Stockholm Mean Machines earn the second straight win, defeating Tyresö Royal Crowns
Stockholm Mean Machines RB Oliver Stedt rushed for 168 yards and 2 TDs in win over Tyresö Royal Crowns Photo: Stefan Akander
The Stockholm Mean Machines turned to run back Oliwer Stedt on Wednesday night Stockholm in a rare mid-week Swedish Super Series the game, and the young athlete responded and made two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to break up a 20-20 draw and give Mean Machines their second straight win to start the season.
Stedt was on fire this night, especially late in the game, and rushed after 168 off Stockholm 190 yards on the ground and 160 of it in the second half. Quarterback Mark Pappas completed 12 of 23 passes on 167 yards and three touchdowns with Matt Retzlaff taking half of those passes, six on 88 yards and two points. Omar Fall took four passes on 30 yards and a touchdown.
For Tyresö, the offensive stopped in the fourth quarter when they needed it most, unable to move the ball beyond the 32-yard line. At night, quarterback Philip Juhlin threw just 45 yards on 3 of 10 passes as it was Royal crowns a hasty attack that kept them in the game. Running back Emil Knutsson rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown while teammate Carl Lundberg carried the ball 11 times for 65 yards and another point. Juhlin rushed for 50 yards on 12 carries but was fired twice.
Still it was Royal crowns who opened the match promising when only two minutes into the match, linebacker Malcolm Engström recovered a blocked point on Stockholm 22-yard line and rumbled into the goal zone to give his team an early 7-0 lead.
Then Pappas went to work and designed a five-yard, 64-yard drive, which included a 38-yard pass to Retzlaff, and finished it off with a five-yard touchdown pass to Omar Fall, to level the score at 7- 7.
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Stockholm WR Matt Retzlaff makes one of his two touchdown catches Photo: Stefan Akander
Four minutes later, Juhlin responded and marched Royal crowns from its own 19-yard line down to Stockholm 31. Knutsson then found a seam and broke free to make a green light. The six-game, 81-yard drive did not include a single passing game Tyresö Offensive coordinator Phil Juhlin simply relied on his offensive line and the legs of Knutsson, Lundberg as well as his own.
Dad answered, shuffled his games and created his own scoring drive, took six games, moved from his own 35-yard line down to Tiresös eight yards line. He then connected to Retzlaff to equalize again, this time at 14-14.
Despite a return of 45 yards from Dovydas Koncevicius, Juhlin could not get Royal crowns offense moves and turned the ball on falls at Stockholm 36-yard line. Pappas beat Retzlaff for a win of 22 yards and four games later Retzlaff found again, this time for a reception of six yards, which gave Mean Machines a lead of 20-14 with six and a half minutes left of the first half.
Juhlin then drove a beautiful 13-yard, 65-yard drive and ate up the entire 6:38. The only problem is that it stopped a game too early, which left Royal crowns stranded on Stockholm a yard line when time ran out.
The Tyresö the defense did its part to open the second half and stop Stockholm on the 44-yard line, but not before Stedt had started to show his true form and rushed twice at 31 yards. It was a message of what was to come.
On the next run, Juhlin and it Tyresö crime made no mistake. Again, relying mostly on the ground play, they marched 90 yards in just over five minutes. With Lundberg and Knutsson carrying most of the load Royal crowns bullied himself down to Stockholm 12-yard line. Knutsson then tunneled in to equalize again, 20-20.
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Tyresö QB Phil Juhlin rushed for 50 yards Photo: Stefan Akander
That’s when Stedt really started to find his form. On the next Stockholm driving, he carried the ball in six of the 13 games that rushed on a total of 44 yards. Even though the run ended with a missed field goal attempt from the eight-yard line, Stedt still had more to deliver.
With Tyresö offense unable to move the ball, the Mean Machines got the ball back on his own 41. Dad simply handed out to Stedt twice in a row and the back made a 29-yard touchdown to give Stockholm a lead of 27-20 with six minutes left of the match.
After, Mean Machines the defense shut down Juhlin and company the rest of the way while Pappas continued to give the ball to Stedt for nine of the next 12 Stockholm pieces. With less than a minute left, Stedt scored again from eight yards, which resulted Mean Machines victory by 34-20.
With the win, Stockholm takes the early lead in the position and occupies the sole possession of first place in the league Superserien. The league continues Easter Day as it is Carlstad Crusaders opens its 2022 season on its way to Örebro Black Knights.