EUROBOWL XXIII: SWARCO RAIDERS 30, PARIS FLASH 19

An Austrian record crowd witnessed the SWARCO Raiders defend their EuroBowl title.

The SWARCO Raiders employed a complete team performance in defeating the Paris Flash 31-19 before an Austrian record 6,500 spectators at Tivoli Stadium on Saturday night to claim their second consecutive EuroBowl crown.  SWARCO Raiders running back Florian Grein took home MVP honors with 182 all-purpose yards and 3 TDs, 19-year old kicker Trinkl Emanuel booted  3 clutch field goals, while the efficient passing attack of quarterback Jason Johnson (22-28, 79%) helped control the tempo of the game.  Defensively, the SWARCO Raiders limited the powerful rushing attack of the Flash to just 3 total yards, while putting constant pressure on quarterback Jeffrey Welsh.

Santos Carrillo is now 1-for-1 in Eurobowl titles as a Head Coach. 

The game opened with the unthinkable for the Silver and Black as “do it all” receiver/returner Matt Epperson suffered a broken leg on just the second drive of the game.  This temporarily slowed the SWARCO Raiders offense, but they still managed to score on two consecutive field goals (28, 40) by Trinkl Emanuel for a 6-0 lead. Later in the second, Florian Grein punched the ball in from the 1-yard line for a 13-0 lead with 2:14 remaining.  The Flash countered on the ensuing kickoff with a 77-yard return for a touchdown by Antione Salliant to cut the lead to 7.  But the home team remained calm, as quarterback Jason Johnson engineered a two-minute drive capped by a 2-yard TD run by Florian Grein with just 4 seconds remaining.  This gave the SWARCO Raiders a 20-6 advantage at the half.

 

Andy Pröller knifes upfield with the ball. 

"Touchdown" Steve fights for the pylon.

Florian Grein dives into the endzone for one of three scores on the night, earning him the MVP.

In the third quarter, the teams played to a stalemate before Flash quarterback Jeffrey Walsh found Artchill Monney for a 24-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 20-13.  The momentum didn’t last long, as two plays later Florian Grein proved why he is known as a “big game” player, taking a misdirection play up the middle untouched for a 58-yard touchdown.  The run proved to be the back-breaker, giving the SWARCO Raiders a 27-13 lead.  Kicker Trinkl Emanuel converted on his third field goal of the night midway through the fourth to add to the lead, 30-13.  A late Flash touchdown pass from Welsh to Marc-Angelo Soumah provided the final score, 30-19.       

 

Andy Pröller fights for extra yards during the 4th quarter of the EuroBowl.  Pröller would lead all receivers with 8 catches for 96 yards.

The Silver and Black "D" was all over the field, creating much havoc in the Flash backfield.

Manu Eisenfuehrer's interception was the nail in the coffin for the SWARCO Raiders.  

Mario Rinner, Gonzalo Segovia, and Philip Margreiter each notched sacks for the SWARCO Raiders defense, which held the Flash to just 224 total yards on the night.  The victory gave head coach Santos Carrillo his first EuroBowl in just his first season at the helm, while marking the 6^th consecutive year that Europe’s most coveted American Football trophy has remained on Austrian soil.