“Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns Narrowly Beat Stockholm Mean Machine in Central European Football League Quarterfinals”

In the quarterfinals of the Central European Football League, the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns narrowly beat the Swedish representative Stockholm Mean Machine with 29:27.

• Schweigart catches the crucial pass
• Two French and one Italian representatives complete the semifinals
• Rothe: “Lucky winner after a nerve-wracking game”

The duel between the German champions and Stockholm mutated into a heart-stopping final, in which wide receiver Caleb Schweigart caught the all-important pass shortly before the end of the game. At the beginning of the final quarter, the Scandinavian guests, who were particularly successful with a quick short passing game, were still in the lead by 20:17. Three seconds before the end of the game, with the score of 27:23 for Stockholm, the Hallers were then seven yards from the opposing end zone. Then quarterback Ian Gehrke passed the ball to Schweigart and the 1875 fans in the Optima Sportpark cheered big.

In the other duels of the quarterfinals, the Parma Panthers from Italy won against the Serbs from Beograd Vukovi with 28:10. In addition, La Courneuve Flash from France prevailed 25:14 against the Las Rozas Black Demons from Spain. In the last duel of the round of eight teams, the Thonon Black Panthers, also from France, were victorious against the Italian champions Firenzi Guelfi with 27:14. It continues on June 3rd with the semi-final duels, which have not yet been finalized. The final will take place on June 24th at a finalist’s stadium.

LEGENDARY 3 SEC 🔥🔥🔥 In case someone had to leave too early: Here we have the all-important play by Ian Gehrke for you @CalebSchweigart to 29:27! @EuropeanLeague Semi-finals – here we come: 03.06. @ Optima Sports Park! #unicornsfootball #moreUthanever #itsallabouttheU pic.twitter.com/tFIEYqD1hZ

— Unicorns Football (@unicornsfootbal) May 13, 2023

Hall’s Christian Rothe drew a mixed conclusion: “Today was our first game with a still very inexperienced team that made a lot of mistakes, but we can all learn a lot from them. In the end we are the happy winners today after a nerve-wracking game,” said the head coach. The performance showed that the Unicorns lost substance compared to previous years due to their bloodletting towards the Stuttgart Surge (ELF). Last year, the southern Germans easily won their quarter-final game against the comparably strong Örebro Black Knights, also from Sweden, 58:7. As a result, Hall also dominated the GFL. Next weekend (May 20, from 5 p.m.) the first real endurance test in the German football upper house is on the agenda at home against the Potsdam Royals.