Frankfurt on top of World, 35-16
By Ravi Ubha
Associated Press
GLASGOW, Scotland — Jonas Lewis made the most of his chance in the World Bowl.
Associated Press
Lewis ran for a World Bowl record 126 yards and added a touchdown as the Frankfurt Galaxy beat the Rhein Fire, 35-16, in NFL Europe's championship game yesterday.
Frankfurt Galaxy's running back Jonas Lewis is taken down by the Rhein Fire defense during yesterday's NFL Europe World Bowl in Glasgow, Scotland. Frankfurt won and Lewis was named the game's MVP.
The Galaxy won the championship for a record third time, while the Fire lost in the title game for the second straight season.
"NFL Europe let me showcase my talent and show that I can still play football," Lewis said. "And it gave me a chance to show that I can play in a big-time atmosphere."
Lewis spent two years with the San Francisco 49ers but was waived before the start of the 2002 season. In college, he ran for 2,900 yards at San Diego State, second only to former NFL MVP Marshall Faulk.
For his performance against the Fire, Lewis was selected the game's MVP. He had 87 yards on eight carries in the first half, when the Galaxy took a 25-9 lead.
"I'm a free agent, and I didn't look past this league. The league is all about guys like me getting a second chance," he added. "This was my focus, and now that we won a championship, I'll see what the future holds."
Teammate Robert Gillespie of the Washington Redskins had 88 yards on five carries and a touchdown. The Galaxy had 418 total yards, including 246 on the ground.
"The key was our ability to run the ball," Galaxy coach Doug Graber said. "That was the difference."
The Fire gained 371 yards, but struggled in the red zone. They kicked two short field goals in the first half and turned the ball over early in the third quarter on a fourth and goal.
"We had chances to stay in the game early on," Fire head coach Pete Kuharchek said. "We moved the ball — but just couldn't score."
It didn't take long for the Galaxy to score. Lewis had a 22-yard run on the game's first possession to set up a 53-yard field goal by Jon Hilbert. On the next possession, Lewis ran for 22 yards on five carries and capped a 79-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Baltimore's Marc Lester caught a 20-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter to make it 18-3.
After Rhein made a field goal, Lewis and Gillespie combined to make it 25-6. Lewis had a 42-yard gain, and Gillespie scored on a 29-yard run two plays later.
Former Notre Dame standout Autry Denson rushed for 50 yards on 13 carries for Rhein, while Denver's Nick Rolovich, a former University of Hawai'i quarterback, went 14 for 19 for 164 yards. Miami's Kendall Newson added 104 yards on nine receptions.
Quarterbacks Quinn Gray and James Brown — who shared duty — didn't have to do much for the Galaxy. The duo passed for a combined 125 yards.
The game was watched by 28,138 fans at Hampden Park. Frankfurt went 1-1 against Rhein in the regular season, and both teams had 6-4 records.
Rhein 3 6 0 7—16
Frankfurt 11 14 7 3—35
First Quarter
Fra—FG Hilbert 53, 12:05.
Fra—Lewis 1 run (Kleinmann kick), 5:42.
Rhe—FG France 39, :56.
Second Quarter
Fra—Lester 20 pass from Gray (Kleinmann kick), 9:53.
Rhe—FG Anderbrugge 31, 3:42.
Fra—Gillespie 29 run (Kleinmann kick), 2:06.
Rhe—FG Anderbrugge 27, :00.
Third Quarter
Fra—Tate 1 run (Kleinmann kick), 3:13.
Fourth Quarter
Fra—FG Kleinmann 34, 4:37.
Rhe—Blakley 5 pass from Greisen (Anderbrugge kick), 1:55.
A—28,138.
Rhe Fra
First downs 26 23
Total Net Yards 418 371
Rushes-yards 29-123 30-246
Passing 295 125
Punt Returns 1-3 1-6
Kickoff Returns 6-109 4-99
Interceptions Ret. 0-0 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 28-43-1 11-19-0
Sacked-Yards Lost 2-10 0-0
Punts 1-42 1-38
Fumbles-Lost 3-1 0-0
Penalties-Yards 3-38 5-33
Time of Possession 35:23 24:37
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Rhein, Moreau 9-51, Denson 13-50, Stanley 4-21, Rolovich 2-1, Taylor 1-0. Frankfurt, Lewis 16-126, Gillespie 5-88, Tate 5-31, Brown 2-3, Gray 2-(minus 2).
PASSING—Rhein, Griesen 14-24-0-141, Rolovich 14-19-1-164. Frankfurt, Gray 5-10-1-53, Brown 6-9-0-72.
RECEIVING—Rhein, Newson 9-104, Elstrom 3-45, Boyd 3-30, Johnson 3-27, Adams 3-17, Blakley 2-28, Mustard 2-25, Denson 2-21, Stanley 1-8. Frankfurt, Lester 6-82, Baker 3-28, Lewis 2-15.
