Patriots allocation Kory Chapman rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries to lead the Cologne Centurions (5-2) to a 20-17 overtime win over fellow Patriot Grant Steen's Galaxy in NFLEL competition in Frankfurt over the weekend. New England wide receiver Cedric James and tight end Joel Jacobs also saw action across the pond, as Jacobs and his Thunder teammates defeated James' Rhein Fire squad 24-15 in Berlin.
Chapman, whose season total of 451 yards on just 86 carries (5.2 avg.) ranks fourth in NFL Europe, scored on an 18-yard run in the second quarter to pull his team to 14-7. The game remained tight for the rest of the day as Cologne eventually took a 17-14 lead early in the fourth quarter before Frankfurt forced overtime on a Steve Scaldaferri 29-yard field with just more than five minutes to play.
Chapman also caught two passes for 24 yards in the win, giving the former Jacksonville State star eight receptions for 85 yards on the seasons. Through seven weeks, Chapman ranks fourth in NFLEL in total yards from scrimmage (536) and third in combined net yards gained (711).
Steen got the start at outside linebacker in the loss for the Galaxy (2-5) and finished the game with five tackles including three solos. The Iowa alum currently ranks second on the Galaxy defense with 43 tackles in seven games, while also recording three special teams tackles.
In Berlin, the 6-1, 197-pound James found the end zone for the fifth time this season in the losing effort for the Fire (1-6). James caught two passes for 64 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown that tied the game at 7-7 in the second quarter. Rhein then took leads of 9-7, 12-7 and 15-10 thanks to a safety and a pair of Nicholas Setta field goals before the Thunder (5-2) scored a pair of long touchdowns on runs of 24 and 57 yards by Cal Murray and Little John Flowers respectively to pull away to the 24-15 win.
Through seven games James has compiled 27 receptions for 483 yards (17.9 avg.) with five touchdowns. He ranks among the NFLEL leaders in a variety of categories including touchdowns (t-4th), receptions (3rd), receiving yards (1st), total yards from scrimmage (8th) and combined net yards (10th).
Jacobs saw his first action of the season after joining the Thunder midway through the year. The tight end out of Nebraska-Kearney spent the first part of the spring on injured reserve with the Admirals.
While New England wide receiver Ricky Bryant did not play in Hamburg's 30-24 win over Amsterdam (4-3), former Patriots safety Shawn Mayer had a huge day with three interceptions for the Sea Devils (4-3) and leads the league with five interceptions on the season.
Wide receiver Mark Bartosic remains on injured reserve with the Fire.
Following the weekend action, Cologne and Berlin sit tied atop the NFLEL standings with 5-2 records with just three weeks left in the regular season. Hamburg and Amsterdam are one game back at 4-3, with Frankfurt and Rhein falling out of contention for the World Bowl with 2-5 and 1-6 marks respectively.
Looking ahead to Week 8 action, Frankfurt travels to Rhein, Berlin visits Hamburg and Cologne heads to Amsterdam.
