RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany – The Stuttgart Panthers were hit in the mouths in Week 1 against the Ramstein Royals.

Up to that point of that 14-9 defeat, the Panthers hadn’t lost a game since a Division I playoff semifinal against Lakenheath on Oct. 27, 2018.

In a playoff semifinal on Saturday at Ramstein High School, the Panthers got a second crack at the Royals. They responded with a 17-14 victory that will give them a shot to defend their title yet again. And on their home field.

“It was really tough,” Stuttgart senior Jace Holmes said of the first-week result. “So, I’m glad the outcome was what we wanted, and I’m glad we were able to take it away because that loss hurt pretty bad.”

Stuttgart (5-2) returns to the DODEA-Europe Division I title game for the fourth consecutive season, despite beginning the campaign 1-2. Coach Antoine Reed said his team is different from earlier in the year and it has shown that over the course of a four-game winning streak.

“I think we peaked at the right time,” he said. “We’re a stronger team. We’re a little bit more resilient on the back end. We were able to bounce back and make sure things play out the way they should.

“You got to give it up to Ramstein. They’re really tough, and I’m glad we were able to get a victory in this hostile environment.”

Against the Royals (3-3), the Panthers won the field position battle by a sizeable margin. Stuttgart boasted an average starting point of its own 43-yard line, with four beginning in Royal territory.

Ramstein’s average position, meanwhile, was its own 23. The Royals had nine possessions start at or inside their 20-yard line and began two inside their own 10.

Even though the Panthers forced two turnovers, only one put them on the positive side of the 50-yard line. Instead, the defense and special teams gave Stuttgart that edge.

“It was an advantage for us,” Reed said. “It was a blessing. It’s just the way the football bounced (Saturday).”

The Panthers also deployed a new look on offense.

Practicing it just a few times this week, Stuttgart came out in a wildcat formation, starting late in the second quarter. They stayed in it for most of the second half, with a few exceptions of quarterback Ty Jones going under center.

Most of the time, Holmes found himself catching the snap and running with the football. He accrued 110 yards and scored twice on 13 carries.

When Holmes went down with an injury early in the fourth period, fellow senior Jack Gruver (31 yards on 12 rushes) took his place. Even kicker Itzak Sandoval took a few snaps.

“I saw the formation, I saw the people we had in the formation, and I knew it could work,” Holmes said. “I told my coach, ‘Hey, let’s just do this.’ We kept going back to it, and it kept working until I had to come out.”

One of Holmes’ touchdowns came at a crucial moment heading into halftime.

The Royals engineered a 17-play, 96-yard drive that ate up 7:14 in the second quarter to take a 7-3 lead with 49 seconds left. Quarterback Lucas Hollenbeck connected with senior receiver Liam Delp on a post route for a 16-yard score.

After a squib kick placed the ball at the Stuttgart 43-yard line, the Panthers’ offense picked up first downs on three straight plays to move to the Ramstein 2. The big play was a pass from Jones to sophomore Seth Long, who grabbed the ball over the middle of the field, spun away from a Ramstein defender and collected his second 30-yard pass of the first half – and his only receptions of the game.

Two plays later, Holmes powered in a 1-yard score.

The offensive explosion in the final minute of the second quarter almost didn’t end there, as Ramstein junior Caden Nims caught the ensuing kickoff at his own 1 and scampered his way to the Stuttgart 4-yard line before being knocked out of bounds. The clock had ticked to zero during the return, though, giving the Panthers a 10-7 lead at the break.

“That was the game-winning touchdown,” Holmes said. “I know they almost had a kick return touchdown on us right after, which kind of hurt, but I feel like that touchdown was key and the way to victory.”

Holmes’ second score came after senior linebacker Daniel Greer recovered a fumble off a bad exchange in the Ramstein backfield at the Royals’ 17. Holmes punched in a 10-yard touchdown with 2:39 left in the third, giving the Panthers a 10-point advantage.

The Royals didn’t roll over, though, and got a spark from a turnover of their own when junior Pierson Lee jumped on a fumble at the Stuttgart 16 late in the third quarter.

Four plays later, Landon Torroll (14 carries, 54 yards) squeezed through for a 1-yard touchdown to make it a three-point game at the 11:10 mark in the fourth quarter.

The Royals got the ball three more times, but it wasn’t until the last one with 1:35 left that they managed to move the ball. Ramstein had multiple chances for big passing plays, but Hollenbeck and his receivers couldn’t connect. The final drive stalled at the Stuttgart 46, with a failed fourth-down attempt ending the comeback bid.

“Our defense got the turnover and gave us life,” Ramstein coach Carter Hollenbeck said. “I can’t say it enough. These kids, especially these seniors, we never stop battling. You’ll have a few moments because they’re kids, but then all of the sudden they regroup and keep going.”

Vilseck 16, Lakenheath 15: In Saturday’s other semifinal, fourth-seeded Vilseck erased an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit to upset the previously undefeated top seed Lakenheath.

That result means the Falcons will travel to Stuttgart to play in the title game against the Panthers on Oct. 28.

Trailing 15-7, Vilseck’s Stokely Fudge drilled a 37-yard field goal with 11:09 left in the game.

After the Lancers (5-1) punted on their next drive, the Falcons (4-3) began their go-ahead drive. Gabe Mallard, who amassed 150 yards on 21 carries, and Garrett Hyten did most of the work for Vilseck, moving the ball to the Lakenheath 20-yard line. There the Falcons faced a fourth-and-8, when quarterback Aron Atakuzi connected with Jaylen Acron for the 20-yard score with 2:05 left in the game.

Atakuzi went 8-of-13 passing for 123 yards and two scores – both of which went to Acron. The signal caller-receiver had another 20-yard touchdown at the 4:40 mark in the second quarter, which was the opening score of the game.

Lakenheath had a chance to win the game after that, as quarterback Nico Marchini scampered 51 yards to put the Lancers into field goal range. With 43 seconds left, Lakenheath missed a 37-yard field goal, and the Falcons held on for the win.

Marchini paced the Lancers as he had done all season, going 12 of 22 through the air for 160 yards and two touchdowns – a 5-yarder to Brian Miles with 35 seconds left in the second quarter and a 40-yarder to Dante Thompson at the 3:08 mark in the third.

Thompson had 101 yards on six receptions, while Miles chipped in with 39 yards on three grabs.

Defensively for Vilseck, Hyten totaled nine tackles, including one for a loss, and forced fumble. Jayden Freeman had nine tackles, John Dorff and Simon Poveda each sacked Marchini twice, and Junior DeJesus made five tackles, including one for a loss, and batted down three passes.

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