2004 Rhein Fire season

2004 Rhein Fire season
2004 Rhein Fire season
General manager	Alexander Leibkind
Head coach	Pete Kuharchek
Home field	Arena AufSchalke
Results
Record	3–7
Division place	5th
Playoff finish	did not qualify
	← 2003; Rhein Fire; 2005 →;

The 2004 Rhein Fire season was the tenth season for the franchise in the NFL Europe League (NFLEL). The team was led by head coach Pete Kuharchek in his fourth year, and played its home games at Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. They finished the regular season in fifth place with a record of three wins and seven losses.

Offseason

Free agent draft

2004 Rhein Fire NFLEL free agent draft selections
Draft order		Player name	Position	College
Round	Choice	Player name	Position	College
1	5	Randy Garner	DE	Arkansas
2	11	Maugaula Tuitele	LB	Colorado State
3	14	Daniel Wilcox	TE	Appalachian State
4	23	Earthwind Moreland	CB	Georgia Southern
5	26	Trey Freeman	DT	Stanford
6	35	Charles Burton	LB	Syracuse
7	38	Abdual Howard	S	Florida State
8	47	Reggie Poole	G	Jacksonville State
9	50	T. J. Watkins	T	Clemson
10	59	Corey Chamblin	CB	Tennessee Tech
11	62	Ryan Brewer	RB	South Carolina
12	71	Jon Clanton	DT	Nebraska
13	74	Melvin Paige	T	South Carolina

^[1]

Personnel

Staff

**2004 Rhein Fire staff**

	Front office General Manager – Alexander Leibkind Head coaches Head Coach – Pete Kuharchek Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line – Whitey Jordan Quarterbacks – Scott Milanovich Running Backs – Kevin O’Neal Wide Receivers – Jeff Ogden			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs/Special Teams – Adrian White Defensive Line – Ken Clarke National Coach/Linebackers – Jörn Maier Defensive Assistant – James Harrell Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Juney Barnett

Roster

**2004 Rhein Fire roster**

	Quarterbacks 13 Bret Engemann 7 Chad Hutchinson 12 Greg Zolman Running backs 28 Jeremy Allen 21 Ryan Brewer 36 Henri Childs 26 Joffrey Reynolds 24 Walter Williams Wide receivers 83 Shockmain Davis 86 Adam Herzing 85 Nate Jackson 84 Jon Olinger 80 Willie Quinnie 81 Wilson Thomas Tight ends 47 Dwayne Blakley 45 Daniel Wilcox		Offensive linemen 70 Kevin Breedlove G 79 Pita Elisara G/T 66 Steven Grace C 75 Chuck Klabo T 64 Sean O’Connor G 73 Melvin Paige T 71 Chris Smith T 77 Chris Ziemann T Defensive linemen 96 Chris Demaree DE 97 Randy Garner DE 99 Sean Guthrie DE 91 Cedric Killings DT 92 David Nugent DT 95 David Thompson DT		Linebackers 58 Wes Bautovich OLB 51 Charles Burton OLB 53 James Harrison OLB 50 Curtis Randall OLB 52 Terrence Robinson MLB 55 Maugaula Tuitele MLB Defensive backs 23 Corey Chamblin CB 25 Charles Drake S 20 Rober’ Freeman CB 41 Abdual Howard S 37 Tony Lukins CB 38 Earthwind Moreland CB 35 Horace Willis CB Special teams 16 Brooks Barnard P 1 Mike Shafer K		National players 56 Richard Adjei LB 8 Ingo Anderbrügge K 74 Peter Heyer G 60 Michael Jonsson G 98 Olaf Lang DL 9 Chris Liess WR 22 Laurent Marceline RB 94 Thomas Reiser DL 44 Yoan Schnee TE 40 Richard Yancy S Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Kickoff ^{[n 1]}	Opponent	Results		Game site	Attendance
Week	Date	Kickoff ^{[n 1]}	Opponent	Final score	Team record	Game site	Attendance
1	Sunday, April 4	4:00 p.m.	Cologne Centurions	W 26–25	1–0	Arena AufSchalke	22,736
2	Saturday, April 10	7:00 p.m.	Scottish Claymores	W 31–3	2–0	Arena AufSchalke	17,176
3	Saturday, April 17	7:00 p.m.	at Frankfurt Galaxy	L 10–28	2–1	Waldstadion	27,213
4	Saturday, April 24	7:00 p.m.	Berlin Thunder	L 10–14	2–2	Arena AufSchalke	20,242
5	Sunday, May 2	2:00 p.m.	at Scottish Claymores	L 12–13	2–3	Hampden Park	9,165
6	Sunday, May 9	4:00 p.m.	Amsterdam Admirals	W 20–13	3–3	Arena AufSchalke	18,790
7	Sunday, May 16	4:00 p.m.	at Berlin Thunder	L 20–33	3–4	Olympic Stadium	15,429
8	Sunday, May 23	4:00 p.m.	at Cologne Centurions	L 6–7	3–5	RheinEnergieStadion	20,354
9	Saturday, May 29	7:00 p.m.	Frankfurt Galaxy	L 14–20 ^OT	3–6	Arena AufSchalke	26,417
10	Sunday, June 6	3:00 p.m.	at Amsterdam Admirals	L 12–22	3–7	Amsterdam ArenA	15,874

^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] ^[7] ^[8] ^[9] ^[10] ^[11]

Standings

NFL Europe League
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	Home	Road	STK
Berlin Thunder	9	1	0	.900	289	195	5–0	4–1	W4
Frankfurt Galaxy	7	3	0	.700	212	192	4–1	3–2	L1
Amsterdam Admirals	5	5	0	.500	173	191	3–2	2–3	W2
Cologne Centurions	4	6	0	.400	191	201	3–2	1–4	W1
Rhein Fire	3	7	0	.300	161	178	3–2	0–5	L4
Scottish Claymores	2	8	0	.200	128	197	1–4	1–4	L2

^[12]

Game summaries

Week 1: vs Cologne Centurions

Week One: Cologne Centurions at Rhein Fire – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Cologne	10	6	3	6	25
Rhein	14	3	7	2	26

at Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Date: Sunday, April 4
Game time: 4:08 p.m. CEST
Game attendance: 22,736
Referee: Carl Cheffers

Week 2: vs Scottish Claymores

Week Two: Scottish Claymores at Rhein Fire – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Scotland	3	0	0	0	3
Rhein	0	10	14	7	31

at Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Date: Saturday, April 10
Game time: 7:07 p.m. CEST
Game attendance: 17,176
Referee: Walt Coleman

Week 3: at Frankfurt Galaxy

Week Three: Rhein Fire at Frankfurt Galaxy – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Rhein	7	3	0	0	10
Frankfurt	7	14	7	0	28

at Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany

Date: Saturday, April 17
Game time: 7:08 p.m. CEST
Game attendance: 27,213
Referee: Walt Anderson

Week 4: vs Berlin Thunder

Week Four: Berlin Thunder at Rhein Fire – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Berlin	0	0	0	14	14
Rhein	7	3	0	0	10

at Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Date: Saturday, April 24
Game time: 7:04 p.m. CEST
Game attendance: 20,242
Referee: Gene Steratore

Week 5: at Scottish Claymores

Week Five: Rhein Fire at Scottish Claymores – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Rhein	3	0	6	3	12
Scotland	7	0	0	6	13

at Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland

Date: Sunday, May 2
Game time: 2:05 p.m. BST
Game attendance: 9,165
Referee: John Parry

Week 6: vs Amsterdam Admirals

Week Six: Amsterdam Admirals at Rhein Fire – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Amsterdam	0	3	7	3	13
Rhein	14	0	3	3	20

at Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Date: Sunday, May 9
Game time: 4:06 p.m. CEST
Game attendance: 18,790
Referee: John Parry

Week 7: at Berlin Thunder

Week Seven: Rhein Fire at Berlin Thunder – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Rhein	0	0	7	13	20
Berlin	3	14	7	9	33

at Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany

Date: Sunday, May 16
Game time: 4:06 p.m. CEST
Game attendance: 15,429
Referee: Carl Cheffers

Week 8: at Cologne Centurions

Week Eight: Rhein Fire at Cologne Centurions – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Rhein	0	6	0	0	6
Cologne	0	0	7	0	7

at RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany

Date: Sunday, May 23
Game time: 4:07 p.m. CEST
Game attendance: 20,354
Referee: Gene Steratore

Week 9: vs Frankfurt Galaxy

Week Nine: Frankfurt Galaxy at Rhein Fire – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Frankfurt	0	7	0	7	6	20
Rhein	7	0	7	0	0	14

at Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Date: Saturday, May 29
Game time: 7:06 p.m. CEST
Game attendance: 26,417
Referee: Walt Coleman

Week 10: at Amsterdam Admirals

Week Ten: Rhein Fire at Amsterdam Admirals – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Rhein	0	6	6	0	12
Amsterdam	7	0	8	7	22

at Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Date: Sunday, June 6
Game time: 3:05 p.m. CEST
Game attendance: 15,874
Referee: Walt Anderson

Notes

^ All times local to where the game was played.

References

^ NFL Europe League (February 8, 2004). "Thornton first selection in Free Agent Draft" (Press release). Retrieved February 8, 2013.
^ NFL Europe League (March 29, 2004). "Champs kick off 12th season" (Press release). Retrieved March 29, 2013.
^ NFL Europe League (April 7, 2004). "NFLEL season rolls on as Week 1 winners face teams looking for first victory of new campaign" (Press release). Retrieved April 7, 2013.
^ NFL Europe League (April 13, 2004). "Unbeaten rivals clash in Week 3" (Press release). Retrieved April 13, 2013.
^ NFL Europe League (April 20, 2004). "Thunder and Galaxy look to break free from pack" (Press release). Retrieved April 20, 2013.
^ NFL Europe League (April 27, 2004). "Undefeated Thunder on top as season approaches halfway point" (Press release). Retrieved April 27, 2013.
^ NFL Europe League (May 4, 2004). "Galaxy, Thunder clear of chasing pack as season's second half kicks off" (Press release). Retrieved May 4, 2013.
^ NFL Europe League (May 11, 2004). "Thunder one victory away from World Bowl berth" (Press release). Retrieved May 11, 2013.
^ NFL Europe League (May 18, 2004). "Thunder clinches World Bowl berth" (Press release). Retrieved May 18, 2013.
^ NFL Europe League (May 25, 2004). "Galaxy reaches World Bowl for sixth time" (Press release). Retrieved May 25, 2013.
^ NFL Europe League (June 1, 2004). "World Bowl foes meet in regular season finale" (Press release). Retrieved June 1, 2013.
^ "2004 NFLE Standings". The Football Database. Retrieved February 8, 2013.

[2] All times local to where the game was played.

[1] NFL Europe League (February 8, 2004). "Thornton first selection in Free Agent Draft" (Press release). Retrieved February 8, 2013.

[3] NFL Europe League (March 29, 2004). "Champs kick off 12th season" (Press release). Retrieved March 29, 2013.

[4] NFL Europe League (April 7, 2004). "NFLEL season rolls on as Week 1 winners face teams looking for first victory of new campaign" (Press release). Retrieved April 7, 2013.

[5] NFL Europe League (April 13, 2004). "Unbeaten rivals clash in Week 3" (Press release). Retrieved April 13, 2013.

[6] NFL Europe League (April 20, 2004). "Thunder and Galaxy look to break free from pack" (Press release). Retrieved April 20, 2013.

[7] NFL Europe League (April 27, 2004). "Undefeated Thunder on top as season approaches halfway point" (Press release). Retrieved April 27, 2013.

[8] NFL Europe League (May 4, 2004). "Galaxy, Thunder clear of chasing pack as season's second half kicks off" (Press release). Retrieved May 4, 2013.

[9] NFL Europe League (May 11, 2004). "Thunder one victory away from World Bowl berth" (Press release). Retrieved May 11, 2013.

[10] NFL Europe League (May 18, 2004). "Thunder clinches World Bowl berth" (Press release). Retrieved May 18, 2013.

[11] NFL Europe League (May 25, 2004). "Galaxy reaches World Bowl for sixth time" (Press release). Retrieved May 25, 2013.

[12] NFL Europe League (June 1, 2004). "World Bowl foes meet in regular season finale" (Press release). Retrieved June 1, 2013.

[13] "2004 NFLE Standings". The Football Database. Retrieved February 8, 2013.

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