Vienna Vikings are ELF Champions
The Vienna Vikings beat the Hamburg Sea Devils 27 to 15 and become 2022 Champions of the ELF happening to the Frankfurt Galaxy.
The Vikings start strong and at the first possession they go into Touchdown with a reception from Adrià Botella-Moreno on a pass from Kimi Linnainmaa, who received on the right wing from Erdmann. The reaction from Hamburg does not produce results, but even the Vikings then limit themselves to a three & out. The subsequent possession of the Sea Devils leads to the TD scored by Lamarr Jordan on a 33-yard pass by Salieu Ceesay. Eric Schlomm’s transformation blocked and it goes on 7-6. At the change of field the oval is in the hands of the Vikings who thanks to a reception by Kimi Linnainmaa from 23 yards enters the Hanseatic red zone where Exavier Edwards finalizes with two short runs for the 14-6. The rest of the second period is the prerogative of the two defenses until the last minute, in which the Vikings put another three points on the scoreboard thanks to a Dennis Tasic FG.
The first drive of the third period is the best for Glenn Toonga, who manages to get up to 5 am in Vienna with many short runs, but here the Vikings defense resists and forces the Sea Devils to settle for Schlomm’s kick. On 17-9 Vienna begins to try ball control relying on the reach of the Wegan brothers, but the decisive game is a pass for Linnainmaa for 48 yards up to 12 in Hamburg. From there after a ride for Mike Breuler, the last yard is by Florian Wegan for the 24-9 which practically closes the game. From this moment to the end we record two more FGs from Schlomm and the last from Tasic who sets the score at 27-15.
Comment
Vienna Vikings succeed Frankfurt Galaxy and become ELF Champions at the end of a match dominated, as expected, by defenses and by virtue of greater versatility and better passing game. For the Sea Devils it is the second defeat in the final at the end of another exciting season. It must be said immediately that the Vikings deserved the victory, having led the whole game in an advantage, albeit small, and having been able to control the comeback attempts of the Hanseatics.
There is no doubt among the keys to the victory of the Viennese the ability to stop Glenn Toonga, a man of 120 yards per game, who on Sunday made a net gain of only 36 yards. It is true that even the Vikings’ racing game was held back, as was to be expected, by the Hamburg defense and in fact produced a total of only 92 yards of which only 58 was the prerogative of the duo Florian & Anton Wegan. Stop the ball-carriers of both teams, the difference in attack was the greater aptitude of the Viennese for aerial play and above all the great accuracy of Jackson Erdmann who scored 253 yards with 80% of sets. The yellow-purple QB has contacted the collaboration on its receivers, all very reliable, with the usual Jordan Bouah 45 yards with 5 catches and Michael Breuler 55 yards in due time, but above all Finnish Kimi Linnainmaa, later elected MVP of the matchseven receptions for 155 yards plus a spectacular 9-yard TD pass that allowed TE Adrià Botella Moreno to score the “former’s TD” to use a football expression.
And the defenses? Both teams confirmed that they have the best defenses in the league. The mere fact of having denied the opponents the option of the running game demonstrates the goodness of the two structures. The Sea Devils have, as usual, practiced their aggressive pass-rush by landing Erdmann three times, but apart from the three sacks, they were validly countered by the excellent offensive line of the Vikings which explains the percentage of complete of the Viennese QB . The performances of the two LBs Tim Hänni and Giovanni Nanguy were very good, as well as the farewell step of Kaseem Edebali, who announced his retirement from competitive activity; We’ll miss him! Among the Vikings he dominated Thomas Schnurrer, 14 tackles, a sack in collaboration with F Sudi, and a coated fumble. Very well the safety Exavier Edwards who confirmed his protean talent with an interception, a defense breakup in defense, but also with a TD scored on the run and 125 yards gained with the kick-off returns.
A game, as expected, with few scoring, but equally fun and exciting, especially for those who play a good defensive game. The second season of the ELF ends successfully and we are already looking forward to the 2023 edition which, with the acquisition of the Paris and Prague franchiseswill bring the field of contenders representing ten nations to 18.