SHAPE quarterback Keller Schutt throws a pass during an Aug. 27, 2024, football practice in Mons, Belgium. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

The AFNORTH Lions realize people will look at their record and wonder whether they deserve to play in Saturday’s Division II/III championship game.

The Lions managed a 1-3 regular season, losing to all three of the other playoff squads – Spangdahlem, International School of Brussels and SHAPE. The lone win came against Ansbach, which canceled its season midway due to injuries.

That qualified AFNORTH for the playoffs. Then, unfortunate circumstances with a serious injury 1 minute and 30 seconds into the Oct. 25 semifinal at Spangdahlem called the game, and the Sentinels decided not to carry on this season.

So the Lions found themselves in Saturday afternoon’s title game against SHAPE in Mons, Belgium. And they are ready to show they deserve that spot.

“Even though we haven’t justified this by our play or by our record, we still have a chance to prove ourselves in the championship game,” AFNORTH coach James Argyle said. “That’s something we’re really excited for.”

The Spartans (3-1/4-1) punched their tickets to the final with a 34-22 victory over ISB on Oct. 25. The two teams had participated in the BNL League, a U-19 competition, for three seasons prior to the creation of a new nine-man DODEA division.

Despite having the superior record, SHAPE coach Jason Neago said his team won’t look past the Lions.

“Football is full of upsets,” Neago said. “Their record doesn’t represent the team that they are. They are a big and physical team, and they produce some difficulties with matchups. We need to make sure our team is dialed in and focused and ready to play.”

Neago can point toward the two teams’ regular season matchup to show why.

The Spartans won 42-28 on Sept. 21 at SHAPE, but it was a back-and-forth affair before the Spartans pulled away late.

Keller Schutt and the deep passing game gashed the Lions for 203 yards and three scores, including a 74-yard touchdown to junior Chris Carter.

Fumbles also proved to be an issue for the Lions, as Carter produced a 50-yard scoop-and-score.

Argyle said the Lions must block better and avoid the missed assignments and holding penalties that plagued them during the Sept. 21 loss.

“You point to that first half of the SHAPE game as an inflection point downward,” Argyle said. “We didn’t play as well in that SHAPE game as we needed to, and it established some bad habits going into the next week against ISB.”

SHAPE, meanwhile, will continue to lean on Schutt.

The senior quarterback, whom Argyle called the best quarterback in the division, is a dual-threat with his arm and legs on offense and leading the defense at safety.

“Keller is an amazing and phenomenal athlete, he’s a phenomenal leader, and it’s hard to replace somebody like him,” Neago said. “We’re going to rely heavily on him throughout the game, but also realizing football’s a team sport and we need everybody out there to do their jobs for us to be successful on Saturday.”

One thing that will be different from the regular-season meeting is the health of AFNORTH.

Argyle explained that by halftime, the Lions had lost five of their top six players. Quarterback Sladen Hager broke his wrist, while running Dylan Green blew out his knee.

Hager is back under center for Saturday’s contest, while James Bennett has taken over the mantle as the No. 1 running back and become the enforcer at linebacker. Argyle said Bennett has been sick this week, but he expressed hope he will be 100 percent by 1 p.m. Saturday,

“We’re healthier now than we have been since the start of the season,” Argyle said. “That is something that is going to be advantageous to us as we go into this championship game.”

The Lions ran a lot between the guards during the first matchup. While Neago said he anticipates more of that on Saturday, he won’t rule out AFNORTH going deep in its bag of tricks.

“It’s the playoffs, it’s the championship game,” Neago said. “I’m not going to underestimate what they bring to the game and for them to throw some wrinkles into their game plan to attack some of our areas.”