British running back Jermaine Allen scored the decisive touchdown in the third period on a 2-yard run as the Hamburg Sea Devils qualified for the first World Bowl in team history with a hard-fought defeat of the Rhein Fire.
Casey Bramlet (Washington Redskins) led Hamburg's attack by throwing for 209 yards and one touchdown, while Tony Hollings -- a former NFL starter with the Houston Texans -- rushed for 109 yards on 21 carries.
The Sea Devils were the first to put points on the board as Bramlet completed four passes for 44 yards, including two strikes to wide receiver Marcus Maxwell (San Francisco 49ers), to set up a 21-yard field goal by Shane Andrus (Indianapolis Colts).
Rhein struck back with 10:42 remaining in the first half as Jacque Lewis went off left guard for a 1-yard touchdown run and Mark Brubaker tacked on the extra point. The score was set up by Cody Pickett's 39-yard pass to wide receiver Lauren Williams (Oakland Raiders) that moved the Fire to the 1-yard line.
Hamburg moved into a 10-7 lead as Bramlet fired a 24-yard touchdown pass to tight end Teyo Johnson (Denver Broncos) with 48 seconds remaining in the half. Bramlet completed a 14-yard pass to Maxwell and a 12-yard effort to wide receiver Justin Jenkins on the nine-play, 70-yard drive.
But there was still enough time for the Fire to level the scores as Brubaker nailed a 33-yard field goal with one second left in the half after Brett Elliott (San Diego Chargers) had completed passes of 15 and 19 yards to running back Charles Anthony.
Allen gave Hamburg the lead for good towards the end of the third quarter as he found the end zone on a 2-yard run. Bramlet produced the key moment on the 10-play, 91-yard scoring drive as he connected with Jenkins for a 50-yard gain down the left sideline.
Rhein pulled to within four points with a little over 10 minutes left on the clock when Brubaker converted a 31-yard field goal.
The Fire looked set to mount a late challenge as linebacker Travis Harris recovered a Maxwell fumble at Rhein's 42-yard line inside the two-minute warning. But one play later, tight end Sean Mulcahy (Cincinnati Bengals) fumbled following a hit by New York Giants-allocated linebacker Barry Robertson and safety Shawn Mayer recovered at Hamburg's 43-yard line.
Hollings then ripped off a 29-yard gain before Bramlet knelt down to run the final seconds off the clock and spark the celebrations.
No comments:
Post a Comment