World Bowl VII

World Bowl '99 (or World Bowl VII) was NFL Europe's 1999 championship game. It was played in Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf, Germany on June 27, 1999. The match-up was between the 6-4 Frankfurt Galaxy and the 7-3 Barcelona Dragons. 39,643 fans were in attendance to the match-up, as they witnessed Pat Barnes, Jake Delhomme (future Carolina Panthers QB) and the Galaxy avenge last year's World Bowl loss with a 38-24 victory over the Dragons. Galaxy WR Andy McCullough captured MVP honors with 6 receptions for 151 Yards and 3 Touchdowns, with his longest reception at 45 Yards.

Background

The Dragons swept the regular season series against the Galaxy (21-15 (OT) in Barcelona & 28-26 in Frankfurt).

Game summary

With the help of Dragon, Admiral, and Fire fans, Barcelona was able to go deep into Galaxy territory on their opening drive, but Frankfurt's defense managed to hold its ground, limiting the Dragons to a 38-yard field goal by Jesus Angoy. The Galaxy had their fans in the game after Ralf Kleinmann's 25-yard field goal tied the game at 3-3. However, the Dragons managed to take advantage of a defensive pass interference penalty, eventually setting up RB Lawrence Phillips' 4-yard TD run. However, the touchdown would come at a price. Phillips injured his hamstring shortly after the play and he would have to leave the game. This would put the Dragons in the passing lane, rather than their normal running game. In the second quarter, the Galaxy would respond to Barcelona's touchdown by having Galaxy QB Pat Barnes connect with WR Andy McCullough on an 11-yard TD pass. When Frankfurt got the ball back, Barnes and McCullough hooked up with each other again, with a 32-yard TD pass. After both teams each had two failed drives, the Galaxy entered halftime, leading 17-10. In the third quarter, the Dragons got back in the game by recovering a fumble and then, capping off an 8-play, 25-yard drive with Dragons QB Todd Bouman throwing a 5-yard pass to Brian Finneran. However, Frankfurt responded with a 7-play, 40-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard run by Rene Ingoglia. Near the beginning of the fourth quarter, Galaxy QB Jake Delhomme concluded a 14-play, 98-yard drive with an 8-yard TD pass to WR Mario Bailey. Down 31-17, the Dragons had to get a lot of points really fast. They responded with a 2-yard TD run by Mario Grier. However, the Galaxy managed to put the game away, with Barnes leading a 9-play, 80-yard drive that ended with MVP Andy McCullough catching a 7-yard TD pass. With their victory, the Frankfurt Galaxy managed to become the very first NFL Europe team to win two World Bowls.

Scoring summary

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Frankfurt
R1=3
R2=14
R3=7
R4=14
RT=38
Home=Barcelona
H1=10
H2=0
H3=7
H4=7
HT=24
*Barcelona - FG Angoy 38 yd 7:10 1st
*Frankfurt - FG Kleinmann 25 yd 11:41 1st
*Barcelona - TD Phillips 4 yd run 14:39 1st
*Frankfurt - TD McCullogh 11 yd pass from Barnes 2:20 2nd
*Frankfurt - TD McCullogh 32 yd pass from Barnes 7:34 2nd
*Barcelona - TD Finneran 5 yd pass from Bouman 4:50 3rd
*Frankfurt - TD Ingoglia 3 yd run 8:29 3rd
*Frankfurt - TD Bailey 8 yd pass from Delhomme 2:34 4th
*Barcelona - TD Grier 2 yd run 6:02 4th
*Frankfurt - TD McCullogh 7 yd pass from Barnes 11:42 4th

External links

* [http://www.nfleurope.com/worldbowl/history/1999 World Bowl 99 on NFL Europe.com]
* [http://touchdownclaymores.com/worldbowl/winners/1999.php Game Summary & Recap]