#AllgauComets

[sportsleague365]

It’s time for our first, long-awaited AFIEuropeTop 20 Coaches Poll. We’ve had a few hiccups but with the seasons of all the major European nations now fully underway and with a panel of coaches that has expanded to 13, AFI is finally able to present the first true Top 20 of 2019. You may not agree with all the picks. And there are a couple of surprising teams on the list. A few other teams you might have expected to be there are not. Let us know your thoughts. AFIis proud to have the input of some of the best coaches inEuropeon our 13 man panel which continues to grow. We’ve aggregated the choices of these top Europeancoaches and executives and present them along with our own choices. TheAFI Coaches Poll will be conducted regularly throughout the Europeanregular season and during the post season, relying on a panel of coaches fromEuropeanclubs. The panel is chosen by election, country by country plus independents, from a pool of coaches who have indicated to theAmerican Football Internationaltheir willingness to participate. Each coach submits aTop 20with a first-place vote worth 20 points, second place 19 and so on down to one point for 20th. We would like to extend a special thanks to this season’s panel which included 10 coaches from eight nations, many of whom led teams in our poll as well as special football ambassador, Johannes Woudenberg. We continually work to improve and always welcome your comments and insight. If you are interested in being a part of theAFI Coaches Pollin 2019 please emailcontact@americanfootballinternational.com. 1. SCHWÄBISCH HALL UNICORNS(5-0 GFL) –GERMANY (LAST POLL #1) TheSchwäbischHall Unicorns have opened the 2019 season the way they finished the 2018, dominating teams and remaining undefeated. TheUnicorns are on a 39 game winning streak stretching back to the 2016 German Bowland have looked just as impressive as ever this year. This year they have beaten theMarburg Mercenaries52-9, theIngolstadt Dukes24-0, the Munich Cowboys 35-3, Kirchdorf Wildcats 51-12 and Stuttgart Scorpions 63-13. Next up: Frankfurt Universe, June 1. 2. SWARCO RAIDERS (9-0 – AFL: 7-0 CEFL: 2-0 INT.) – AUSTRIA (LAST POLL #4) The defending Austrian champs have looked just as impressive as ever in running their record to 9-0 overall (2-0 in CEFL play) They opened the year with five straight wins, including a 48-28 victory over arch rivals, theDacia Vienna Vikings, and have been on a roll ever since. However, they had a tough game against the Prague Black Panthers in their latest outing, beating them 28-14. In international games,Swarcodisposed ofFrance’s Thonon Black Panthers,beating them 41-7 inCentral European Football League action and thenbeat up on the Italian champions, theMilano Seamen, 50-23. Next up: Dacia Vienna Vikings, June 1. 3.New Yorker Lions(4-0 )–Germany (Last poll #5) The Lions have also started the season Braunschweighas won its three opening games beating theCologne Crocodiles in a back-to-back series, 23-6 and 45-7, and then took care of the only team that defeated them in the regular season last year, the Berlin Rebels. Braunschweigbeat theRebels 29-12. Last week, the Lions downed the Potsdam Royals 35-14. Next up: Dresden Monarchs, June 1 4. FRANKFURT UNIVERSE (4-0) – GERMANY (LAST POLL #2) Frankfurt has opened the 2019 with four wins, downing the Ingolstadt Dukes 37-13 and then getting by the Munich Cowboys two weeks ago24-17, after beating theAllgau Comets20-0 in their opening game and then downing theMarburg Mercenaries 20-14. Next up: Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns, June 1. 5. DRESDEN MONARCHS (3-0) – GERMANY (LAST POLL #8) TheMonarchs are coming off of three straight wins, 49-13 over the Dusseldorf Panther ,42-14 over the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes and then a 17-0 shut out of the Cologne Crocodiles last week. Next up: Braunschweig New Yorker Lions, June 1. 6. HILDESHEIM INVADERS (4-0) – GERMANY (LAST POLL UNRANKED) Hildesheimis so far the most improved team in the league and have won their four opening games by lopsided scoresbeating thePotsdam Royals50-28, taking care of theDusseldorf Panther 49-17, downing the Cologne Crocodiles 31-14, and then outlasting the Berlin Rebels 56-41. Next up: Dusseldorf Panther, June 1. 7. DACIA VIENNA VIKINGS (7-2 – AFL: 5-2, ECTC: 2-0) – AUSTRIA (LAST POLL #7) The Dacia Vienna Vikings are finally on a roll. Last week they downed the Mödling Rangers 55-28 and the week before beat the Prague Black Panthers 55-28. They had defeated the Danube Dragons10-3 and the week prior they had a big win inEuropean Club Team Competition (ECTC)action inBarcelona, Spain,where they downed theBadalona Dracs38-8. With the victory, theVikingshave won theECTC Central Division(after also beating theTriangle RazorbacksfromDenmarkon April 14) and will now play in theECTC/CEFLplayoff game the weekend of June 8/9. TheVikingshave had a pair of tough lossesfirst losing to theSwarco Raiders48-28 in the second game of the yearand then, two games later droppinga tough 36-14 decision to theGraz Giants. Next up: Swarco Raiders, June 1. 8. THONON BLACK PANTHERS (11-1 FFFA 10-0; CEFL 1-1) FRANCE (LAST POLL UNRANKED) TheBlack Panthers finished theFrench Federation of American Football regular season with a perfect 10-0 record averaging 42.5 points a game. Their final game was a 74-0 demolishing of the Bron-Villeurbanne Falcons. The Black Panthers wrapped up their international season beating the Milano Seamen 42-7. Thonon lost in their opening round game in CEFL play to Austria’s Swarco Raiders41-7and thentheSeamen suffered the same fate, losing to theRaiders50-23. With those losses, both teams were eliminated from title aspirations asSwarcohas moved on to the championship final. Next up: French semifinals, June 15/16. 9. CALANDA BRONCOS (7-1; NL: 5-1, CEFL: 2-0) SWITZERLAND (LAST POLL #11) Calanda has moved out to a 5-1 record in Switzerland’s National League and after losing 14-12 to the Geneva Seahawks early on has ripped off four straight wins. In international CEFL play, the BroncosoverwhelmedTurkey’s Koc Rams a few weeks ago whipping them 55-17 in Istanbul and last week beat the Kragujevac Wild Boars from Serbia 37-33.. Calandaopened the tournament with abig 27-3 road win overPoland’s Wroclaw Pantherswhich gives them an edge in the race for first place in the conference. Next up: Luzern Lions, June 2. 10. WROCLAW PANTHERS (8-1; LFA: 7-0, CEFL: 1-1) – POLAND (LAST POLL #20) The Wroclaw Panthers have dominated the opposition in Poland’s Liga Futbolu Amerykańskiego, and with a 7-0 record look poised to take the title which they inexplicably missed out on in 2018. In international play, the Panthers dropped a 27-3 decision to the Calanda Broncos early on but rebounded with big wins over the Kragujevac Wild Boars from Serbia and Turkey’s Koc Rams. Next up: Poznan Armia, June 2. 11. STUTTGART SCORPIONS (3-1) – GERMANY (LAST POLL UNRANKED) Stuttgartwon a total of two games last season and have already surpassed that, getting off to their best start in theGFL since 2014 when they won their first nine games of the season. TheScorpionsopened the season with a 30-21 win over theMarburg Mercenaries,followed that up by beating theKirchdorf Wildcats, 34.7 and then two weeks ago defeated Ingolstadt 37-30. Last week they suffered a 63-13 loss to the Unicorns. Next up: Kirchdorf Wildcats, June 1. 12. POTSDAM ROYALS (2-2) – GERMANY (LAST POLL UNRANKED) TheRoyalsdropped their opening game to theHildesheim Invaders, losing 50-28, but rebounded three weeks ago in beating the Berlin Rebels30-17. They then downed theDusseldorf Panther34-17 only to lose to the Braunschweig New Yorker Lions last week, 35-14. Next up: Braunschweig New Yorker Lions, June 15. 13. MILANO SEAMEN (7-1 IFL; 0-2 CEFL) – ITALY (LAST POLL #9) So far in theItalianleague, theSeamen have reached the semifinals and built a record of 7-1 and have looked impressive in their victories over the Bergamo Lions, Bologna WarriorsandAncona Dolphins(29-6) beforethey were unceremoniously dumped byParmaearlier in April, 22-19.They rebounded though with a huge 34-28 last second win over theFirenze Guelfi. Since then they easily blanked theLazio Ducks51-0 and then beaten a surprisingly toughTorinao Giaguari 36-27. They then whipped the second place Bolzano Giants 44-16 to secure first place in Italy. Last week they were beaten by France’s Thonon Black Panthers 42-7 in a game which had no bearing. Next up: Italian semifinals, June 15/16. 14. DANUBE DRAGONS (5-2) – AUSTRIA (LAST POLL UNRANKED) The Danube Dragons have built a solid 5-2 record in the Austrian Football League and are coming off of two straight wins, beating the Amstetten Thunder 45-10 and then last week getting by the Graz Giants21-14. Their only two losses have been to the Dacia Vienna Vikings, 10-3 and Swarco Raiders 34-14. Next up: Amstetten Thunder, June 1. 15. BADALONA DRACS (11-0 SPAIN, 1-1 CEFL) The Badalona Dracs romped through the Spanish League of American Football in 2019, assembling an 11-0 unbeaten record and capturing their fourth straight Spanish title., whipping the Las Rozas Black Demons in the final 47-6.Badalona lost to the Dacia Vienna Vikings in the CEFL 38-8 but came back and beat Denmark’s Triangle Razorbacks 54-38. Next up: Season over, Spanish champs. 16. COPENHAGEN TOWERS (4-0 DAFF; 1-1 ECTC) – DENMARK (LAST POLL #9) Copenhagenhas opened the season by beating theFrederikssund Oaks42-7 and theAarhus Tigers40-6. They have also played a pair of international games,losing toFinland’s Helsinki Roosters22-18anddowning theStockholm Mean MachinesfromSweden28-25. A week ago they downed the Aarhus Tigers 49-20. Next up: Aalborg 89ers, June 15. 17. BOLZANO GIANTS (6-2 ITALY, 2-0 CEFL CUP) – ITALY (LAST POLL UNRANKED) Bolzano sit second in the standings in Italy after losing badly to the Milano Seamen 44-16 a couple of weeks ago. They had opened the season with six straight wins, including a thrilling 36-32 victory over theFirenze Guelfi.First theGiantscame out 41-7 winners over theTorino Giaguariand then defeatedBergamo28-24 and theParma Panthers20-6. TheGiantsdisposed of theBologna Warriors33-6 and in their last outing downed theAncona Dolphins 41-29. The Giants have advanced to the championship final in CEFL Cup play after beating the Budapest Wolves from Hungary 36-19 and Serbia’s Vukovi Belgrade 42-27. Next up: Moscow Spartans, CEFL Cup Final, June 8 18. PRAGUE BLACK PANTHERS (3-4 AUSTRIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE) – CZECH REPUBLIC (LAST POLL #16) A surprising entry in the Top 20, the Black Panthers are competing in the Austrian Football League in 2019 and have looked good despite having a losing record. They dropped a tough 28-14 decision to the league-leading Swarco Raiders last week. Next up: Mödling Rangers, June 2. 19. ASNIERES MOLOSSES (8-0-2 FRANCE) – FRANCE (LAST POLL UNRANKED) The Molosses are undefeated in the French League of American Football North Conference and boast by far the stingiest offense in the country. They have allowed an average of only 4.8 points a game and definitely look like a contender for the French title. Next up: French semifinal, June 15. 20. GUELFI FIRENZE (6-2 ITALY) – ITALY – LAST POLL UNRANKED) Firenze islooking like a title contender in Italy after compiling a 6-2 record. They closed out the regular season with a 41-17 win over the Bergamo Lions. They had downed theAncona Dolphins40-13 after gettinga much-needed win the week before over the lowlyBologna Warriors, 34-28. They had dropped two in a row when theylost a last second thriller to theMilano Seamen,34-28.and then lostto the league-leadingBolzano Giants36-32.TheGuelfihad opened the season with three solid wins over theParma Panthers(27-17),Lazio Ducks(36-22) and theTorino Giaguariwho they knocked off 49-14. NEXT UP: ANCONA DOLPHINS, ITALIAN SEMIFINALS, JUNE 8. Honorable Mention: Stockholm Mean Machines (Sweden); London Warriors, Great Britain; Helsinki Roosters (Finland), Kuopio Steelers (Finland); Kragujevac Wild Boars, Serbia; Białystok Lowlanders, Poland; Graz Giants, Austria; Parma Panthers, Italy; Geneva Seahawks, Switzerland; Carlstad Crusaders, Sweden; Mödling Rangers, Austria. The post AFI’s Europe Top 20: 2019 Coaches Poll – May 2019 appeared first on American Football International. #Top20 #AllgauComets #WroclawPanthers