Barclay big, but Galaxy win
Jeff Walcoff, Staff Writer
06.04.2007
Browns running back Chris Barclay marked his best performance of the season, but it was 22 unanswered fourth-quarter points that led the first-place Frankfurt Galaxy over his Berlin Thunder Saturday during Week Eight of NFL Europa action.
Barclay amounted 261 all-purpose yards during his team's 25-22 loss Saturday. He rushed for 122 yards on 12 attempts (10.2 ypc), with 35 yards on 3 receptions and 4 kick returns for 104 yards.
The back ran for 42 yards on five carries during the team's first drive, finishing it with an 8-yard touchdown. His day included three rushes of 20 yards or more.
On the season, Barclay has rushed for 435 yards on 111 carries with a pair of touchdowns. He also has added a league-high 650 kick return yards on 27 attempts and 19 receptions for 127 yards.
Browns receiver Steve Sanders caught a pair of passes for 72 yards during the game for Berlin. A 62-yard reception on third-and-10 from the Berlin 18-yard-line during the fourth quarter led to a Thunder touchdown.
On the season, Sanders has marked 9 receptions for 155 yards.
In the victory, Browns punter Kyle Basler punted 3 times for 111 yards, averaging 37 yards per kick and dropping 1 inside the 20.
On the year, Basler has punted 24 times for 995 yards, dropping 7 inside the 20.
With the victory, the Galaxy is now 6-2 and alone in first place in the NFL Europa standings. Having dropped four in a row, the Thunder are now alone in last place at 2-6.
The Cologne Centurions had a chance to keep pace with the Galaxy in first place but fell to the Hamburg Sea Devils, 21-7. In the loss, Browns linebacker Clifton Smith marked a pair of tackles.
Smith has marked 38 tackles on the season with 5 pass breakups and 3 interceptions.
Meanwhile, the Rhein Fire marked their third victory of the season with a 41-38 win over the Amsterdam Admirals. Browns defensive tackle Alvin Smith marked 1 tackle in the loss, bringing his season total to 18.
The battle for the two slots in World Bowl XV is now a three-team race. With Rhein (3-5), Amsterdam (3-5), and Berlin eliminated, Frankfurt, Hamburg (5-3), and Cologne (5-3) will vie for the berths during the final two weeks of the regular season.
Week Nine will kick off Friday at 1 p.m. EDT when Rhein travels to Berlin. The big matchups will take place Saturday at noon EDT when Amsterdam plays at Cologne and Frankfurt travels to Hamburg.
With a victory, Frankfurt can lock up their spot in the World Bowl.
The Frankfurt-Hamburg game will air live on NFL Network, while Rhein-Berlin will air on tape delay at 9 a.m. Saturday. The Amsterdam-Cologne contest will be shown at midnight Sunday morning.
The games can be followed live online at NFLEurope.com.
