became champions .

League division

Dusseldorf panther Hamburg Blue Devils Berlin eagle Braunschweig Lions Cologne Falcons Marburg Mercenaries Dresden monarchs Darmstadt Diamonds Munich cowboys Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns Stuttgart Scorpions Saarland Hurricanes

Teams 2006 GFL North GFL South0000

Overview of the participating teams and their all-time Bundesliga and GFL balance sheets.

	team	Years	S.	U	N	home			Selection			TD ratio
GFL North	Berlin eagle	23	166	6th	91	85	2	43	81	4th	48	7855: 4697
	Dusseldorf panther	23	172	10	83	89	7th	36	83	3	47	8062: 4166
	Braunschweig Lions (TV)	12	96	0	37	51	0	15th	45	0	22nd	4535: 2569
	Hamburg Blue Devils	11	84	4th	36	48	0	15th	36	4th	21st	3377: 2103
	Dresden monarchs	3	20th	1	15th	12	1	5	8th	0	10	893: 840
	Cologne Falcons	1	5	0	7th	3	0	3	2	0	4th	178: 324
GFL South	Munich cowboys	25th	160	7th	112	90	1	49	70	6th	63	6803: 5232
	Stuttgart Scorpions	14th	62	5	88	33	4th	40	29	1	48	3864: 4527
	Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns	8th	34	5	49	19th	0	25th	15th	5	24	1991: 2280
	Saarland Hurricanes	5	12	4th	39	6th	3	19th	6th	1	20th	1047: 1844
	Darmstadt Diamonds (N)	3	19th	0	21st	14th	0	6th	5	0	15th	552: 748
	Marburg Mercenaries	3	15th	2	17th	8th	1	7th	7th	1	8th	859: 805

• (N) - Newcomers
• (TV) - defending champion

Season course

Regular season

After two years in which only five teams competed in the south due to withdrawals, the contingent was replenished this time. The Darmstadt Diamonds completed the field with their resurgence. They last appeared in the top German league in 1992.

In the north, the Braunschweig Lions played everything against the wall, no opponent of their own conference could even score a point for themselves. The Hamburg Blue Devils landed in second place. After a mixed start, they were temporarily only in fourth place until the middle of the season. But while the Blue Devils were able to win their last four games, the direct competition from Dresden and Cologne weakened. Initially started with 8: 2 points each, both teams collapsed a little towards the end of the season and ended the regular season with 11:13 points. But that was enough for the play-offs, because the end of the table was adorned by two teams who together have achieved eleven German Bowl successes so far . The Berlin Adler got off to a miserable start, after five defeats in the first five games, with only 20 self-scored TD points, the goal was to limit the damage as the season progressed. This could be operated. In the end, the eagles pushed past the Düsseldorf Panther, thanks to the direct comparison . The panthers started almost as badly. Although the first team points were already scored in the second game, and thus more than in the 2005 horror season as a whole, it should remain the only points from the first five games. Towards the end, points could then be scored more continuously, but overall, the 2006 season was also forgotten. The low point was the 73: 3 bankruptcy in Braunschweig. And after losing a direct comparison against the eagles, only the last place remained for the panthers.

In the south, the teams all started with 2: 2 points, but then parted ways, three teams Marburg, Stuttgart and Schwäbisch Hall played for the title, Darmstadt, the Saarland Hurricanes and the Munich Cowboys for the last play-off place and against relegation. Both races remained exciting until the end of the season. At the top of the table, the Stuttgart Scorpions initially had the best cards, with an intermediate sprint with six wins in a row they were on the pitch in the sun until three game days before the end. But then the Scorpions first had to admit defeat to the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns and then to the Marburg Mercenaries. Due to the lost direct comparison against the Unicorns, the Scorpions, one game day before the end, were suddenly only third. In the meantime, the Marburgers had moved into first place. After starting with 4: 4 points, the Mercenaries won their last eight games, including 38:28 against the Braunschweig Lions. In order to stay in second place, the Unicorns had to win the last game against the Marburgs, who already had first place, but the victory went to Marburg and Schwäbisch Hall had to be satisfied with third place, the Scorpions came second.

At the end of the table it was just as exciting, the Darmstadt Diamonds started the season with three wins from five games, but then only recorded one point in the remaining seven games. Nevertheless they reached the last play-off place with 7:17 points. The last place was played between Saarbrücken and Munich. The two teams had washed into the table cellar seven games in a row without winning points. In their last game, the Saarlanders met Munich at home. The starting point was simple, whoever wins the game stays in the league, the other team has to go into relegation. Munich had won the home game, but only 3-0, it was also the first game of the season and the only double point win of the season for the Cowboys. In Saarbrücken, the home side then got the upper hand and sent the traditional club from Bavaria, with a 30:14, in the relegation.

Interconference Games

The interconference comparison went to the north with eight to four, but the Marburg Mercenaries managed to defeat the Braunschweig Lions once with 38:28. The Lions only loss in the regular season. And the other game of the two teams was also close, Braunschweig won at home 26:23.

Relegation

With the Munich Cowboys in the south and the Düsseldorf Panthers in the north, two absolute traditional teams and former German Bowl winners had to go into relegation . The cowboys had to deal with the up-and-coming team of the Weinheim Longhorns , the panthers had to deal with the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes . The Kielers, who relegated from the GFL in 2002 and even went back to the regional league by withdrawing, were given the chance to return the favor for the relegation defeat against the Panthers from the previous year.

Like a hurricane, the Kielers moved through Düsseldorf, with a 30-0 away win they set the course for promotion and did not let the butter be taken from their bread in the home game. The Panthers were able to win 30:27 in Kiel, but they couldn't make up for the thirty point deficit.

And in the south, too, there were signs of a change in the first leg in Munich. The Longhorns were able to land a safe 20: 0 win and go into the second leg calmly. And in their home game, too, the Weinheimers didn't let anything burn and also won at home, this time with 27:14.

Play-offs

Three of the eight teams reached the play-offs with a negative score. The duel between the Unicorns and the Blue Devils, who also faced each other in the interconference games, promised the most excitement. But it became a clear matter, the Hamburgers won with 34:13. The Stuttgart Scorpions and the Dresden Monarchs also met in the regular season, and like there the Scorpions left the field as winners, this time with 47:27. The two strongest teams of the season, Marburg and Braunschweig, played their outstanding offensive strengths in their quarter-finals. The Lions clearly showed the Darmstadt Diamonds their limits with 79: 0. Marburg sent the Cologne Falcons 62-0 home.

And the Marburg Mercenaries also triumphed in the semifinals, at home against the Hamburg Blue Devils the home side showed a strong performance and pulled away after three quarters with 31: 7, before the Hanseatic townspeople were able to make cosmetic results in the last quarter and reduced the result to 33:20 . For the first time since 1993, when the Munich Cowboys were even able to win the German Bowl, there was again a southern team in the final. The Braunschweig Lions, who threw the Stuttgart Scorpions out of the race with 36:17, also moved into this. In front of 6,750 spectators, the Lions pulled away to 29: 3 in the third quarter, before the Scorpions were able to bring two touchdowns on the scoreboard. In the end there was a 36:17 victory and thus the tenth consecutive finals for the Lions.

German Bowl

In the regular season, the two teams met each other and were able to achieve a victory each. The final promised excitement and points, as the most powerful teams also met. In front of 15,897 spectators in the stadium on Hamburger Strasse in Braunschweig, the game could not quite meet expectations. The Lions gained an 18: 6 lead by half time, which they did not give up. In the end the score was 31:13 and the Lions won their fifth championship.

Scoreboard

German Bowl XXVIII
team		Points	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Braunschweig Lions		31	3	15th	7th	6th
Marburg Mercenaries		13	6th	0	7th	0
Braunschweig	Marburg	player	Move
3	0	Steffen Dölger	38-yard field goal
3	6th	Marcel fragrance	22-yd pass from Joachim Ullrich (PAT awarded)
10	6th	Kelvin Love	4-yd run (PAT Steffen Dölger)
18th	6th	Bruce Molock	13-yd barrel (conv.Kelvin Love)
18th	13	Gerome Castleberry	8-yd run (PAT Patrick Wolff)
25th	13	Jörg Heckenbach	40-yd pass from Adrian Rainbow (PAT Steffen Dölger)
28	13	Steffen Doelger	26-yard field goal
31	13	Steffen Doelger	23-yard field goal

statistics

Closing tables

GFL North

	society	Sp	S.	U	N	Points	TD	Diff.
1.	Braunschweig Lions	12	11	0	1	22: 2	483: 165	+318
2.	Hamburg Blue Devils	12	8th	0	4th	16: 8	356: 215	+141
3.	Dresden monarchs	12	5	1	6th	11:13	200: 318	−118
4th	Cologne Falcons	12	5	1	6th	11:13	248: 333	−85
5.	Berlin eagle	12	4th	0	8th	8:16	196: 234	−38
6th	Dusseldorf panther	12	4th	0	8th	8:16	153: 364	−211

• Tie breaker
  • Dresden Monarchs ahead of Cologne Falcons due to the direct comparison gained (21:17 and 24:24)
  • Berlin Adler ahead of Düsseldorf Panther due to the direct comparison won (41:21 and 0: 3)

GFL South

	society	Sp	S.	U	N	Points	TD	Diff.
1.	Marburg Mercenaries	12	10	0	2	20: 4	471: 214	+257
2.	Stuttgart Scorpions	12	8th	1	3	17: 7	407: 190	+217
3.	Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns	12	7th	1	4th	15: 9	383: 271	+112
4th	Darmstadt Diamonds	12	3	1	8th	7:17	237: 329	−92
5.	Saarland Hurricanes	12	3	0	9	6:18	154: 333	−179
6th	Munich cowboys	12	1	1	10	3:21	154: 476	−322

Relegation

league	Home club	Visiting club	Result	After quarters
North	Dusseldorf panther	Kiel Baltic Hurricanes	0:30	0:10; 0:13; 0: 0; 0: 7
North	Kiel Baltic Hurricanes	Dusseldorf panther	27:30	7: 0; 7:14; 7: 8; 6: 8
south	Munich cowboys	Weinheim Longhorns	0:20	0: 7; 0: 6; 0: 0; 0: 7
south	Weinheim Longhorns	Munich cowboys	27:14	14: 0; 0:14; 13: 0; 0-0

Weinheim and Kiel rise, Munich and Düsseldorf fall.

Play-offs

Quarter finals

Semifinals

German Bowl XXVIII - Braunschweig

1N

Braunschweig Lions

79

4S

Darmstadt Diamonds

0

1N

Braunschweig Lions

36

2S

Stuttgart Scorpions

17th

2S

Stuttgart Scorpions

47

3N

Dresden monarchs

27

1N

Braunschweig Lions

31

1S

Marburg Mercenaries

13

1S

Marburg Mercenaries

62

4N

Cologne Falcons

0

1S

Marburg Mercenaries

33

2N

Hamburg Blue Devils

20th

2N

Hamburg Blue Devils

34

3S

Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns

13

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Huddle 15 / 2006-18 / 2006
2. ↑ Huddle 18 / 2006-41 / 2006
3. ↑ ^{a b} Huddle 39/2006
4. ↑ Huddle 40/2006

Web links

• Official GFL homepage