Raiders roll over Black Lions 54-7

Running back Andreas "Hoey" Hohender dives into the endzone to cap a 16 yard TD scamper in the third quarter.  After the game, he was rewarded by Head Coach Santos Carrillo with the game ball for his dedication to the team!

SWARCO RAIDERS 54, Carinthian Black Lions 7

On Saturday, the Swarco Raiders jumped out to an early 26-0 lead and cruised to an easy 54-7 victory over the Carinthian Black Lions before the home crowd at Tivoli Stadium.  The win evens the SWARCO Raiders record at 2-2 and puts them squarely in the thick of the Austrian Football League leading race heading into a May 2^nd home date with the Vienna Vikings. 

To begin the game, the Black Lions took the opening drive inside the SWARCO Raiders ten yard line, but a slant pattern was intercepted by defensive back Manuel Eisenführer in the endzone.  He returned the ball 80 yards with a convoy of blockers, only to be stripped by the Black Lions quarterback D.J. Hernandez, giving the ball back to the Black Lions.  After a defensive stop, the subsequent punt was returned by Matt Epperson to the two yard line, where SWARCO Raiders running back Florian Grein took the only offensive play of the quarter into the endzone.

In the second quarter, SWARCO Raiders quarterback Jason Johnson got hot, tossing touchdown passes of 40, 35, and 16 yards to pull away.  Meanwhile, the blitzing defense of the SWARCO Raiders caused quarterback D.J. Hernandez to run for his life and limited them to only a few first downs in the frame.  Hernandez finished just 8-22 passing for 79 yards and three costly interceptions on the day.        

The second half began quickly for the SWARCO Raiders.  On just the second play from scrimmage, Jason Johnson found a streaking Andreas Pröller down the middle for a 43 yard score, his second of the game, to put the SWARCO Raiders up 33-0.  Pröller would lead the team with 4 catches for 127 yards.  Three minutes later, fullback Andreas Hoheneder bounced a dive outside for a 16 yard scamper, and after the game was rewarded by Head Coach Santos Carrillo with the game ball.

With three minutes remaining in the 3^rd quarter, Markus Krauser sealed the win for the SWARCO Raiders with his second interception of the day, returning it 33 yards and flipping into the endzone to add an exclamation point on top of a 54-0 lead.  In the fourth quarter, the team emptied its bench, allowing all SWARCO Raiders players who dressed a chance to play.

Jason Johnson was an efficient 8 of 13 passing for 189 yards, with half (4) of his passes going for touchdowns.  Philipp Margreiter again led the defense with 7 total tackles.

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