The SWARCO Raiders celebrate their win over the Berlin Adler in Eurobowl. Photo by Jeanette Thompson.
The SWARCO Raiders, Austrian sister team of The Oakland Raiders, regained the European crown. Despite heavy rain the Tyroleans defeated last year's champion Berlin Adler 27-12 (10-0; 7-6; 7-0; 3-6) in Eurobowl XXV. Supported by a record crowd, the Oakland Raiderettes and Hall of Famer Willie Brown the SWARCO Raiders celebrated their third Eurobowl title in four seasons.
"It was a great experience and a very good game," said Brown. "The atmosphere was amazing and the SWARCO Raiders are a deserving champion."
SWARCO Raiders head coach Shuan Fatah was very pleased after the game, "I'm so happy for my team. They have fought hard all year long and deserved this win. But we have to stay hungry. On Thursday we want to win the Austrian Bowl, too."
On Thursday, June 23 the SWARCO Raiders face the Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna in the battle for the Austrian championship in Vienna's Ernst-Happel stadium.
RB Florian Grein gained 136 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown and was named Eurobowl MVP. It was Grein's third MVP honor in his third Eurobowl game. QB Kyle Callahan completed 6 of 12 passes for 98 yards and rushed 9 times for 32 yards. WR Talib Wise caught 2 balls for 49 yards and had 4 rushes for 11 yards and a touchdown. WR Andreas Pröller caught 2 passes for 30 yards and scored on a fumble recovery. K Dennis Wiehberg kicked two field goals and scored a total of 17 points.
The SWARCO Raiders defense forced four turnovers. LB Christoph Schilcher recovered a fumble. S Markus Krause and S John Clements each caught an interception. DB Manuel Eisenführer forced a fumble and picked off a pass.
After the SWARCO Raiders kicked off, Berlin started their first drive at the 26. RB Tory Cooper gained 7 and 5 yards. A penalty against the home site gave Berlin 15 more yards. Standing at the Tyroleans 39 Eisenführer forced a fumble. Schilcher recovered the ball and returned it to the opposing 40.
Callahan opened the drive with a 14-yard pass to Pröller. Two rushes by Wise gained 12 yards. A penalty set the SWARCO Raiders back, but Callahan found Pröller at the 7-yard line. After Grein gained 2 yards for a fresh set of downs, Wise rushed 5 yards for a touchdown. Wiehberg added the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 5:12 left in the first.
The Tyrolean offense started their second possession at their own 13 with three straight runs from Grein for 15, 16 and 12 yards. Then Callahan rushed for 13 yards to the Berlin 25. The drive stalled at the 19, but Wiehberg extended the lead with a 36-yard field goal. With the last play of the first quarter the SWARCO Raiders were up 10-0.
Berlin started their third drive at their own 39. Cooper moved the ball to the Tyroleans 31. Then QB Clint Toon ran to the 13. Moments later he tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass to WR Danilo Naranjo Gonzales. K Benjamin Scharweit missed the PAT and the SWARCO Raiders were up 10-6 with 8:59 left in the second.
The Tyroleans had to punt on their third possession. WR Pascal Maier's booming punt was downed at the Berlin 7. The defense then forced a three-and-out. An interference call on Clements' fair catch gave the Tyroleans the ball at the Berlin 29. Grein rushed for 7 and 5 yards. Then he gained 5 yards, before Callahan gained 6 yards for a new first down. Grein rushed for 3 yards and then scored on a 3-yard touchdown run. Wiehberg added the PAT for a 17-6 SWARCO Raiders lead with 2:55 left in the second.
Starting at their own 25, Toon passed to Naranjo Gonzales at the 45. Then he found Naranjo Gonzales for 12 yards. A penalty against the Tyroleans gave Berlin a first down at the opposing 29. The Adler moved the ball to the 21, but instead of kicking a last-second field goal opted for a pass. Toon's deep ball was intercepted by Krause in the endzone.
The SWARCO Raiders opened the second half at their own 20. Grein gained 5 yards on the ground, then Callahan rushed for 6 yards. On third down and 9 from their own 32 Callahan found Wise, who ran to the Berlin 14. Grein then rushed for 4 yards. On the next play he lost the ball, but Pröller recovered the fumble in the endzone for a touchdown. Wiehberg added the extra point. With 8:30 left in the third the SWARCO Raiders extended their lead to 24-6.
Berlin's first drive started at their 16-yard line. On second down Toon found Naranjo Gonzales at the Adler 41. Toon then rushed for 5 yards. But his team wouldn't gain any more yards and had to punt. The SWARCO Raiders started at their own 13 and marched to the Berlin 30, when Grein fumbled again. Two catches by Naranjo Gonzales moved the ball to the opposing 33. Krause then almost caught his second interception. Moments later Clements was there to intercept Toon's fourth down pass in the endzone.
But on the very next play Callahan fumbled and Berlin recovered at the Tyroleans 19. After a 5-yard run by Cooper Toon threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to WR Lars Samjeske. Thanks to a tackle by Krause the two-point conversion was no good. With 9:34 left in the fourth the SWARCO Raiders led 24-12.
After the Tyroleans had to punt Berlin regained the ball at their 25. A penalty against the SWARCO Raiders and a pass from Toon to Samjeske gave the Adler a first down at the Tyroleans 45. But a few plays later a fourth down pass from Toon fell incomplete and the SWARCO Raiders took over at their own 40.
Grein opened the drive with two short runs. But after an incomplete pass from Callahan to WR Jakob Dieplinger on third down the home team had to punt once again. Maier pinned the Adler at their 11-yard line. 3:54 were left in the fourth. Toon started the drive with a 12-yard pass to Cooper. On the following play Eisenführer read the quarterback's eyes perfectly and intercepted a pass at Berlin's 32-yard line.
Grein's runs moved the ball to the 28. After an 8-yard pass to Dieplinger Wiehberg kicked a 35-yard field goal to give the SWARCO Raiders a 27-12 lead with 57 seconds left. Berlin's last drive ended when DE Mario Rinner sacked Toon deep in Berlin territory.
