“Fliedner-Schüler” returns from the Falcons with a needless loss
Kaiserswerth – The omens were bad for the Fliedner students, as the worst fears in the run-up to the game at the Cologne Falcons had come true in terms of staffing levels due to Corona, knowledge and the start of the holidays. In the end, just before kick-off, it’s still enough to send the required 25 players through the passport check. But that was the end of the good news for the Typhoons, who not only got in the middle of the first quarter but also fell a little later on defense liner Simeon Karr, who sustained an injury.
What followed was a battle of the “300” that King Leonidas would have delighted in. He was rewarded early in the game when wide receiver Alexander Amstislavski secured a 9-yard pass from quarterback (QB) Peter Kostenko in the Cologne end zone before kicker Ben Shepherd equalized. The first points for the two Typhoons in their U19 career, the first points for the Typhoons 2022 – the momentum was clear on the part of head coach Philipp Fritsche’s men. Especially since running back Sooho Park also managed to secure a fumble from the Falcons on their own 48-yard line at the beginning of the second quarter. However, the typhoon offensive that came onto the field was not able to capitalize on this. That worked a little later, however, when Typhoons defense liner Tom Wolters grabbed the egg after a fumble from the hosts and ran for over 60 yards in the Falcons’ end zone. The game changer – everyone in the Typhoons team zone agreed on that at the moment. Until someone could make out a piece of yellow fabric on the green of the artificial turf of Cologne’s Ostkampfbahn. No touchdown – penalty against the Typhoons – then no further space gain, but a failed fourth attempt. And yet it was the game changer – just not favoring the Typhoons. A big play by Cologne and an accidental punt from their own end zone resulted in a clear 21:07 lead for the hosts at half-time.
Regardless, the Typhoon Spartans were still unwilling to give up. At the end of the first offensive drive in the second half, the score was only 21:15 after QB Peter Kostenko managed to run a 25-yard pass from Sooho Park to his first U19 touchdown in the end zone before Alexander Amstislavski succeeded in finishing with a two-point conversion (TPC). In the aftermath, not only did the Typhoon defense hold up, whereby Defense Back Bright Afari Owusu-Tabiri also managed an interception in their own end zone. The attack also made yard after yard possible, mainly thanks to runs from QB Peter Kostenko and running back Ben Shepherd, as well as the increasingly strong wide receiver Lasse Lüth. What the Typhoons lacked was a reward for the self-sacrificing fight – which wasn’t made any easier by two fumbles either. And so came what had to come, the typhoons had no choice but to increase the risk more and more as the season progressed. Instead of equalizing, it was the Falcons who were able to penetrate the Typhoon end zone again shortly before the end of the game and put it at 28:15.
An avoidable defeat – everyone agreed after the end of the game on the part of the Typhoons. A defeat that was already forgotten in the final huddle due to currently changed priorities. The truly remarkable performance of offense liner Shawn Ekenedilichukwu Umeh was celebrated in the first football game of his life as well as that of his family and friends who traveled up the Rhine as a whole, who could be put to smile for a few hours not that many there.
Next Saturday, July 2nd, the TFG Typhoons will play their last game of the 2022 season against the Düsseldorf Panthers at 11 a.m. in the Kleine Kampfbahn next to the Merkur Spiel-Arena. The game will no longer be relevant for the tableau, as the Big Cats will go into the play-offs as the winners of Group West together with the Cologne Crocodiles, while the Cologne Falcons are sure of third place ahead of the Typhoons.
Cologne Falcons vs. TFG Taifun 28:15 (07:07; 14:00; 00:08; 07:00)
06:00 6-yard run Cologne Falcons
07:00 PAT Cologne Falcons
07:06 Alexander Amstislavski after 9-yard pass Peter Kostenko
07:07 PAT Ben Shepherd
13:07 60-yard run Cologne Falcons
14:07 PAT Cologne Falcons
20:07 1-yard run Cologne Falcons
21:07 PAT Cologne Falcons
21:13 Sooho Park after 25-yard pass Peter Kostenko
21:15 TPC Alexander Amstislavsky
27:15 Cologne Falcons run for 8 yards
28:15 PAT Cologne Falcons
Source: Dusseldorf typhoons – Andreas Paprotny
Photo: © Werner Thorenz