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Revision as of 06:40, 16 May 2024
Berlin Fire Salamanders | |||
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First season: 2040 Berlin Fire Salamanders season Play in and headquartered in Berlin Field Berlin, Germany | |||
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League/conference affiliations | |||
NSFL (2040–present)
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Current uniform
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Team colors | Red, Yellow & Black | ||
Mascot | Fire Slamander | ||
Personnel | |||
General manager | Barney Stinson (Dewalt27) Nick Kaepercolin (Highhaschdi) | ||
Team history | |||
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Championships | |||
League championships (0) | |||
Conference championships (0)
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Division championships (1)
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Playoff appearances (1) | |||
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Home fields | |||
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The Berlin Fire Salamanders is a professional American football franchise based in Berlin, Germany. The Fire Salamanders currently compete in the International Simulation Football League (ISFL) as a member club of the league's National Simulation Football Conference (NSFC) which currently only has one division.
The franchise was established in 2040 (S25) in the league's fourth expansion. It is led by GM Dewalt27 who has been around since S18 of the ISFL and GM Highhaschdi who has been around since S22. The conception of the Fire Salamanders started when Dewalt27 thought of honoring his German ancestors and Highhaschdi, who is actually German, and combined with Head Office's interest in international teams, they wanted to find something that relates directly to Germany. The Black, Yellow and Red/Orange colors represent the German flag along with the Fire Salamander mascot which is common throughout Germany and most of Europe.
Contents
History
S25
With the Season 25 ISFL Expansion Draft, unlike the New York Silverbacks, the Fire Salamanders needed a RB of the future and firestart an offense in the new year, they would select Joseph Petrongolo from the Arizona Outlaws who would later lead the ISFL for RB's in the S26 ISFL Positional Awards.
In the Season 25 ISFL Draft, the Fire Salamanders had the #1 overall pick, and they selected CB Swantavius Jones. It was regarded as a clear and concise pick, having many ties to Berlin members, and was regarded as a great member off the field. They did not have a 2nd or 4th round pick because they had traded for LB Adam Schell and S Benoit Blanco as well as a S25 6th Round Pick respectively. The Fire Salamanders also traded back with their 3rd round pick to acquire an additional 5th and 6th round pick.
As Season 25 started, it was an unexpected solid start, as they would go 3-5 in their first 8 games, including wins against Liberty and the SaberCats. Unfortunately, those 3 games would be the only ones they would win as they would finish the season league last at 3-13. They in fact finished with a better road record compared to their home record. Their passing offense led by QB Nick Kaepercolin posted underwhelming stats and finished the year with 3200 passing yards and 21 passing TD's to go with 21 INT's. But not all was lost however, as they were 2nd in the league in rushing with Petrongolo and King leading the way with 2000+ combined rushing yards. Their defense also did not do them any favors after allowing the league worst 29.1 points allowed per game. CB Asher Quinn provided a light in a darkened defense though with 68 tackles to go along with 22 pass breakups and 3 INT's. But with a solid foundation, Berlin was looking like they would be able to take the next step in S26.
S26
In the Season 26 ISFL Draft, Berlin again would have the 1st overall pick. They would go on to select LB BamBam McMullet from the Tijuana Luchadores. It was regarded as a surprising pick from most mock drafts, but one that would help them out in a position of need. They also traded back up into the 1st Round by trading their 2nd Round Pick and S27 2nd Round Pick to receive Chicago's 1st Round Pick (11th Overall). The Fire Salamanders would select, S Derek Wildstar. They had him regarded very highly, and considered drafting him with the 1st Overall Pick, but LB outweighed their need for S, but they were able to get both of the guys they wanted.
With Season 26 looming, the Fire Salamanders actually had a team that could be reckoned with, or at first that's what it seemed. Berlin would actually start the season at 0-5, with 3 of the losses being by double digit points. They needed a spark, and that's exactly what happened. The Fire Salamanders would then win 7 out of the last 11 games, taking almost a 180 with the team finishing the season at 7-9. The offense had a vast improvement in the passing game compared to last season finishing 6th in the league with QB Nick Kaepercolin throwing for 4300 yards and 21 TD's with a more efficient 14 INT's. While the running game did slightly worse this season compared to last, it was just as pivotal. Petrongolo led the team with 1081 rushing yards and King assisting in the run game with 850 of his own. Berlin's defense also improved to being middle of the pack, led by LB Adam Schell with 126 tackles and FS Benoit Blanco with 117 tackles. The Fire Salamanders are looking to continue to trend up in the league.
S27
The Fire Salamanders would look to the future to build on a solid foundation on the D-Line spot, and they would do that by selecting DT Marlon Brando with the 5th overall pick in the Season 27 ISFL Draft. The pick was well regarded as he is a great locker room fit and just a well liked player around the league. They would also select OL Cheese Farley and TE Shane Cook with their 3rd round picks, and RB Massimo Rocco in the 4th round.
As far as how Season 27 went for Berlin, unfortunately it did not go as well as planned. On the offensive side of the ball, Berlin would rank 11th in the league in points scored per game. They also ranked 12th in the league in total offense by accumulating a little under 350 yards per game. Overall it would be a step in the wrong direction for the Fire Salamanders as they looked to build on the success from last season. Nick Kaepercolin would throw for 4397 passing yards and 20 TD's with 8 INT's. Joseph Petrongolo would again lead the team in rushing with 929 yards on a 191 attempts and 10 TD's. WR Achtfünf was Kaepercolin's favorite target as he accumulated 114 receptions, 1321 yards and 7 receiving TD's. On the defensive side, the Fire Salamanders did fairly well comparing to last season as they would rank 4th in the league in points allowed with only 22 per game. It was known more as a bend but don't break defense as they ranked 9th in the league in total defense with 367.5 yards per game allowed. CB Matt Krause was one of the bright spots to the defensive squad as he accumulated 113 tackles, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 24 PD's. He was also the team's starting KR/PR, and he had 667 kick return yards to an average of 31.8 per return, and 249 punt return yards including a 77 yard punt return. CB Jeeeeroy Lenkins on the other side was another solid contributor on defense as he had 93 tackles and 4 INT's as well as 22 PD's. The Fire Salamanders would go off to a decent start by going 4-4 including a 8-5 win against the Chicago Butchers, but they would go on to win only 2 of the next 8 games to a 6-10 record and miss the playoffs for a 3rd consecutive season. Berlin will need to make some major changes in the upcoming season to finally clinch that playoff berth that's been eluding them.
S28
Off the back of yet another disappointing season, the Fire Salamanders were still in search of the first winning season in franchise history, strengthening their team with solid pickups such as Troy Abed, Dexter Zaylren and Logan Anderson in the Season 28 ISFL Draft.
Going into the regular season hopes were high in the Berlin camp, and these hopes were shown to be justified throughout the first half of the season as the team won all of their first six games, before being delivered their only loss of the first half of the season in Week 7 at the hands of the Chicago Butchers, in a shootout, 41-37 loss. This did not deter the Fire Salamanders however, a team used to losing, as they powered their way through the back half of the season, winning another 5 games to give themselves a 12-4 record and first seed in the NSFC going into the playoffs, marking their first ever franchise playoff appearance. Unfortunately for Berlin, and despite having the bye week to prepare, this playoff appearance was short lived, as they lost the Conference Championship Game 17-13, as Colby Jack threw in the winning touchdown with 4 minutes left on the clock.
At the awards show it would not be all disappointment for Berlin though, as General Managers Highhaschdi and Dewalt27 would scoop up the General Managers of the Year Award
S29
Off the back of the franchises best season to date, the Fire Salamanders were in a position to do even better, and looked to capitalise on this, strengthening their roster before the season even began, in the draft. They picked up tight end Gronko Muerto with their first round pick and defensive tackle Ilove HotSalads with their second, as well as kicker Izuku Campbell in the third. Despite all the positives for Berlin, their season would actually get off to a poor start, as they lost 2 of their first 3 matchups, beating only the [[Yellowknife Wraiths]] in that period of time. However, they quickly got over this poor streak of form as they won their next 4 before losing to the Second Line in Week 8. This halfway mark loss would turn out to be the teams last of the season, as they would go unbeaten for the rest of the regular season, winning 8 in a row.
The teams 13-3 record would be good enough to give them a first round playoff bye, with not just the top seed in their division but the top seed of the entire league. The resulting home field advantage would be enough for the Fire Salamanders to triumph over the Sarasota Sailfish in the Conference Championship Game, 23-20, thanks in large part to a game tying Adam Schell pick 6 in the fourth. Unfortunately for Berlin, it would not be enough for the Ultimus game, as they would lose out, 40-20, to the New York Silverbacks, however the efforts of their two GMs would allow them to repeat their GMoty from last season.
Season 30
With Season 29 providing the Fire Salamanders with their best finish in franchise history there was a lot of excitement for what the team was going to be able to do in Season 30. Now, it was going to be hard for them to repeat the success that the had found the following season but, veteran QB Nick Kaepercolin was back under center and their were still plenty of weapons for him to utilize including his favorite target from the season before and the offensive captain for the team Cmon Skiuuup. On the defensive side of the ball the Fire Salamanders were looking a little more inexperienced but they still had all the tools necessary to have a strong season. The team elected to go with Jacob Raske, a Rookie as the Captain for the defense.
The Team got off to a hot start grabbing huge wins early on in the season over the Colorado Yeti, Sarasota Sailfish, and the Yellowknife Wraiths. With those 3 teams looking to be the Fire Salamanders biggest competition to find their way back into the playoffs. The win-streak would continue as well as Weeks 4-6 saw the Fire Salamanders make short work of the likes of the Philadelphia Liberty, Chicago Butcher and the Baltimore Hawks. While expectations were lower this season the 6-0 Fire Salamanders were a steam engine that did not look to be slowing down anytime soon. However, all good things must come to an end and in two nail-bitingly close games the Arizona Outlaws and the New York Silverbacks would cause the team to fall to a 6-2 record at the halfway point in the season.
The second half of the season saw the team unable to find the offensive success that was bringing them the victories early on in the season. The team would grab two wins to start the latter half of the season with a domination 42-10 performance against OCO and a 20-14 defensive brawl against Baltimore but, following those games the team would only score more than would only score 3 TDs in a game 2 more times all season as they would struggle with the remaining games of the season dropping close games to Colorado, Philadelphia, Chicago. These games were all crucial as the Fire Salamanders were in the Playoff hunt and needed every win to make it, fortunately a Week 13 win against Sarasota was all the team needed to secure another trip to the playoffs.
While the team was not performing well for much of the latter half of the season they made sure that they were ready come playoff time and in the first round they squared off against the Wraiths and despite the odds they were able to secure an opening round victory and earn a trip to the NSFC title game to square off against the Sarasota Sailfish. Unfortunately that would again be where the season would end for the Fire Salamanders as they would fall by a score of 30-24. An unfortunate end to the season but, in the end, a season that the Fire Salamanders can be proud of as an organization.
Season 31
The beginning of S31 marked a new era of QB for the Berlin Fire Salamanders. The team was in need of some way to improve upon their S30 performance and to them that meant giving the offense from Nick Kaepercolin over to the young rookie Dexter Zaylren who would also serve as the team's offensive Captain for the coming season. A similar supporting cast would surround Zaylren this season as Hood, Skiuup and Danny King Jr. would be there to support the young rookie. On the defensive side of the ball a new captain would be named. Jason Bradshaw would be named Captain and join players like Adam Schell and McMullet on the field to try and repeat their strong defensive performance that the team showed the season before. Anytime a team makes the playoffs and falls just short it is always their goal to get back to the playoffs as quickly as possible and this season was going to be no different.
With a new QB the team got off to a rather slow start as they would lose their opening game to the Colorado Yeti in nail-biting fashing by a score of 23-22. However, they would not be down long as they were able to bounce back quickly against the Sailfish and win by a score of 28-20. Sitting at 1-1 the team were set to start a 3 game road trip and would go onto lose against the Hawks and the Wraiths by a combined total of 8 points and securing another win against the Copperheads by a score of 34-19. There is nothing more frustrating for a team to lose close games week in and week out and unfortunately for the Salamanders they would incur two more losses by a combined score of only 12 points and no loss being by more than a TD. Regardless, of the tough losses they were able to finish the first half of the season in emphatic fashion beating the Sabercats 38-21 to improve their record to 3-5.
The team was going to need to go on a strong run in the second half of the season to get back into the hunt for the playoffs. Luckily the players were up to the challenge and quickly put together a 4 game winning streak, including a 56-23 win against the Hawks in Week 11. Finally sporting a winning record of 7-5 the team would struggle and go onto lose another one score game in Week 12 to the Sailfish meaning that all 6 of their losses on the season had been by fewer than one score, a stat that would come back and haunt them later on. Despite going 3-1 to finish out the season the Fire Salamanders were unable to overcome their slow start and would go onto miss the playoffs even though they would put up the same number of wins that they earned the season prior. While some view it as a missed opportunity the organization looks poised to build off this season and come back even stronger for the next one.
Season 32
Coming off a tough season in which the team suffered 6 losses by less than one score and missed the playoffs the team was looking for a way to fix the issues and that led them to bring in the ever dangerous Goat Tank to the squad. The rushing game had always been an are of trouble for the Fire Salamanders and the organization decided that now would be the time to invest in it and see what would happen when they did. On the offensive side Dexter Zaylren would wear the Captain badge again as he came off a very solid rookie campaign and Jason Bradshaw would once again lead the extremely talented Fire Salamander Defense throughout the season. With returning to the playoffs on their site the new look Berlin Fire Salamanders were ready to kick off Season 32.
A strong pre-season set the team up for very early success as before you knew it Goat Tank and Dexter Zaylren would have the team at an impressive 3-0 record. Zaylren would have a 5 TD game to start off the season and then in Week 3 against the Colorado Yeti Goat Tank would show how dangerous he can be when he rushed for a monstrous 20 carries for 312 yards and 4 TDs. The one score losses would find their way back again though and the team would lose their first game of the season to the New York Silverbacks by a score of 27-20 and then would lose their next game to the Sailfish before falling to a 3-2 record. Eager to get back to the form that they were in early in the season the team leaned more heavily on their defense and they were able to grab 2 more wins before losing the final game at the halfway point moving their record to 5-3.
The team would start the second half of the season in a very similar fashion to the first half and quickly grab 3 wins on the back of solid defensive performances and more explosive games from Goat Tank. With their record now at 8-3 the Fire Salamanders were in the driver’s seat and had an opportunity to challenge for the Division Title and their Week 11 showdown against Philadelphia was going to be the biggest deciding factor in the battle. However, it would be Philadelphia that would get the best of them and take back control of the Divisional Title Battle. The Fire Salamanders would go on to win their next two games by a combined score of 78-29 against both the Hawks and the Yeti before dropping another close game to the Sailfish. With playoffs all locked up they went into the final game of the season needing a huge point total to try and knock PHL off the divisional lead but, unfortunately even though they would go onto win they would finish runner-up in the division. Despite losing the Divisional Title the team looked strong all season posting the 2nd best rushing offense and 4th best passing this season on their way to their 11-5 record and playoff appearance.
The Season 32 post-season started with a home game against the ever dangerous Sarasota Sailfish. With the newly found experience of Goat Tank and QB Dexter Zaylren with an extra year under his belt the team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The ground and pound approach would work and the Fire Salamanders would secure a 34-17 win to move on to face the Liberty in the NSFC Title game. While the Liberty got the better of them for the division it was Berlin that would walk away champions of the NSFC as the team would win in a close game 16-12 to earn their first ever trip to the Ultimus. The Ultimus set up a match-up between the fellow expansion team New York Silverbacks and the game definitely lived up to the hype. The Fire Salamanders trailed 13-0 at halftime and unfortunately despite outsourcing the Silverbacks in the 2nd half they could not overcome the deficit and would go onto lose 27-24 putting an end to an incredible season.
Season 33
The Fire Salamanders were coming off of their best season in Franchise history and they were looking to continue the success as they entered Season 33. Quarterback Dexter Zaylren had another year of experience under his belt and there was little reason to suspect he could not deliver in a similar way that had the previous season. Another important key to the success that the team found in Season 32 was there star running back Goat Tank. It seemed like everything was in line to make sure that this season the team could finish what they started last season. Only a few questions remained and that was, could the defense keep up with the talented offense and was last season a fluke?
Preseason started and the team looked confident. They managed a win in their opening preseason game but after that they dropped 3 straight by a combined score of 14 points. However, it was just preseason so there was not a whole lot to be worried about. The team seemed confident in its ability to move the ball and the Defense seemed up to the task to give the offense chances to win the game. The season started with a home game against the Philadelphia Liberty and right away you could see the talent the Berlin Fire Salamanders had on their squad. The Defense limited the liberty to only 20 points and Goat Tank absolutely dominated the opposing defense putting up 125 yard and 2 Touchdowns. Week 2 was more of the same as Berlin travelled across the Atlantic to square off against the always talented Yellowknife Wraiths. While the Wraiths managed to stifle Goat Tanks yard production they could not keep him and newly acquired Nakamura out of the endzone as they combined for 3 TDs. On the Defensive side of the ball Fuzzy George was showing leadership that could help put Berlin in a great position come the end of the season.
The next two games exposed some slight weaknesses for the team as the Chicago Butchers and Sarasota Sailfish shredded the Berlin Defense and put up a combined 92 points. Two tough losses against NSFC rivals that the Fire Salamanders are going to need to beat in order to make the playoffs. The Team quickly bounced back and handily won against Austin and Colorado to improve their record to 4-2 through 6 games in the season. The Fire Salamanders seemed confident and in control the only worry was their consistency as they would go on to drop 3 in a row and fall to a 4-5 record before finding their form and winning 4 straight games to get back to an 8-5 record. The playoff race was close and the team knew how important these last 3 games were going to be. The first contest was at home against the dangerous Sailfish and the team could not manage the victory and would fall by a score of 27-20. An 8-6 record meant the team still had hope and the Colorado Yeti were a must win game and the team was unable to perform as again the offense could not top the 20 point mark. With that loss the dreams of a Title would have to wait until the next season.
Individual players showed great improvement in this 9-7 season for the Berlin Fire Salamanders. However, the teams inability to play at a high level consistently was the reason they were unable to make it back to the playoffs. With another season under his belt Zaylren and the rest of the Fire Salamanders organization were going to have to buckle down in order to make it back to the playoffs in the next season.
Season 34
Following a tough season in which the Berlin Fire Salamanders went 9-7 and missed the playoffs the organization was very excited to be heading into Season 34.The organization used the offseason to figure out the best way in which the team could improve and saw the opportunity by bringing in Joliet Christ Jr. as the new QB for the season. Christ Jr. had managed some great seasons with Honolulu and was looking to bring some of the success over to Berlin. Goat Tank was also back for another season and the Defense was looking much stronger than they had in the previous seasons. The move for the new Quarterback had expectations at an all time high for the Franchise as they continued to chase their first title.
The Preseason showed just how talented of a QB that Christ Jr. was and with him under center the team had a solid 2-2 start to the preseason. The season started off in a very similar way to last season as the team squared off against the Liberty at home before travelling over to YKW where they made easy work of both games and got back to a solid 2-0 start to the season. Once again though, as we saw last season the team was unable to grab wins in Games 3 and 4 and they dropped down to a 2-2 record and questions were being asked about the teams defensive play. Consistency was the downfall of the team last season and caused the Fire Salamanders to miss the playoffs but, the team seemed to have learned from their mistakes and went on to win 4 out of their next 6 games to push themselves to a 6-4 record and in a great spot to push for a playoff spot in the remaining 6 games.
The remaining 6 games brought about some of the best football that the Fire Salamanders fans have ever seen from the organization as they managed to go an extremely impressive 5-0-1 to round out the season. These wins included a dominating performance over YKW and NOLA. We also got to see Christ Jr. show his composure as he managed to lead the team to one score victories in 4 of the last 6 games. The performance from the last 6 games meant that the Fire Salamanders had improved their record to 11-4-1 and were able to secure themselves the 2nd seed in the NSFC. This meant that playoff football would be coming back to Berlin.
The Fire Salamanders were back in the playoffs after missing them in Season 33 and the team looked poised to make a big run this season. Their first test was going to come at home against the Sarasota Sailfish. The game looked extremely tough on paper but the coaching staff and the homefield advantage had Berlin more than ready for the Sailfish and running back Goat Tank absolutely dismantled them on his way to a 132 yard, 3 total TD day. The Fire Salamanders not only looked strong on the offensive side of the ball but, also the defensive as they made short work of the Sailfish 35-10 to move onto the NSFC Championship game against Chicago. Chicago was a tough team but Berlin started off extremely tough and managed an impressive 10-6 lead at halftime, despite Goat Tanks inability to move the ball much on the ground. By the start of the 4th quarter the team was up 20-6 and looked on their way to an appearance in the UItimus but, Chicago would go on to score 17 unanswered in the 4th quarter and devastate the Berlin faithful, eliminating them from playoffs by a score of 23-20. A season of what if, and another season the team will need to wait to push for a title.
Season 35
The Fire Salamanders came into Season 35 with a fire after the disappointing end to Season 34. The team has been so close to that ever elusive Ultimus and with Goat Tank and Christ Jr. back again for Season 35 the team and the rest of the fans are cautiously optimistic on their chances. Second year Wide Reciever Zayne Dangle was voted the captain for the Fire Salamanders and looked to build off a promising rookie campaign. From a defensive perspective, the team looked extremely strong in its ability to stop the run and seemed to have just enough in their secondary to be an improvement on what we saw from them last season.
Moving into the Pre-season the team had a mixed start. A solid showing from an offensive perspective in the first 2 games where the team managed 48 points but, struggled on the defensive side. Then for the last two games it was the exact opposite as the team struggled to put together anything from an offensive perspective, failing to score a TD but, the defense only allowed 23 total points. All in all, the Pre-season showed the potential this team had on both sides of the ball and when kickoff came for Game 1 of the regular season the team delivered a solid 24-17 win against Conference rivals Chicago. They would ride that momentum into Game 2 as they won a nail biter in Colorado 27-24. 2 straight wins to start the season put Berlin in prime position and they were not going to stop there, they would win another couple of close games to improve to 4-0 on the season and looking like they were ready to try and finish what they started last season.
The 4-0 start to the season meant the Fire Salamanders were in the driver's seat for the division but, things quickly got turned the wrong direction over the next 4 games. The team was unable to come together and struggled to find a way to beat teams and after two straight close losses against Arizona and Philadelphia the team would drop another two games in poor fashion to Yellowknife and San Jose. This meant that Fire Salamanders dropped all the way down to a 4-4 record and found themselves right back in the middle of everything for the playoff hunt. Game 9 was a crucial opportunity for the team to get back on track and the team took advantage of the opportunity and dominated the New Orleans Secondline by a score of 29-13 to get back to a winning record. Following the win though the team just could not shake off that 4 game losing streak and again poor form resulted in only one win over the next 4 games and now the team had 6-7 record and with playoffs looking less and less likely.
With 3 games to go it was must win games for the Fire Salamanders and their next 3 games were all against teams that were in the hunt for the final playoff spots. Game 14 was a nail biter but the Berlin Fire Salamanders held strong and defeated the Sailfish by a score of 30-27 to improve to 7-7 on the season. Game 15 was a must win against the Liberty and the Defense dominated and 15 points was all the offense needed in order to secure a win and put Berlin in the playoffs with a record of 8-7 and one win to go. The final game was a must win against Yellowknife where the winner of the game would be going to the playoffs and unfortunately for the Fire Salamander faithful it was not going to happen this season and the Wraiths would go on to win eliminating the Fire Salamanders from the playoffs and giving them an 8-8 record on the season.
Season 36
Season 36 had a different feel about if for the Berlin Fire Salamanders, the team had been competing for playoffs and in the hunt for championships over the past couple of seasons but, with an aging core it was time for the Fire Salamanders to begin looking towards the future. Christ Jr. and Goat Tank were not coming back and the only recognizable face from the offense was the Wide Receiver Dangle. The new face at QB was Rookie Bageshwari Singh and there were also 3 other rookies that would be joining the team this season. A young and talented core that bodes well for the team in the long haul but as far as the outlook for the current season there was definitely a lot to be desired. The team looked to have an approach that meant getting young players valuable experience and to make sure that they can be looking for a title in the future.
With the team clearly heading into a rebuilding season there was not a lot of excited or buzz heading into Pre-season and that was rightfully so. The young defense struggled to do anything against any of the teams early on and the offense fail to put up more than 2 TDs in any of the 4 games in preseason and the team would head into the regular season following a winless Pre-season. All eyes were on rookie QB Singh as the Fire Salamanders began the season and with low expectations heading into the start of the game, it left plenty of opportunity for the young core to learn in an environment that meant the pressure would not be too much. However, even weith low expectations it was an extremely slow start to the season for the Fire Salamanders. The team struggled to stop any team and over the first 5 games they allowed more than 28 points in all but one. The offense tried to keep up but was unable to get anything going and the Fire Salamanders would start the Season 0-5.
The slow start to the season was not a surprise to anyone in the organization, even the fans new that this was expected. However, it was still important for this team to string together some good results. Even with low expectations you want to put together some wins on the season and that is exactly what they team managed to do going into Week 6 against Yellowknife. The team looked strong and managed to survive a shootout and win the game by a score of 34-27 and get many of the young core their first career wins. The team would then go on to secure another win in Week 8 against the New York Silverbacks and improve the record to 2-6 on the season and providing a slight glimpse into the talent that this team could possess in the future.
The nice string of results at the midpoint of the season was the last notable thing to happen for the Fire Salamanders as the last 8 games of the season all resulted in defeats. The young defense could not figure out how to stop opposing teams and allowed more than 40 points in 6 of the last 8 games. The offense continued to show some progress as Dangle would end the season with over 100 receptions and 1300 yards on the season. Singh also managed to eclipse the 4500 yard mark and provide 23 TDs through the air. All in all the Fire Salamanders allowed a lot of players to get valuable experience this season and should allow for some exciting seasons moving forward!
Season 37
Coming off a season that was destined for trials the Fire Salamanders again looked to try and bolster their young core as much as they could so that the future continued to look bright. After a steady addition of young talent on the offensive side of the ball the team knew it was important to begin adding some depth to the defensive side of the ball as well. This was done by adding rookies Charlie Thorsen, Jordan Hartline, Kevin McThumper and L. F. T. to the squad. They also brought in a new young kicker to try and help maximize their points for the coming season. The expectations were low once again going into Season 37. 2nd year man Singh looked more comfortable under center but, the team was still extremely young and was going to require a lot of work before they were ready to compete like the team used to.
The preseason showed much more signs of life for the coming season. The team managed to grab two wins in preseason and the team seemed to be much stronger than a lot of people had originally expected. The season began with 2 straight weeks at home as the team matched up against the New York Silverbacks and the extremely dangerous Sarasota Sailfish. The team fought hard in the opening game against New York and even jumped out to a 10-0 lead before they would fall by a score of 24-18. A tough loss but one that showed the potential of this young team. Week 2 and 3 were ones to forget for the Fire Salamanders as the Sailfish and the Wraiths would go on to make short work of the Fire Salamanders and beat them by a score of 26-14 and 31-14 respectively.
Week 4 brought new hope for the Fire Salamanders who were off to a 0-3 start to the season. Another young team in the league the Colorado Yeti were a matchup that the team had circled on their calendar as a must win game. The team did exactly that and made short work of the Yeti by a score of 35-20 and that meant the first win in the ISFL for the 5 rookie Fire Salamanders. Over the next 6 games the youth of the Fire Salamanders began to show through again as the team struggled to find any consistency on the offense. They would go on to lose close games to Baltimore and Chicago before managing to beat the liberty for their second win of the season. Unfortunately they were unable to use that for any momentum and the team would drop 3 straight and fall to 2-7 on the season.
Playoffs were well out of reach but the young Fire Salamanders squad had a lot to prove to not only their fans but to themselves as well. Week 11 and 12 presented the opportunity for revenge against the talented Sarasota and Yellowknffe squads and the Fire Salamanders defense showed their promise as the team held both teams to 0 TDs and would win to improve to 4-7 on the season. For the first time the team looked ready and motivated to finish the season strong and that is what they did. After a close loss to the Liberty in Week 13 they would manage to win their final 3 games of the season by only one point in all 3 games. This pushed their record to 7-9 on the season, but the team showed a resilience and an ability to finish games that the organization had not seen in a very long time. It is something the fan base can be excited for in the coming season.
Season 38
The young Fire Salamanders looked poised and ready for Season 38. The Fire Salamanders finished Season 37 with a 5-2 record and were looking to carry that momentum into the start of this season. The team had some more young additions to their defense as they added Goat TANNK and Sideline-touchdown to their young and talented defense. Singh was coming into his 3rd season as the starter and he had managed to build a great relationship with Dangle and the two looked to punish teams this season. The team still had a lot of questions to be asked in various areas, their OL and RBs needed some work and it would be interesting to see how that would impact the offenses ability to move the ball as the season progressed. Preseason did not go well for the Fire Salamanders and the team would lose all 4 games and need to reimagine their approach for the regular season in order to be successful.
The regular season began with a home game against Baltimore and the team took care of business, although the game was a little closer than many would have liked to see the Fire Salamanders pulled out a 31-30 victory before dropping the next two to the San Jose SaberCats and the Yellowknife Wraiths. A 1-2 start to the season was not what the team was hoping for but, the young team defeinitely was showing some promise and the offense was bound to have a much better performance in the coming games and in Week 4 they did, putting up 41 points on the Yeti and winning the game. The team was 2-2 and with 4 games left in the first half of the season they looked to try and finish strong to move into the latter half and while they dropped the first 2 they would finish with 2 straight wins to a carry a record of 4-4 into the last half of the season.
Riding the momentum of their last two wins they used that to start their 2nd half of the season in style. Over the next 4 games the Fire Salamanders would get 4 wins in extremely close fashion. They would manage to improve to 8-4 on the season and win those 4 games by less than one score in each of them. Their 8-4 record meant they were in the thick of the playoff hunt and the divisional title race. Week 13 and 14 brought in tough matchups with Baltimore and Arizona and the team was unable to defeat them meaning that Week 15 and 16 were must win games in order to make the playoffs and secure a divisional title. Just like last season the team found something to finish out the last season and managed to secure the two crucial wins and not only punch their ticket to the playoffs but, secure a first round bye and a divisional title.
Having the bye and homefield advantage in the playoffs was extremely important for the Fire Salamanders and after defeating Baltimore in round 1 the Wraiths looked dangerous as they came into Berlin. The game got off to a quick start as both teams score in their opening possession but Berlin would carry the lead into halftime and hold onto that lead throughout the game being up 24-17 with a few seconds left, but the Wraiths were not going down as they forced overtime. It was Known Acquaintance that would play here for the Fire Salamanders as his 24 yd FG in OT would get the team their Conference Title and send them to the Ultimus. Arizona looked like an extremely tough opponent but, the Fire Salamanders showed how talented the team had become. The game would be close but, the Fire Salamanders would always trail and come up just short by a score 23-21. The team will have to wait another season for their first title.
Season 39
Season-by-Season Records
Season | Regular Season Record | Post Season Record | ||||||
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W | L | T | PCT | W | L | |||
2040 | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 0 | 0 | ||
2041 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 0 | 0 | ||
2042 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 0 | 0 | ||
2043 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 0 | 1 | ||
2044 | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 1 | 1 | ||
2045 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 1 | 1 | ||
2046 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 0 | 0 | ||
2047 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 2 | 1 | ||
2048 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 0 | 0 | ||
2049 | 11 | 4 | 1 | .719 | 1 | 1 | ||
2050 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 0 | ||
2051 | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 0 | 0 | ||
2052 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 0 | 0 | ||
2053 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 1 | 1 | ||
2054 | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 0 | 0 | ||
2055 | 5 | 10 | 1 | .344 | 0 | 0 | ||
2056 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .312 | 0 | 0 | ||
2057 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 2 | 1 | ||
2058 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 0 | ||
2059 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 0 | ||
2060 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 0 | 1 | ||
2061 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .312 | 0 | 0 | ||
2062 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 0 | 0 | ||
Total | 178 | 190 | 2 | .480 | 8 | 8 |
Players and Personnel
Current roster
Berlin Fire Salamanders roster
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Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers Tight ends |
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
DSFL Send-downs
Rookies in italics
Roster updated January 24th 2024 | ||||||
Current staff
Berlin Fire Salamanders
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