After a bye week on the Easter weekend, the Austrian Football League continued with two games on Saturday. The Telfs Patriots won the start of the second round at the Steelshark Traun 24:14 and celebrated their first win of the season. In the evening game, the Salzburg Ducks beat newly promoted GBG Graz Styrian Bears 48:7 and are already holding on to two wins. The second AFL weekend concludes with three games on Sunday. There will be a new edition of the Austrian Bowl XXXVII: The AFC Vienna Vikings will welcome the defending champion Danube Dragons in the football center Ravelin. The Thalheim Graz Giants are going to the Rangers in Mödling. The SWARCO RAIDERS Tirol host the Prague Black Panthers. All Sunday games will be streamed LIVE on live.football.at. The game starts at 3 p.m. each day.
15.04., 16:00: Steelsharks Traun vs. Telfs Patriots 14:24 (0:0, 0:17, 7:0, 7:7)
Two touchdowns by Ravon Steven Johnson, the two extra points and a 33-yard field goal by David Ladner gave the Telfs Patriots a 17-0 lead in the second quarter. However, the Steelsharks Traun reported back after the half-time break with two runs into the end zone – Mike Taylor and Slade Jarman. Just after the start of the fourth quarter, the home side were only three points behind. However, the race to catch up did not continue. Because with the last touchdown in the game two minutes before the end, the fourth of last season made the decision in the Traun sports center. The Patriots celebrated their first win of the season at 24:14. For the Steelshark it was the second defeat.
Steelshark’s Traun head coach Jure Bezica: “The defense delivered a solid game. A lot of things on the offensive didn’t go the way we wanted. We usually lack that certain something and the last punch. Of course, the weather also played a role, but both teams felt the same way. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, especially on the offensive side, so that we can perform better on the next matchday.”
Telfs Patriots head coach Daniel Levy: “A very intense and tough game in this weather. It was wet and cold. Traun came onto the field physically strong, but our boys showed that they are capable of taking the next step. I’m happy with how we performed and how we worked to win.”
15.04., 18:00: GBG Graz Styrian Bears vs. Salzburg Ducks 7:48 (0:14, 0:7, 7:7, 0:20)
The Salzburg Ducks scored their second win of the season against newly promoted GBG Graz Styrian Bears. Quarterback Kristopher Denton set the record straight with four touchdown passes before the Bears even got their first points in the AFL. In the final quarter, the Ducks added three more touchdowns.
GBG Graz Styrian Bears head coach Martin Kocian: “We tried to do our best – especially for our great fans. The result doesn’t tell the whole story of this game. I think we were better than the result shows. We made mistakes, especially at the beginning. After that it was difficult to come back. But we will get even better.”
Salzburg Ducks head coach Nick Johansen: “I’m proud, the team played very well. Maybe there were a few mistakes too many and unfortunately there were a few injuries. I hope they are not too tragic. The offense scored well and the defense didn’t allow much. We played football and we did it well.”
