At the beginning it was a duel of equals, then the Royals pulled away. In the final of the German Football League (GFL), the defending champion Schwäbisch Hall lost significantly to Potsdam.
The German Bowl 2023 offered a new edition of the final from the previous year. In 2022, the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns defeated the Potsdam Royals 44:27, but this year the Hallers were still considered underdogs in the championship final.
The favorite from Potsdam showed right from the start in the Essen stadium on Hafenstrasse that he has enormous quality in offensive play. The Royals marched down the field on several plays in the first drive and scored the first touchdown of the game through quarterback Jaylon Henderson. Since the subsequent 2-point conversion (an attempt after the touchdown to score two extra points) was unsuccessful, the score was 6-0 for Potsdam after about four and a half minutes.
Spectacle in Essen
The Unicorns responded with another long possession and a successful run into the end zone by running back Mike Gentili. The extra point via kick was successful, so Schwäbisch Hall took the lead 7:6. But the Royals once again followed up with strong offensive plays and took the lead again with Henderson’s second touchdown and a successful 2-point conversion – 14:7.
The Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns were rarely able to stop the Potsdam Royals’ offense
The game remained spectacular – with advantages for Potsdam. The Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns missed a field goal attempt and thus concluded a promising attack without any points. In return, Brandon Polk scored another touchdown with a running play before halftime, so that Potsdam went into the break with the score at 22:7.
Another setback for the Unicorns
The unicorns from Schwäbisch Hall entered the third quarter courageously and with the belief that they could still turn the game around. But a missed field goal at the end of a long drive reduced hopes of a sixth GFL title. When the outstanding Royals quarterback Jaylon Henderson scored his third touchdown at the beginning of the fourth quarter and made it 28:7 for Potsdam, the path to the title was paved for Potsdam. A defensive touchdown by the Royals after a fumble by the Unicorns sealed the final score of 34:7
After losing in the final last year, the Potsdam Royals got their revenge on Saturday evening in Essen. After the convincing victory, Potsdam was able to celebrate the first GFL championship title in the club’s history. For Schwäbisch Hall it was an unwanted end to an otherwise strong season, which ended in their eleventh final appearance since 2011. It wasn’t enough for the unicorns to win their sixth title.
