Wiesbaden defender Munro Davis tackles Lakenheath running back Aaron Valiente during a Division I first-round playoff game on Oct. 18, 2024, at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

WIESBADEN, Germany – Munro Davis didn’t mince words about the Wiesbaden football program during the first three years of his high school career.

“When I came in as a freshman, I knew this team wasn’t very good,” he said. “For three years, we really didn’t have anything.”

The trials and tribulations were forgotten by the final whistle Friday evening against Lakenheath in a Division I first-round game, though.

The Warriors survived a late Lancer charge to pick up their first playoff win in eight years with a 21-14 victory. The last postseason triumph also was the Warriors’ last home playoff game – an overtime thriller over Vilseck in a 2016 semifinal.

“As someone who’s played on the team for four years, this is really big,” Davis said. “We’re proving our town wrong. They don’t think much of us, but we’re a winning team.”

The victorious formula wasn’t exactly textbook.

Wiesbaden (3-3) committed 25 penalties for a total of 191 yards. Their infractions led to more yardage backwards than the host created on offense (152).

The Warriors got a pair of passing touchdowns from sophomore quarterback Ben Cashen – one at the 5-minute, 40-second mark in the first quarter with a bomb along the sideline to a wide-open Christopher Edwards for 96 yards and another with 1:00 left in the first half on a 12-yard strike in the back corner of the end zone to senior Zion Thompson.

But those penalties played a key role in the Warriors being unable to expand upon a 21-6 advantage midway through the game.

“Because we lacked discipline, we put the outcomes of a lot of important plays in the hands of the referees,” Wiesbaden coach Jonathan Clowers said. “We can’t have that happen if we want to win a championship.”

Wiesbaden's Wyatt Massey celebrates after tackling Lakenheath running back Adrian Hill II during a Division I first-round playoff game on Oct. 18, 2024, at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Wiesbaden defenders Teagan McConville, bottom, and Tyler Truesdell tackle Lakenheath running back Aaron Valiente during a Division I first-round playoff game on Oct. 18, 2024, at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Wiesbaden's Zion Thompson tries to squeak through a tackle by Lakenheath's Adrian Hill II during a Division I first-round playoff game on Oct. 18, 2024, at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Lakenheath quarterback Parker Grimm throws a pass during a Division I first-round playoff game against Wiesbaden on Oct. 18, 2024, at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Wiesbaden quarterback Ben Cashen throws a screen pass during a Division I first-round playoff game against Lakenheath on Oct. 18, 2024, at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Lakenheath linebacker Jeremiah Kreider tackles Wiesbaden receiver Liam Ortiz during a Division I first-round playoff game on Oct. 18, 2024, at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Lakenheath freshman Jaiden Miles catches the opening kickoff during a Division I first-round playoff game against Wiesbaden on Oct. 18, 2024, at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Even in the first half, defense and special teams proved the best offense for Wiesbaden.

On the first play of the game, the Warriors harried Lakenheath signal caller Parker Grimm out of the pocket. The sophomore tried to throw the ball away but instead found Wiesbaden junior Tyler Trusdell, who waltzed into the end zone with a 19-yard score.

Then, late in the first half, Davis came off the edge and blocked a punt that set up the Warriors at the Lakenheath 12-yard line, leading to Cashen’s second passing score.

“We are a defensive team, almost like the (Pittsburgh) Steelers back in the day,” Clowers said. “It’s more of the same. A defensive touchdown is the usual here.”

In the fourth quarter, the defense excelled under difficult circumstances.

The Lancers (1-5) started four consecutive drives in Warrior territory. The first came off a Cashen pass that Lakenheath freshman defensive back Frankie Grays snagged at the Wiesbaden 12.

Two plays and multiple penalties by both sides later, Lakenheath running back Adrian Hill II punched in a 3-yard score to make it a seven-point difference with 9:33 left in the game.

After that, the Warriors clamped down, forcing a three and out, a fumble and a turnover on downs without giving up a single first down.

“Our defense is the core of this team; our defense runs this team,” Davis said. “We knew we needed to get a stop, and we went out there and did it.”

For Lakenheath coach Gabe Feletar, the Lancers failed to take advantage of Wiesbaden’s miscues while also not being able to get anything going offensively.

The Lancers’ best play was an 86-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Grimm to Hill, who seemed wrapped up after 10 yards by two Warriors but somehow snuck out and scampered the rest of the way untouched.

“If we would have got that first down or if we would have put it in the end zone that one time, obviously it’s a different game,” Feletar said. “The offense just stalled out.”

With the win, Wiesbaden advances to face top-seeded Ramstein on Oct. 25 in a semifinal.

The Royals defeated the Warriors 42-13 in their regular-season finale on Oct.4.

Davis said he and his teammates understand the task ahead of them, but they also are up for it.

“We know they’re a good team,” Davis said of Ramstein. “They have a real good run game. We’re going to have to shut down that running back.”