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There was a lot on the line on Aug. 6. The Kaiserslautern Pikes and Frankfurt Universe both came into the Saturday tilt undefeated at 9-0, and were looking to end the day as Regionalliga Mitte Champions. The two teams were clearly the class of the league and had clinched promotion into GFL 2 next season, and it was only fitting that the Regionalliga Mitte Championship would come down to the very last game of the year.
It was clear what each team’s strength was: the Universe was touted as having the best defense in the league, giving up an average of 11.2 points per game, while the Pikes clearly had the best offense in the league averaging 40.2 points per game.
It was a game of strength versus strength, which ultimately was won by the Pikes with a 27-0 rout of the Universe.
“Our defense doesn’t get enough credit, they are pretty darn good and I guess you can say they played with a chip on their shoulder today,” said head coach Jason Nowlin.
Kaiserslautern held Frankfurt to 82 yards of total offense and only 32 yards on the ground on 31 attempts.
“I’ve always thought we had the best run defense in the league. If you take a look at the stats, teams throw the ball more against us, that’s because they have such a difficult time running the ball,” Nowlin said.
Kaiserslautern started the route on their second drive. After a great punt return by Hazim Thomas that set up with good field position, Eric Walton scored on a 16 yard run. The drive was kept alive by a big third down catch by Mike Davis. Walton finished with 237 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Walton was also honored after the game with the Kaiserslautern Pikes Player of the Year award, an honor that was voted on by the Pikes’ fans. For the season, Walton finished with more than 2,500 yards rushing and 25 touchdowns ― both believed to be team records.
The Pikes tacked on 13 points in the second quarter, highlighted by two big runs by Walton that set up a 1 yard touchdown run by Denis Rohleder, and a field goal by Holger Neumann to end the first half. The second half was all Pikes as the defense the Universe from any serious threat of scoring and the offense controlled the clock via the run game. The only scoring of the second half came off a 32 yard touchdown run by Walton. The Pikes were lead defensively by Brian Watkins who had three solo tackles and a tackle for loss, while Markus Menyfield and Myron Austin locked down the secondary for the Pikes.
The win clinched the Regionalliga Mitte Championship, the Pikes’ third championship. They also finished the season undefeated, which was the first time in the team’s history.
“I couldn’t be happier for these guys, this is a great accomplishment, something they can look back 15 to 20 years from now and reflect about how special this was, including myself,” Nowlin said.
The Pikes will now enter their offseason where they will gear up for the next challenge, GFL 2. K-Town spent two seasons in GFL 2 before being relegated back to third division this year. Nowlin said his guys will be up to the challenge.
“The league may change, but the goal remains the same,” he said. “We intend to compete and challenge for the league title.”
