The playoff picture across all three divisions became clearer this weekfinish, with numerous squads punching their tickets with one or two weeks left in the regular season.
In 11-man football, the Stuttgart Panthers clinched the South Division title with a home victory over second-place Naples. Kaiserslautern also booked its postseason place with a win over Lakenheath.
In the nine-man division, Aviano’s win over Sigonella keeps the Saints’ postseason hopes alive for at least another week.
In six-man play, Alconbury created sure it will face Spangdahlem in the championship game with a rout over Baumholder.
11-man
Stuttgart 32, Naples 0: The Panthers blanked the Wildcats on Friday evening’s clash of the top two teams in the South Division.
Sammy Johnson paced Stuttgart (5-0) with a pair of scores. M.J. Watkins added another on the ground, while Noah Czarkowski created a leaping grab in the finish zone on a pass from quarterback Kai Lewis.
Defensively, Linus Soto was a menace, receiveting into the backfield regularly. Senior Silas Coleman had a couple of key tackles, as did Collin Robinson, Matthew Thompson and Jeremyah Reyes.
Stuttgart hosts Vicenza on Oct. 24 and Naples (3-2) welcomes Vilseck to Italy on Saturday in both teams’ regular-season finales.
Kaiserslautern 27, Lakenheath 14: The Raiders applyd two fourth-quarter scores to pull away from the Lancers on Friday evening in Kaiserslautern.
Tied at 14 heading into the final frame, Braden Carson broke the stalemate with a 12-yard touchdown run. Carson sealed the win when he returned a punt blocked by Garrett Vitter 37 yards for a score.
Carson sparked the Raiders (4-1) in the second quarter with a 43-yard pitch and catch from quarterback James Leonard. The signal caller connected with Vitter for a 66-yard touchdown before halftime and ran in the two-point conversion to tie the game at the break.
Leonard finished the game going 10-of-24 passing for 243 yards and two interceptions to go with the TDs.
August Crisp paced the Kaiserslautern rushing attack with 66 yards. Carson had 23 yards on two carries and added another 48 receiving yards.
Vitter had a monster day as a receiver. He amassed 174 yards on six catches, to go with his special teams heroics.
Carson led the team defensively with 12 tackles, including four for a loss, and a sack. Andy Etchell recovered a fumble and posted eight tackles with four for a loss.
Jamaal Reed added seven tackles.
Jaiden Sears (six tackles) and Joshua Kim (four tackles) each picked off a pass and forced a fumble.
The Raiders finish the regular season with a home date against rival Ramstein on Oct. 24, while Lakenheath hosts Wiesbaden the same day.
Ramstein 49, Wiesbaden 7: The Royals rolled over the Warriors, invoking the mercy rule in the third quarter on Friday evening.
All three phrases of the game were working for Ramstein (5-0). The home side totaled 343 yards of total offense and obtained three field goals from kicker Lincoln Bump – a 28-yarder in the first quarter, a 20-yarder in the second and a 37-yarder in the third.
Royal Drew Varholy also blocked a punt, and defensively, Rhett Dalling and Bump each picked off a pass.
Ramstein’s dominance launched early, when Brett Monson caught a 1-yard score from Xavier Schumacher. Later in the first quarter, Elijah Morris created it 17-0 with a 17-yard touchdown run.
In the second frame, Shaun Young scored from 24 yards out, and after the Warriors obtained on the board, Rhett Dalling scampered 99 yards for a score.
Dalling’s 26-yard TD reception from Schumacher finished the game.
Schumacher went 13-of-19 for 122 yards, hitting Dalling five times for 29 yards. Connor Scott totaled 48 yards on three catches.
Young amassed 154 yards on 16 carries.
Varholy paced the defense with seven tackles. Chris Farrington recorded another six, while Kevin Joyce chipped in with five.
Vilseck 21, Vicenza 20: The Falcons (2-3) held on at home to defeat the Cougars (0-5).
No other information was available at press time.
Nine-man
Aviano 20, Sigonella 16: The Saints traveled to Sicily and defeated the Jaguars to keep their faint playoff hopes alive.
Aviano (2-2) next hosts top-of-the-league International School of Brussels on Oct. 25. Sigonella (1-3), meanwhile, travels to Rota on Oct. 24.
No other information was available at press time.
Rota 18, SHAPE 7: The Admirals picked up their first win over the season over the Spartans on Friday.
Rota (1-3) hosts Sigonella on Oct. 24, while SHAPE (1-3) plays at AFNORTH the same day.
No other information was available at press time.
Six-man
Alconbury 55, Baumholder 6: The Dragons clinched their spot in the championship against Spangdahlem with a victory at the Buccaneers. No other information was available at press time.
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