Play-off semi-final against Rhein Fire: Stuttgart Surge out after drama in the constant rain

“We fought really hard,” said head coach Jordan Neuman following the 23:30 loss after extra time against the reigning champions, “Rhein Fire sets the standards in Europe. And yet we had the chance to beat these opponents. Not having succeeded hurts.”

Did Stuttgart Surge take too big a risk?

The defeat hurt every single person on the team. And one of them even more than everyone else. Reilly Hennessey dominated the Surge game all season long, he is one of the best quarterbacks in the ELF. But at the end of the most important party, the American lost his lucky hand. With the score at 23:20, the hosts had the opportunity to decide the party. But a pass from Hennessey was intercepted by Omari Williams, and a few seconds before the clock ran out, Rhein Fire made it 23:23 with a field goal from Sebastian van Santen – the game went into overtime. And everyone in the stadium was thinking about this damned loss of the ball.

Did Stuttgart Surge take too much of a risk with this play? Would a run have been a better solution? “I had a lot of confidence in the choice of this play,” said Neuman, “we would have liked to keep the ball longer, but unfortunately there was a small miscommunication between quarterback and receiver, which Rhein Fire took advantage of.” And the champions' defense managed another coup in overtime.

The rain seemed to increase the fighting spirit of the opponents

The Stuttgart team was well on its way to the end zone. But another pass from Hennessey was intercepted. The guests then made their way into the final with a touchdown, which Jim Tomsula also celebrated. At the same time, the Rhein Fire head coach expressed his respect for the opponents: “This game did not deserve a loser, it was top quality football from both teams.” The Stuttgart team played very aggressively and did a great job on defense. No one should look at what didn't work, but at the many things that worked.” And which brought Rhein Fire to the brink of defeat.

Stuttgart got off to a perfect start. Reilly Hennessey led his team across the field and finally passed to Florian Lengauer, who scored the first touchdown – after kicker Lenny Krieg failed to score the extra point. Then the heavy rain began, which seemed to increase the fighting spirit of the opponents even more. And Rhein Fire responded strongly. There were many runs by star running back Glen Toonga and at the end a 40-yard pass from quarterback Jadrian Clark to Justin Schlesinger to make it 7:6. But Stuttgart Surge was by no means shocked by this. In the very next attack, Yanick Mayr made it 13:7 with a 43-yard run, followed by a field goal from Rhein Fire to make it 13:10 and the most spectacular play of the game.

“We will try again next season”

Surge defender Back Chad-Adri Walrond intercepted a pass from Jadrian Clark, was unstoppable and ran into the end zone. The Stuttgart defense then withstood the enormous pressure from the visitors once again, allowing only one field goal to make the score 20:13 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Surge defense was again insurmountable, but the Stuttgart team failed to build up the lead. More than a field goal from Lenny Krieg to make it 23:13 shortly after the start of the fourth quarter was all they could manage. This lead lasted for a long time, with the shortened Rhein Fire only making it 23:20 with 3:36 minutes to go. The rest was a drama in the constant rain that ended the season for Stuttgart Surge.

“It was close. Extremely close,” said Coach Neuman. And promised: “We'll try again next season.”