Raiders beat Graz 56-42, Move into First Place

Andy Pröller races to the endzone for a 39 yard first quarter touchdown.

The SWARCO Raiders used an explosive and varied attack to race past the Giants in Graz 56-42 on Saturday in a matchup that lived up to the billing between the top two ranked teams in Europe.  The win moves the SWARCO Raiders (5-2) into a three way tie atop the Austrian League standings, but hold the tie breaker at this point over Graz (5-2) and the Danube Dragons (5-2), whom the SWARCO Raiders will meet in two weeks at Tivoli Stadium to close the regular season.

Jakob Dieplinger steps past a Giant defender and into the endzone for the first of 3 TDs.

The story of the day was the SWARCO Raiders offense, which after punting on the first series rattled off 8 consecutive touchdown drives before running out the clock at the end of the game.  Quarterback Jason Johnson continued his hot hand, throwing for 6 touchdown passes while completing 17 of 24 passes (71%) for 240 yards.  Jakob Dieplinger earned the game ball by hauling in 3 touchdown grabs and making a number of timely catches.  Matt Epperson exploded for 4 touchdowns - 2 in the air and 2 on the ground - while also converting on a 2-pt conversion.  Epperson would lead all receivers with 7 catches for 92 yards.

Balancing the aerial assault was the physical play of running back Philipp "The Machine" Margreiter, who moved over from the defensive side of the ball to fill in for injured tailback Florian Grein.  Margreiter rushed for 107 yards on 18 carries and caught 2 passes for 32 yards.  His play fit the theme of the day for the SWARCO Raiders, who had to overcome a number of injuries heading into the game. 

Things didn't start so well for the SWARCO Raiders, as Graz running back Mo Muheize took a sweep 57 yards for a touchdown on the opening drive and a 7-0 lead.  The silver and black responded with three consecutive scores (Proller 39 yard TD catch, Dieplinger 15 yard TD catch, Epperson 6 yard TD run) to make the score 21-7 just moments into the second period.  Shifty Graz QB Chris Gunn would scamper for a pair of scores in the period (40, 27 yards), but the SWARCO Raiders would answer each time for a 33-21 halftime advantage.  The final second quarter score came with just 10 seconds left in the half, and coupled with another Epperson TD to begin the 3rd quarter, gave the SWARCO Raiders some breathing room, 41-21.

After a Gunn TD pass cut the lead to 41-28, Johnson answered a minute into the fourth quarter with a slant to Dieplinger for a 2-yard TD.  On the following drive, Epperson would take a sweep into the endzone from 5 yards out to put the game away, 56-28.  Two late Gunn touchdowns provided the final margin.

The SWARCO Raiders will return home in two weeks on June 6th to close out the regular season with a crucial match-up against the Danube Dragons.  A win will guarantee the club a first round bye in the Austrian League playoffs.

JASON SAYS:  It was an AWESOME day to play football in Graz... 80 degree weather and a loud crowd armed with a vast array of noise making devises!  I was so proud of the way our team stepped up, especially playing without Flo, safety Markus Krause, and center Phillip Helm.  I think our team matured a lot today, and I'm excited to keep this rolling!  It was also very "Guile" (Awesome) to see Jakob get the game ball - he's such a hard working guy and no one deserves more credit than him for the way we are playing right now!  We have a bye this week, which will help a lot of banged up guys rest.  After the game, the team was treated to a great meal at the American family restaurant, HOOTERS.  You have no idea how good a chicken quesadilla tastes after not having one for 4 months...

 

~ J. Twice