In Week 6 of the 2012 Austrian Football League (AFL) season, the SWARCO Raiders celebrated their fifth win. The Oakland Raiders sister-team beat the JCL Giants Graz 33-0 (0-0; 7-0; 7-0; 20-0) in the game of the week.
"It was important for us to get back on track after last week's tough loss", said SWARCO Raiders head coach Shuan Fatah. "There are still many things we have to work on, but we played a good game today. Our defense played especially well keeping the Giants' weapons in check".
QB Kyle Callahan completed 10 of 15 passes for 151 yards. He also had 11 rushes for 76 yards and recovered a fumble for a touchdown in the endzone. RB Andreas Hofbauer had 12 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown. RB Florian Grein had 8 rushes for 29 yards. The Tyroleans had 176 total rushing yards against a defense that allowed only 75.2 rushing yards per game previously. WR Damaso Tarneller caught 3 balls for 68 yards and scored on a 12-yard run. WR Christian Willi caught 3 passes for 54 yards.
The SWARCO Raiders defense forced two turnovers. LB Mario Rinner recovered a fumble and S John Clements scored on a 90-yard interception return touchdown. Clements also did a great job playing against the AFL's top receiver. He held WR Armando Ponce de Leon to 4 catches for 36 yards.
The Tyroleans won the coin toss, but elected to defer. After the kickoff the Giants started their first drive at their own 20. RB Alex Gross opened the game with rushes of 11 yards and 13 yards. Later QB Chris Gunn completed a 28-yard pass to WR Christoph Friedl on fourth down, giving his team a new set of downs at the Tyroleans 10. Gross carried the ball to the 1-yard line, but when Gunn wanted to run into the endzone on the ensuing play, Cornerback Markus Krause knocked the ball out of his hands and Rinner recovered at the 1.
After two short runs Callahan rushed for 9 yards and a new first down at the 12. Later he completed a 26-yard pass to Willi. On the next play he found WR Clemens Erlsbacher for 11 yards. After a successful fourth-down conversion Willi caught a 13-yard pass. Then Hofbauer rushed to the Graz 20. The Tyroleans moved the ball to the 6, before having to settle for a field goal try. But K Christian Kellner's kick hit the left upright.
Graz took over at their own 20, but had to punt soon. The SWARCO Raiders regained possession at their own 34. On third and 10 Willi caught a 15-yard pass. A 5-yard run by Grein and a 15-yard penalty gave the Tyroleans a first down at the opposing 31. Then Callahan threw a 28-yard pass to Tarneller. When Hofbauer tried to run the ball in from the 1-yard line, he fumbled. Luckily Callahan recovered the ball in the endzone for a touchdown. Erlsbacher added the PAT to give the SWARCO Raiders a 7-0 lead with 4:08 minutes left in the second quarter.
Graz started their next drive at their own 26. A 17-yard run by Gunn and a 33-yard rush by Gross moved the ball to the Tyroleans 21. But an incomplete pass on fourth down turned the ball over to the home-site, giving the SWARCO Raiders a 7-0 halftime lead.
After each team punted on their opening possession of the third quarter the SWARCO Raiders took over at their own 33. Callahan rushed for 11 yards then ran 14 yards to the Giants 42. Later he found Tarneller for 26 yards. On first down from the Giants 12 Callahan faked the hand-off then faked a run before pitching the ball to Tarneller, who ran into the endzone for a touchdown. The PAT gave the Tyroleans a 14-0 lead with 2:36 minutes left in the third.
After the ensuing kickoff the Giants started at their own 18. A 30-yard pass from Gunn to WR Max Taurer moved the ball close to midfield. Graz then converted two straight fourth downs, first with a 4-yard run by Gunn, then with a pass to Taurer to the Tyroleans 22. But three straight false start penalties moved the ball back. Still they went for it again on fourth down. But Clements knocked the ball out of Ponce de Leon's hands. The incompletion gave the Tyroleans the ball back at their own 36.
Callahan started the drive with a short run, then he threw a 13-yarder to Tarneller. Later Callahan found Erlsbacher for 12 yards and a first down at the Giants 38. On the next play Callahan ran for 22 yards. After a short run by Hofbauer, RB Lukas Miribung scored on a 12-yard touchdown run. The PAT was missed. The SWARCO Raiders still extended their lead to 20-0 with 4:54 minutes left in the fourth.
Graz started their next possession at their own 11. After three straight incompletions by Gunn the Giants had to punt, giving the Tyroleans the ball back at their own 46. Two runs by Hofbauer gave the SWARCO Raiders a new set of downs. Then two personal foul penalties against Graz moved the ball to the Giants 15. Moments later Hofbauer scored on a 12-yard touchdown run giving the SWARCO Raiders a 26-0 lead with 2:26 minutes left in the fourth.
The Giants tried everything to punt points on the scoreboard. Starting at their own 20 Gunn moved his team to the opposing 18. But then Clements picked off a pass and returned the ball 90 yards for a score. The PAT extended the lead to 33-0 with 48 seconds left.
On Sunday, May 6 the SWARCO Raiders will host the Prague Panthers. Kickoff at Innsbruck's Tivoli Stadium is at 6 a.m. PT (3 p.m. CET).
