Junior Raiders strike gold

Swarco Raiders juniors are College Bowl VI Champions!

Meanwhile, back in Austria...

The SWARCO Raiders youth program capped a successful season by capturing two championships and two runners-up trophies. Leading the way were the "Juniors," who brought home the College Bowl VI trophy (the highest level of Austrian youth football) with a convincing 35-3 victory over the Danube Dragons. This is the team that I was personally involved with during September, and it brings me nothing but pride at their accomplishments! In the fall I spent a lot of time with spielmacher (qb) Damaso Tarneller, and it was incredible to watch him grow throughout the season. In the final game he showed his maturity by throwing 4 TDs and taking home game MVP honors. GREAT JOB!!! The youngest players - the "Minis" were the other Tirolean champions, claiming a 22-6 victory over the Mini Vikings.

Here's the full story on the youth success from the SWARCO Raiders website:

COLLEGE BOWL VI Juniors Austrian Champs for the 2nd Time Just as a phoenix rises out of the ashes, so too it was with the Raiders Juniors as they went from worst to first in the 2009 campaign. As the undefeated victors from the 2nd division they earned a date with the Danube Dragons in the finale where they put forth a resounding effort winning gold with a score of 35-3. The Dragon Defense tried to stuff the box and take away the strong run game from running back Andreas Hofbauer, yet Offensive Coodinator Nick Johansen was well prepared and went to the air instead. The fact that the Raiders are also tough in the air was proven by Quaterback Damaso Tarneller as he threw 4 TD passes. Three of these went to WR Christian Willi and one time to Julian Ebner. For this ever so impressive performance by playmaker Damaso Tarneller, he was named as the games MVP. Defensive Coodinator Mario Rinner showed too that the defense is no sloutch as they showed their own meddle by not allowing a single TD from the Dragons. The were limited to one 1st Qtr. Field goal. With 6 wins and no losses the SWARCO Raiders wrapped up a perfect season. Head Coach Santos Carrillo was extremely proud of his team as he added: ?In life no one will ever give you something. You have to work hard and learn to take it. You earned the right to win this title through hard work over an entire year.? Schüler set back by Vikings The undefeated Raiffeisen Vikings went into the final as the favorite and subsequently proved their ranking. The Schüler of the SWARCO Raiders defended themselves against the strength and overwhelming power of the Vikings for four qtrs. In the end however, the Vikings proved to be just too much and the Defense completely shut down the raider offense. The Raider defense gave it everything they had, but in the end they came up with too little in the tank. A well deserved championship went to the Viennese. Minis win Championship for the 4th time in a row. Through this the SWARCO Raiders are the new 12 and under record holders. With a 22-6 victory over the Raiffeisen Vikings the Minis were crowned champs. On both sides of the ball there was a high level of play on display which was rather remarkable keeping in mind the age group. Particularly key in the victory were two big plays by the defense. One interception and a caused fumble by Martin Schild led to his naming as the games MVP. These two turnovers thwarted drives deep into Raider territory and allowed the Raiders to maintain a 22-6 lead. Offensively the Raiders cashed in on TDs from Running back Sandro Platzgummer (2) and Running Back Romed Zangerl (1). Jugend narrowly set back by the Vikings This season?s 16 and under championship was clinic trading blows. The lead changed hands a total of 6 times. The difference in the contest was small mistakes that changed the momentum. In the 4th qtr. The Tiroleans still had two chances to win the game: one time the game deciding field was wide left and in the other the time simply ran out on their attack. Danube Dragons vs. SWARCO Raiders Tirol 3:35 (3:14; 0:7; 0:7; 0:7) Raiders Scorers: 18 P. WR Christian Willi (3 TD) 6 P. WR Julian Ebner (1 TD) 6 P. RB Andreas Hofbauer (1 TD) 5 P. K Emanuel Trinkl (5 XP) MINI BOWL IX SWARCO Raiders Tirol vs. Raiffeisen Vikings 22:6 (6:0; 8:6; 0:0; 8:0) Raiders Scorer: 12 P. RB Sandro Platzgummer (2 TD) 8 P. RB Romed Zangerl (1 TD, 1 Conv) 2 P. TE Rene Hörtnagl (1 Conv) *Photo: Schellhorn <<>