Kaiserslautern quarterback Rueben Todman throws a pass to receiver Andy Etchell during a Sept. 13, 2024, game against Ramstein at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Much may have changed over the last year, but the Ramstein football team still can’t forget what happened.

In 2023, the Royals earned the second seed and a bye heading into the playoffs. Yet they struggled to get going early and had a comeback bid against eventual champion Stuttgart fall short.

This year, Ramstein has the top seed following an undefeated 5-0 regular season. The team will attempt to avoid another playoff upset when it hosts fourth-seeded Wiesbaden (3-3) on Friday evening.

“I’ve had it going through my head, man,” junior right guard Koen Harris said. “All I think about is last year and how I can improve on who I was as a person and how we were as a team and what can I do to improve these playoffs.”

The bye week was not good for the teams that earned a game off in its debut a year ago. Not only did the Royals lose last fall, but then-undefeated Lakenheath dropped its semifinal matchup with Vilseck.

This year, that break is even longer. Because DODEA-Europe took off the holiday weekend of Oct. 11-12, the top two seeds – Ramstein and Kaiserslautern (4-1) – will have not played a game for three weeks when Friday rolls around.

The Raiders host third-seed Stuttgart (3-3).

Instead of seeing the downside of that extra time, Kaiserslautern four-year starter Freeman Allen took it as a positive.

“I feel like it was a blessing so that we could get the rest we needed and heal up our team and get the players we need back,” the center/defensive tackle said.

The Raiders said they kept themselves in rhythm by working on conditioning and scrimmaging against each other.

The Royals, meanwhile, focused on correcting mistakes and preparing themselves for their eventual opponents, according to junior defensive end Javier Harrington.

Considering Ramstein outscored opponents 162-48 over the regular season, any talk of improvement is daunting for those still left in the Division I field.

“In our time we’ve had to improve, we’ve kept our eye on that and just stay focused and make sure our heads are on the right thing,” the 6-foot-5, 240-pound Harrington said. “We’ve staying focused on what’s ahead of us.”

What’s ahead is a pair of teams the Royals and Raiders know well.

Kaiserslautern defeated Stuttgart 14-3 on Sept. 27 to clinch the second seed in the playoffs.

The Panthers advanced to the semifinals with a 47-20 victory over Vilseck on Oct. 18. M.J. Watkins had four touchdowns – three rushing and one receiving – and 133 yards of offense, while Sammy Johnson amassed 189 yards and a score on the ground and took an interception 45 yards to the house.

Kaiserslautern will try to slow down that rushing attack like it did in the first meeting. The Raiders also forced four turnovers in that matchup.

“We need to be sound and disciplined, and we need to work on not being called that much on flags,” senior running back/linebacker Noah Worthington said. “We need to be disciplined on the line, and we need to have good run blocking and pass blocking, and we can easily win.”

Like the Raiders, the Royals can look to a 42-13 victory against Warriors on Oct. 4 in their regular-season finale.

That game was closer than the scoreline suggested, with the Warriors down only four at halftime. So, the Royals are not taking Wiesbaden for granted.

“We’re expecting to see no less than their best, and of course, we’re going to bring our best as well,” Harrington said. “If everyone does their job and we trust each other, then nothing can go wrong.”