Germany vs. USA recap
Against the Schuldorf Bergstrasse Hillsiders from Germany the Queens and Long Island DAC Panthers struggled to cope with the partnership of brothers Max and Lukas (below) Kleinscorge, who both stand more than six feet tall. The hosts exploited their aerial threat and the fervor of the home crowd in a 45-24 win.
The Panthers scored first when Eddie Roscigno collected a Yanni Gavalas pass, but the German brothers struck immediately, then capitalized on two interceptions and a stalled US drive to move ahead convincingly by 25-6 at halftime.
Daniel Schuchmann ran in the go-ahead score, Max and Lucas hooked up twice to make it 24-6 and Max hit Lars Bayer with a successful extra point attempt.
The US youngsters refused to be overwhelmed and fought back in the second half as Nicky Athanasopoulos answered another German touchdown pass to Jan-Lukas Boger with a fine catch to take a Gavalas bomb into the end zone.
Germany surged ahead 39-12 when Rene Weimar rushed into the end zone, but Kleinscorge was intercepted on the point after. The New York battlers, led by Gavalas, began spreading the passing game around, hooking up with Brian Kruger for a short gain, Roscigno down the right flank and then Anthony Libroia for a touchdown and a 39-18 score.
A weaving run by the impressive Lukas Kleinscorge opened an unassailable home team lead, but USA had the final say when Roscigno turned quarterback and hit Gavalas for a first down and his teammate repaid the favor by passing for another end zone score.