SWARCO Raiders Tame Black Lions

By Sebastian Stolz

After dropping their home opener, the SWARCO Raiders, marketing teammate of The Oakland Raiders, wanted to make their return home after two weeks on the road a memorable one. They fulfilled that promise, beating the Carinthian Black Lions 54-7 (6-0; 20-0; 28-0; 0-7) and bringing their overall record to 2-2.

The Tyroleans dominated throughout the game, scoring 54 unanswered points and finding the endzone on their first seven possessions. Quarterback Jason Johnson 8 of 13 passes for 189 yards and 4 touchdowns with no interception, bringing his season total to 13 touchdowns with only one interception. His favorite target was wide receiver Andreas Pröller, who caught 4 balls for 127 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The SWARCO Raiders defense allowed only 127 total yards on 62 plays. Defensive Back Markus Krause had two of his team’s three interceptions, returning his second pick for a touchdown. They also forced and recovered a fumble.

„It was a well-deserved win. The guys worked hard all week and as a team we did a lot better than in previous weeks“, said head coach Santos Carrillo. „We played much more efficient. One player that stood out to me was Markus Krause. I challenged him all week and he stepped up and made a lot of good plays.“

Going into the contest as the clear underdog, the Black Lions showed some confidence on their opening drive. Quarterback DJ Hernandez led his team to the Raiders 8-yard line, before Safety Markus Eisenführer picked off a pass inside the 5-yard line. Having only the quarterback to beat for a return touchdown, Hernandez knocked the ball out of Eisenführer’s hands and recovered it at the Black Lions 20. Three plays later the Carinthians had to punt. Wide receiver Matt Epperson returned the punt to the Black Lions 1. With eight minutes off the clock the SWARCO Raiders offense hit the field for the first time – and for one play only. Running back Florian Grein ran in untouched from 1 yards out. The extra point was blocked, but with 3:57 left in the first quarter, the Tyroleans had a 6-0 lead.

After forcing another punt, the SWARCO Raiders took over at their own 16. A 10-yard completion from Johnson to Epperson and an 18-yard catch by Pröller highlighted that drive. Later an offside penalty on fourth down gave the Tyroleans new life. On the very next play Johnson found a wide-open Pröller over the middle for a 40-yard touchdown pass. Robert Balazinec missed the PAT and the score was 12-0 with 10:30 left in the second quarter.

On the next drive the Black Lions committed their second turnover when they fumbled the ball on an option play. The SWARCO Raiders recovered the ball at the Black Lions 39 and three plays later Johnson found Epperson on the right side for a 35-yard touchdown pass. Grein scored on the 2-point conversion and the team from Innsbruck had a 20-0 lead with 7:18 left in the first half.

A fake punt gave the Carinthians new life on their next drive, but three plays later a sack by defensive end Mario Rinner and linebacker Philipp Margreiter forced the visiting squad to punt again. Epperson’s return touchdown didn’t count because of a holding penalty, but his offense found the way into the endzone just minutes later when Johnson threw his third touchdown pass of the day, a 16-yarder to Grein. After another blocked PAT the score was 26-0 with 39 seconds left in the first half.

The SWARCO Raiders opened the second half with another big play. On second down, Johnson threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Pröller. Backup running back Daniel Schuster converted the extra point. 11:25 were still to play in the third quarter with the SWARCO Raiders leading 33-0.

After a Black Lions three and out the Tyrolean offense struck again. Starting at their own 43, Grein moved the ball to the opposing 16 on three straight running plays. On the next play fullback Andreas Hoheneder got the ball and ran it in for a 16-yard touchdown. Schuster’s PAT was good and the score was 40-0 with 9:04 left in the third.

Head coach Carrillo decided to give his second stringers a chance to play now. Still the SWARCO Raiders found ways to score. Epperson, who had a long return earlier and another one called back, returned a punt to the Black Lions 11-yard line. Three plays later Grein scored on a 3-yard run. The extra point made it 47-0 with 2:41 to play in the third.

„It was a sweet win“, said Epperson, who played great on offense and special teams. „Guys were blocking great for me and I think it’s on me to find the endzone a little more often. I think I was playing a little too tight in the first two games. I was trying too hard to make plays. I loosened up and try to have a good time out there”.

A good time is what Krause also had against the Black Lions. After a bad kickoff return, the Carinthians started their next drive at their own 8. On the very first play from scrimmage Margreiter forced Hernandez into a bad throw. Krause picked off the pass and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown. After Schuster’s kick the score was 54-0 with 2:21 to play in the third.

With Johnson on the sideline, Epperson took over at quarterback for the SWARCO Raiders in the fourth quarter. Schuster replaced Grein at running back. A fumble by the backup runner set up the Carinthians only touchdown. Running back David Burris scored on a 3-yard run. The extra point was good and with 9:32 left in the game the score was 54-7. This also would be the final score.

Next weekend the SWARCO Raiders have a bye-week. On Saturday, May 2, they host the Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna at Tivoli stadium. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. CET (6 a.m. PT).