RAIDERS STILL AIMING FOR UPSET IN ‘BATTLE OF AUSTRIA’
For anyone not familiar with their storied history, it may come as some surprise that Raiders Tirol are still pursuing their first victory over bitter rivals Vienna in the European League of Football.
The two clubs go way back, and still compete in the Austrian national league but, on Europe’s biggest stage, the Vikings have held sway, appearing in two ELF Championship games — and winning the title in their debut season. Although placed in the same conference in their first year after joining the league together in 2022, Austria’s finest have been chasing separate divisional titles since then, limiting the number of times they have met in regular season competition. Regardless, the Vikings hold an unbeaten 5-0 record over their countrymen heading into the first of two scheduled clashes in 2025.
“Like every week, we’re very motivated,” Raiders wide receiver Philipp Haun confirmed. “It gives me extra motivation knowing we’re playing against a good team, as you want to perform at your best and deliver your best performance. Against the Vikings, no extra motivation is needed. Everyone — from the front office to the players — is incredibly motivated.
“The Vikings are incredibly well-coached, the players know what they’re doing and play a very physical game. That’s a different ball game, but we train precisely for opponents like that, to beat teams like that. Our coaches have already drawn up a very good plan, but we have to play flawless football and show our game. Then things will turn out well for us.”
Even before their last game against Cologne, the Tyrolean side knew that quarterback Connor Miller would be out for several weeks with a leg injury. WR Adrian Platzgummer was able to fill in against comparatively weak opposition in weeks two and three, but the Raiders have been able to recall N’Kosi Perry, who played under center for them last season and is already familiar with the offense.
Although the American has been training with his former team since Wednesday, Tirol won’t have to rely on him entirely, as the offense has shown its versatility of late, scoring via both the running and passing game in over-powering both Helvetic and Cologne. The running back trio of Tobias Bonatti, Lukas Haslwanter and Jan Wiesauer will again be a major focus this weekend, but receivers Haun, Marco Schneider and JaCorey Sullivan — as well as Platzgummer — can expect to play a bigger role.
“Our goal is always to stop the running game, force the opponents into long third downs and then initiate the pass rush,” explained Vikings head coach Chris Calaycay. “We have a strong mix of tradition and development and, every year, we try to improve a little bit further. Our defense demonstrates this particularly well and, with (Lucky) Ogbevoen, (Thomas) Schaffer, (Maurice) Wappl and Aaron Donkor, for example, we’ve formed a really solid unit.
“We’ll see how close the teams really are. When it comes down to defense, I think we have a good chance,”
Physicality is one of the keys to success against the Vikings, and the duel at the line of scrimmage will be crucial to the outcome, especially with linebackers Aaron Donker and former Raider Ogbevoen in fine form through three weeks. They are not alone, however, as Timi Nuikka leads the Vikings with 20 tackles, while Noel Swancar, like Ogbevoen, has 15 to his name. Last weekend, Vienna triumphed in rematch of last year’s Championship game in a defensive battle with the Rhein Fire, with defensive back Amani Dennis setting a new mark for ELF career interceptions. Meanwhile, Benjamin Straight is emerging as one of the league’s best defensive backs — and already made two picks on Perry last year.
“Conceding only six points against Rhein Fire — we can be really proud of that. We played as a unit and showed how strong our defense really is,” claimed Ogbevoen, who faces off against brother Precious this weekend. “Sure, I have a lot of friends there but, as soon as the whistle blows, it’s all about winning. Emotions have no place there — only success counts!”
The form of the defense has helped mask a quarterback still struggling to find his best form, as Vikings’ Ben Holmes has thrown for 560 yards in three games, but currently has a completion rate of just over 50 percent. While his return of eight touchdowns and just two interceptions is clearly positive, Holmes has already been sacked five times this season, and hasn’t consistently displayed the explosiveness and precision he displayed last season. The American is also missing several key weapons, with injuries keeping WR Yannick Mayr and RB Karri Pajarinen sidelined. Florian Bierbaumer, however, should be fit to play this weekend and will team up with Reece Horn and Noah Touré to provide outlets for Holmes, but the quarterback’s struggles could represent the Raiders’ best road to victory.