Nurnberg lost in Neu-Ulm to Spartans with 36:38. The Rams had previously won three games in a row. In the first play, Nurnberg showed a trick play over 70 yards, scored a touchdown in seconds, and added a 2-point conversion for 8:0. As the Spartans then lost the ball on the kickoff return and the Rams got the ball back in a promising position, it didn't look like the Spartans had much to gain in Nurnberg. "Two years ago in the decisive final game, we were badly beaten in Nurnberg. They physically dominated the game and secured the championship and promotion to the GFL 2. That was still in the minds of many of our players", explained Spartans-Head-Coach Daniel Koch the poor start. In the GFL 2, the Rams would have held their own in 2025, but they decided to return to the Regionalliga voluntarily. That they didn't want a repeat of 2024 was shown by the Spartans quickly. The defense held and forced Nurnberg to a field goal attempt, which failed. And the Spartans' offense showed itself to be directly hard to calculate. Quarterback Hunter Sturgeon (#7) distributed the ball with quick passes to Nick Alberto (#4), Luca Stieglbauer (#2), and Tobias Spohn (#81). The final in the first series was a TD by Running Back Mike Höchsmann (#16). So it was after the extra point (PAT) by David Gohl (#84) 8:7. Höchsmann, who had been a Spartan from U13 through all the youth teams, played against the Rams for the first time in the Neu-Ulmer jersey after his two-year stay at the Junior College in the USA – and delivered a bear-like performance. The Rams also showed a good offense series, scored another touchdown with 2-point conversion and built the lead to 16:7. In response, the Spartans had a single pass over 70 yards from Hunter Sturgeon to Janne Endl (#80) to 16:13. But Nurnberg was also further explosive, always with passes from Quarterback David Keogh, especially on newcomer Kevin Jones, who was active for the Ligakonkurrent Amberg last year and joined the team this week. Quickly, the lead became greater with the next touchdown to 22:13, the 2-point conversion failed this time. The Spartans' offense marched on undeterred, with Mike Höchsmann now showing strong runs, the last short yards to 22:19 made by QB Sturgeon himself on foot. Un