QB Kyle Callahan scored against Vienna (Photo: Schellhorn)
The long break in the Austrian Football League (AFL) did the SWARCO Raiders no good. In week 4 The Oakland Raiders sister-team lost 48-13 (14-6; 27-0; 7-0; 0-7) to the Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna.
In their first game after a three-week break QB Kyle Callahan completed 11 of 34 passes for 153 yards with an interception. He also had 4 runs for 24 yards and a touchdown. WR Talib Wise caught 2 balls for 21 yards and had 6 rushes for 25 yards and a score. WR Julian Ebner caught 4 balls for 79 yards. RB Andreas Hofbauer carried the ball 9 times for 37 yards.
"The three weeks off didn't help us at all", said SWARCO Raiders head coach Shuan Fatah. "Today nothing went right. We made enough mistakes for a whole season. Now we have to get back up quick."
The SWARCO Raiders won the coin toss and elected to defer. After the kickoff and touchback Vienna started at their own 25. On the very first play from scrimmage QB Christoph Gross found WR Michael Zweifel for 20 yards. Later Gross threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to WR Stefan Holzinger. K Christopher Kappel kicked the extra point to give the Vikings a 7-0 lead with 10:27 minutes left in the first.
After Wise's kickoff return the Tyroleans started at their own 35. A 9-yard pass from Callahan to Ebner resulted in a first down. A penalty moved the ball 15 yards to the opposing 39. The drive ended with WR/K Clemens Erlsbacher's 51-yard field goal try, which was short. Vienna took over at their 34, but a sack by LB Fabian Seeber forced the game's first punt.
After the SWARCO Raiders also had to punt Vienna took over at their own 15. On second down DE Philipp Margreiter got his hands on a Gross pass. He tipped the ball, then caught it himself at the Vikings 16. Moments later Callahan couldn't find an open receiver and ran for a 14-yard touchdown. The PAT was no good. So with 4:55 minutes left in the first the SWARCO Raiders trailed 7-6.
Vienna started at their own 28 with an 11-yard pass from Gross to Zweifel. The American caught two more passes to move the ball deep into Tyrolean territory. Later he finished the drive with a 23-yard touchdown catch. Kappel's PAT was good and the Vikings were up 14-6 with 1:38 minutes left in the first.
After a touchback the SWARCO Raiders started the following drive at their own 25. Callahan opened the drive with a 6-yard run. Then he found WR Damaso Tarneller for 7 yards. On the next play Tarneller lost the ball and DB Tillman Stevens recovered the fumble and ran it back to the 8. Moments later RB Islaam Amadu scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. The extra point gave the Vikings a 21-6 lead with 11:42 minutes left in the second.
After a badly executed kickoff return the SWARCO Raiders had to start from their own 3. After a three-and-out the team punted, but the punt was blocked and Holzinger recovered the ball in the endzone for a touchdown. The PAT was no good, but the Vikings extended their lead to 27-6 with 10:42 minutes left in the second.
The Tyroleans had to punt on their next drive, giving Vienna the ball back at the Vikings 21. And again the guest team scored. Gross threw a deep ball into double-coverage. But somehow Holzinger ended up with the ball while the defenders fell down. Holzinger ran into the endzone untouched for a 50-yard strike. The PAT gave Vienna a 34-6 lead with 6:25 minutes left in the second.
A good kickoff return by Erlsbacher gave the SWARCO Raiders the ball at their 49. But on the drive's first play Wise lost the ball and Vienna recovered and took over at the Tyrolean 46. A few plays later Gross found a wide-open Zweifel for a 42-yard touchdown pass. The extra point extended the Vikings lead to 41-6 with 5:10 minutes left in the first half.
The second half started with another turnover. Callahan's first pass was picked off by DB Benjamin Bubik, who returned the ball 45 yards for a touchdown. The PAT gave Vienna a 48-6 lead with 11:09 minutes left in the third.
Late in the fourth quarter the SWARCO Raiders were able to score a second time. Starting at their own 28 a 15-yard penalty against Vienna moved the chains. Then Hofbauer ran for 12 yards. Erlsbacher caught a 10-yard pass at the Vienna 34. Hofbauer added 8 yards. Moments later Wise caught the ball at the 14 on fourth down. He then moved the ball to the 7, before running into the endzone for a 7-yard touchdown. Erlsbacher nailed the extra point to cut the Vikings lead to 48-13 with 3:55 minutes left in the fourth.
Next weekend the SWARCO Raiders will play their first road game of the 2013 season. On Saturday, April 20 they play the AFC Rangers at FZZ Wiener Neudorf. Kickoff is at 8:00 a.m. PT (5:00 p.m. CET).
