Die Vienna Vikings are in the final of the European Championship after an offensive spectacle like two years ago. European League of Football (ELF). The team of Headcoach Chris Calaycay won the semi-final against the Paris Musketeers in the Vienna Generali-Arena in front of almost 11,000 fans with 47:31 (21:6). In the final in the Gelsenkirchen stadium At Schalke On 22 September the Vikings will meet the winner of the Sunday duel between Stuttgart Surge and defending champion Rhein Fire.
The Vikings were the only undefeated team in the regular season and were top seeded going into the match against Paris. The hosts got off to a good start in front of a club record crowd and prominent guests such as tennis ace Dominic Thiem, Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) along with the Austrian Army Guard and US Ambassador Victoria Kennedy. Quarterback Ben Holmes threw three touchdown passes in the first half, two to Florian Bierbaumer and one to Kimi Linnainmaa.
Except for a touchdown by Hugo Tekedam, the Vienna defense barely allowed the Paris attack around quarterback Zach Edwards to get into the game in the first 30 minutes. This resulted in a comfortable 21:6 lead at halftime.
At the beginning of the second half, Holmes showed that he could do it on foot and ran into the end zone from 39 yards. However, the “Musketeers” now got going and reduced the score to 24:34 by the end of the third quarter with touchdowns from Edwards, Austin Mitchell and Anthony Mahoungou.
In the final quarter, the guests scored through Tekedam and were suddenly only three points behind. The Vikings responded with a fitting response from Reece Horn, who carried a pass from Holmes 59 yards into the end zone. In the end, defender Benjamin Straight secured the Vikings’ victory with an interception. To top it all off, Bierbaumer made a third appearance in the Parisians’ end zone.
Man of the match, however, was Vikings playmaker Holmes with five touchdown passes, one running touchdown and almost 400 yards thrown. The reward now is the final trip to Gelsenkirchen, where more than 40,000 fans are expected at the Schalke Stadium. There, the Viennese could be crowned ELF champions for the second time in three years.
