After some initial difficulties, the Kornwestheim footballers beat the Neckar Hammers away with 22:16.
The Neckar Hammers lived up to their name. At the start of the new national league season, the Kornwestheim Cougars in the Villingen-Schwenninger nature park stadium initially had a hard time with the tough pace of the home side. In the first two quarters, the team around head coach Andreas Geibel didn’t really get into the game. In the end, however, that was to change and the Cougars returned to Kornwestheim with a 22:16 win.
Especially in the first section, the guests had their hardship. After 15 minutes, the Hammers were 10-0 up. In the middle of the second half it was even 0:16 from the point of view of Kornwestheim, who were still struggling with the heavy but also experienced players in the Hammers defensive line. But the guests adapted to the circumstances – and got back into the game just in time before the break. With a pass from Carlos Verduzco to wide receiver Tim Beutenmüller and a successful “2-point conversion” (i.e. another touchdown instead of the extra point) from Jannik Lacic, they reduced the lead to 8:16.
After the change of sides, the Kornwestheimer formation was better adjusted and more effective in essential points – which no longer allowed the home side to score. The Cougars didn’t get anything countable in the third quarter either. In the final round, however, the mountain lions dominated. With a 30-yard pass, Verduzco found Beutenmüller in the end zone again – and Frank Wolf carried the ball over the line again in the subsequent 2-point conversion to equalize 16:16.
Just under three minutes before the end, Tim Beutenmüller, top scorer of the day, escaped the defenders again and once again caught a long thing from Kornwestheim playmaker Verduzco. With that, the victory was in the bag.
“Coming back from a 0:16 deficit commands respect and shows the strong character of the team,” said Cougars head coach Geibel after the game. Offense coordinator Daniel Sassmann adds: “After two quarters, the opponent weakened, also because they weren’t as well manned as we were. This allowed us to use our running game better.”
The first home game of the season for the Cougars is on Saturday, April 22 at 3 p.m. in the Kornwestheimer Stadion against the Bondorf Bulls.
