RB Andreas Hofbauer scored three touchdowns at Prague in 2012 (Photo: Schellhorn)
The SWARCO Raiders will play on the road for the second straight week. On Sunday, April 28 they will face the Prague Black Panthers in a re-scheduled game from week 2 in the Austrian Football League (AFL). Kickoff at Prague's Slavia Stadium is at 3:00 a.m. PT (noon CET).
Follow the SWARCO Raiders live on **www.raiderstv.at*. The live stream for this week's game starts on April 28 at 2:45 a.m. PT (11:45 a.m. CET).*
"The Black Panthers have not started well this season and right now they face some serious problems", said SWARCO Raiders Head Coach Shuan Fatah. "But I'm sure they will be highly motivated. We can't make any of the mistakes we made recently".
The team from Prague has a new face this season. Late last year the Panthers and the Black Hawks merged to become the Black Panthers. The idea was to bundle the Czech Republic's two best teams to be able to compete against the AFL's best. But the 2013 season hasn't gone as planned. The Black Panthers have lost all their games thus far. And just this week head coach Tom Smythe has stepped down.
And to make matters worse, the Black Panthers now face a Tyrolean team they haven't beaten since entering the AFL in 2010. The SWARCO Raiders have won all four league meetings by a combined score of 161-48. In their two trips to Prague the Tyroleans have allowed only one offensive touchdown.
The SWARCO Raiders also have beaten the Czechs 56-14 in last season's European Football League (EFL) quarterfinals. The 56 points scored and the 42-point margin were two team records for the Tyroleans in their EFL history.
The SWARCO Raiders quarterback from last season is the team's quarterback this season, too. Kyle Callahan has completed 38 of 73 passes for 542 yards with 6 touchdowns and 2 interceptions this season. He also had 14 rushes for 46 yards and 2 touchdowns. Last weekend Callahan had a stellar game at the Rangers. He completed more than 83 percent of his passes for 260 yards with 4 touchdowns and one pick.
WR Julian Ebner was the best receiver last weekend. He caught 4 balls for 92 yards and 3 touchdowns. On the season Ebner has caught 9 passes for 183 yards with 3 scores. WR Damaso Tarneller leads the team with 10 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown. WR Clemens Erlsbacher caught 7 balls for 93 yards and had 2 rushes for 63 yards. WR Talib Wise caught 6 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown in two games. He also rushed 7 times for 26 yards and 2 touchdowns.
RB Andreas Hofbauer leads his team with 20 rushes for 117 yards. RB Lukas Miribung carried the ball 16 times for 67 yards and a touchdown. RB Jaycen Taylor had 12 rushes for 59 yards and a touchdown in his debut last Saturday.
Erlsbacher also excels on special teams. He converted 11 of 12 extra points and kicked a 42-yard field goal. He also had 10 punts for an average of 39.3 yards per punt with 4 punts downed inside the opposing 20. And 9 of his 15 kickoffs resulted in touchbacks. On top of that Erlsbacher had 2 kickoff returns for 55 yards. Wise had 2 kickoff returns for 28 yards and 2 punt returns for 87 yards. DB Enrico Martini returned 5 kickoffs for 122 yards.
The SWARCO Raiders defense is led by LB Florian Hueter. He had 15 tackles (10 solo), 1.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble in three games. LB Fabian Seeber had 12.5 tackles (10 solo), 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery. LB Christoph Schilcher had 9.5 tackles (7 solo). DE Philipp Margreiter had 8.5 tackles (7 solo), 5.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, a forced fumble and an interception. Martini and DB Markus Krause each had 8 tackles (each 6 solo). DE Korbinian Hoffmann had 2 sacks and 3 tackles for loss.
Prague is building a team around QB Andrew Shoop. He completed 44 of 81 passes for 615 yards with 3 touchdowns and a league-worst 7 interceptions. He also ran the ball 29 times for 75 yards and a score. Shoop has gotten sacked seven times already.
RB/DB Andre Whyte leads his team with 20 rushes for 84 yards and a touchdown. He is also the squad's second best receiver with 12 catches for 98 yards. Number one in that department is WR Jan Stiegler with 12 catches for 270 yards and a touchdown. WR Dan Balazovic has hauled in 4 balls for 109 yards and a touchdown.
Prague's defense has allowed an average of 195.3 rushing yards per game. The team's top tackler is LB Dan Krejbich with 17.5 tackles (13 solo), 2 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. LB Milos Hildebrant had 14.5 tackles (10 solo), 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack. DL Lukas Jira also had a sack. DB Jiri Hamal caught an interception.
Watch the SWARCO Raiders 2012 season live and as-live for free on**www.raidersTV.at**.
