The last matchday of the women’s development league in Darmstadt took place on October 8th, 2023 at the Darmstadt Diamonds in a pleasant 20°C and sunshine. In the tournament format, three games were played between the Darmstadt Diamonds, the Hadamar Black Goats and the Marburg Mercenaries.
Despite numerous injured and sick players, the Marburg women did not allow themselves to be intimidated by the DBL 2 (Women’s Bundesliga 2) proven players from the Darmstadt Diamonds or their home advantage and gave the spectators a strong and fair game. Especially in the first half it was a neck-and-neck race and neither team wanted to give the other a single yard away, although the Diamonds got into the game better after forcing a fumble and a turnover on the Marburg offense’s first drive could.
Some flags at the beginning of the game and communication problems in the Marburg O-Line put the Marburg defense in a difficult position several times, so that the Diamonds managed to score their first touchdown shortly before the first half. The 2-point conversion was successfully stopped.
After intensive coaching in the respective position groups and a courageous “then talk to each other at the line and protect the middle,” the Mercenaries came into the game much better. Thanks to several good drives from the offense and the well-functioning passing game, the Marburg women were able to reward themselves with a touchdown and a successful 2-point conversion. In addition, they twice brought their quarterback Annika Wienecke into the end zone using the shovel excavator principle in the style of the Philadelphia Eagles with the QB sneak. The Marburgers were able to take a narrow lead with 8:6.
The game remained exciting until the end and when the Darmstadt offense came onto the field again with just over a minute remaining in the game, things became hectic again on the Marburg sideline. In the end, the final whistle redeemed the Mercenaries: final score 8:6 after an exciting and overall very fair game. The Marburg women were already confirmed as champions of the Hessen development league before the last game against the Hadamar Black Goats Ladies.
After a short break, the second game of the tournament continued, between the Hadamar Black Goats Ladies and the Marburg Mercenaries ladies. A game that both sides looked forward to with anticipation after starting the season together with a scrimmage.
After a strong play, RB Marie Zschiebsch delivered the first touchdown, which was followed by RB Marlene Scheld with the 2-point conversion. The second touchdown came from WR Carina Jager after a nice pass from QB Miriam Kerkemeyer, followed by a 2-point conversion from Marie Zschiebsch shortly before halftime.
The second half of the game also left nothing to be desired in terms of excitement and entertainment. The defense was also able to put a few points on the scoreboard thanks to a successful safety from DB Mieke Ploenus and LB Frederike Seibert. So it was 18:0. On the last drive of the Hadamar Offense, the Black Goats Ladies were able to score their first touchdown of the season and crown it with a successful 2-point conversion.
The Marburg coaches were also very satisfied after the two games and winning the championship again. At the end of the first game, QB Annika Wienecke said: “The touchdown and the 2-point conversion that won the championship belong to the O-Line because they shoveled us through it!”
On this day of the tournament, the defense was stable in the middle thanks to a changed system and hardly allowed any space to be gained. Throughout the season, the Marburg women showed a very good performance with a total of only 27 points allowed!
D-line coach Leon Böttner proudly and joyfully said on social media after the game that he was having a “Proud Dad moment” and congratulated the winners with the words: “These moments are the ones you play for. They’ll just come these few times. Cherish this one.“ [Das sind die Momente, für die ihr spielt und die nur wenige Male kommen. Ihr solltet sie wertschätzen].
At this point: With a little personal note, the Mercenaries ladies would like to thank everyone very much. “The spectators, helpers, especially the men from the first and second teams and especially our coaches Christian Diehl (head and defense coordinator) and Nico Grimm (offense coordinator, online coach), without that we wouldn’t have made it this far. Not to be forgotten is the entire coaching team consisting of Elliot Bodman (QB), Jonas Peter (QB, RB), Sebastian Heckmann (TE/Allrounder), Julius Kelz (WR) & Louis Faber (DB, LB) and the sideline consisting of family Grimm and our mascots, affectionately called Captain Fluff and Fluffy, without whom our 2023 football season would never have been so beautiful. Many thanks for the support! We look forward to the next season with you in 2024, when we play in the second women’s league (DBL2)!”
2023-10-11 17:00:31
#Marburg #Mercenaries #ladies #champions
