Dresden Monarchs

The Dresden Monarchs are an American football team from Dresden, Germany. They have been a member of the first tier German Football League since 2002 and play in its Northern Division. They are the reigning champion after having won German Bowl XLII.

The club reached the German Bowl for the first time in 2013, where it lost to the Braunschweig Lions by a single point. The 2021 season saw their first division title in the first tier German Football League when they placed first in the North Division with a record of nine victories, one defeat in the regular season. In German Bowl XLII the Monarchs defeated the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns 28–19 to claim their first ever title.

History

Starting out

The Dresden Monarchs were formed in January 1992 and entered in the ''Aufbauliga Ost'' the following year, the lowest possible league in the region.

The ''Monarchs'', in the following years, gradually worked their way up through the league system, winning the league they played in every season from 1996 to 1999. In 1999, a second title in the tier-three ''Regionalliga Nordost'' allowed the club promotion to the northern division of the ''2nd Bundesliga'', now the GFL 2.

After three seasons at this level, Dresden won its division in 2002, winning all ten games, and went on to defeat the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes in two games in the promotion round by a combined score of 100–0. Ironically enough, one of the players on the field for Kiel during their humiliating defeat was Alexander Graf von Perponcher-Sedlnitzky who would go on to become the stadium announcer for the Dresden Monarchs later on.

German Football League playoff contender

Promoted to the German Football League, the GFL, the club became an instant play-off contender, reaching the semifinals in 2004, where it lost to the Braunschweig Lions. After four consecutive play-off qualifications, the club had a difficult 2007 season. With only one win and eleven defeats in the regular season, the ''Monarchs'' had to enter the relegation round, but were able to overcome the Hamburg Eagles and thereby defended their place in the GFL.

The club returned to its better performances after 2007, reaching the play-offs once more every year. A second semifinal qualification, in 2010, ended in defeat to eventual German Bowl winners Kiel Baltic Hurricanes.

In 2011, the club narrowly missed out on play-off qualification, finishing fifth in the league. The first (and as of 2021 only) time they did not have a postseason (including promotion/relegation games) since their 2002 entry into the top tier. In 2012, the club came third in the northern division of the GFL and qualified for the play-offs where they were knocked out by the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes in the semi finals.

Number two in the North and failing to beat Schwäbisch Hall

The 2013 season became the club's best up to that point, finishing second in its division and reaching the German Bowl after play-off victories at home over the Munich Cowboys and Berlin Adler. Ultimately the Braunschweig Lions who had already bested them twice during the regular season were too much to overcome in a 35–34 nailbiter decided by the lone turnover late in the game when Running back Trevar Deed (one of the most statistically productive players in that position in GFL history in his most productive GFL season) fumbled the ball. The one point winning margin was also the result of otherwise very "clutch" wide receiver and placekicker Jan Hilgenfeld missing a Point after Touchdown kick, which Hilgenfeld himself pointed out in a post game interview to take the blame off Deed.

In 2014, the club took part in a new European competition, the BIG6 European Football League, which consisted of three teams from Germany, two from Austria and one from Switzerland, the clubs being Berlin Adler, New Yorker Lions, Dresden Monarchs, Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna, Swarco Raiders Tirol and the Calanda Broncos. The two best teams of this competition advanced to the Eurobowl XXVIII, with Dresden knocked out in the group stage. In the GFL the club finished once more in second place in the North Division in 2014 and defeated the Marburg Mercenaries 42–22 at home in the quarter finals of the play-offs but lost in the semi finals on the road to the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns who would in turn lose the German Bowl to Braunschweig.

The team finished second in the northern division of the GFL in 2015 and defeated the Stuttgart Scorpions at home in the quarter finals of the play-offs but again lost in the road to the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns in the semi-finals of the play-offs. Schwäbisch Hall would go on to lose the German Bowl against the New Yorker Lions as they had already done the previous year. Prior to the 2016 season many players left the team or announced their retirement from Football and the first game of the Dresden Monarchs 2016 season was a 21–21 draw against the Berlin Rebels in Berlin. However, the team led by Quarterback Brandon Connette ultimately recovered and proved one of the most statistically efficient passing offenses in the league, losing only two games (on the road in Kiel and Braunschweig) and tying their home game against Braunschweig before defeating an overmatched Saarland Hurricanes squad in the Quarterfinals before once more going on the road to the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns. Like the two previous seasons, the Southern champions proved too tough a nut to crack for the Monarchs and the 35–26 defeat ended the season that ultimately had very similar results to the two previous seasons, all ending as the second placed team in the North falling in the Semifinals to Hall.

2017 saw the Monarchs fall to third place in the North with a 10–4 record behind the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes who had posted the same record but had beaten Dresden twice. Having to go on the road in the playoffs, Dresden fell to the Frankfurt Universe 26-16 in their first "one and done" playoff appearance since 2009 (barring the 2011 season in which they failed to make the playoffs altogether).

In 2018 the Monarchs returned to the pattern of previous years, even posting the same 11-2-1 record as Braunschweig, but while holding Braunschweig to a tie on the road, they failed to win their home game against the Lions thus again placing second in the North due to the head-to-head tiebreaker. In the playoffs Dresden once more took care of business in their quarterfinals at home before being bested on the road by Schwäbisch Hall, again a repeat of the pattern of previous years. The fact that Braunschweig also failed to advance to the final and Schwäbisch Hall won it all that year was only small consolation for the once again foiled championship dreams of the Dresden squad.

In 2019 Dresden, posting a 10-4 record (three of their regular season defeats coming on the road - the lone home loss was to Braunschweig) finishing second in the North once again ended their title hopes with a semifinal defeat on the road in Schwäbisch Hall as had become almost tradition by now.

Covid-19 and first Championship

Whatever plans Dresden may have had for the 2020 season ultimately never materialized as a microscopic virus, called SARS-CoV-2, which causes the deadly respiratory disease Covid-19, forced the AFVD

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases