AFL Round 4
VIKINGS at Giants
Graz, here we come!
Dacia Vikings are ready for El Classico on Easter Monday
After two impressive victories - over the Wienerwald Amstetten Thunder on April 7 in the AFL (61:0) and over the Triangle Razorbacks on April 14 in the ECTC (60:0) - the Dacia Vienna Vikings are travelling south on Easter Monday April 22 to face the Projekt Spielberg Graz Giants in week 4 of the Austrian Football League. The rivalry between the Vikings and the Giants on the field has been going on for decades, no wonder the match-up between these two teams is called ‚El Classico ‘.
Monday will be the 76th time the Vikings play the Giants in the history of the Austrian Football League. The game is the AFL Game Of The Week, being broadcasted and streamed live by ORF Sport Plus (https://tvthek.orf.at/live). Kickoff in Stadium Eggenberg is at 4 pm, coverage starts at 3:50 pm CET. Prior to the game the secret will be lifted which team won more often so far.
“Both upcoming games will be physical and challenging!” (Vikings HC Calaycay)
“Two tough away games are ahead of us. Within five days, we travel first to Graz by bus to face the Giants; only four days later we will fly to Barcelona to match up with the Badalona Dracs on Saturday April 27 in our second ECTC divisional round game. Both games will be physical and challenging. And we have to be capable of switching our focus and preparation back and forth between the Austrian and the European league we are competing in this season. Now our entire attention is given to the Giants. There is always a special rivalry in the air when we play them. After a bye week, Graz will be well rested and well prepared, but we are ready to face this challenge,” says Dacia Vikings Head Coach Chris Calaycay who can be satisfied with the performances his team showed in the past weeks. The defense managed to accomplish two shutouts in a row, while the explosive offense of the men in purple scored 121 points in the past two games. Vikings Defensive Back #16 Maximilian Zangl added: “We have to stay disciplined and aggressive. The Giants got a good Quarterback and fast receivers, so my DB unit has to execute fast and flawless. We have to bring our best technique.”
Featured Dacia Vikings Player Of The Week
RB #20 Islaam Amadu
Part of the explosive Dacia Vikings offense is running back Islaam Amadu. The 28-year-old Viennese with roots in Ghana scored six touchdowns in the past two games. Against the Thunder, he put 145 rushing yards and 2 TDs in the books. In the ECTC game versus the Razorbacks he was unstoppable and scored four times in the 1stQuarter.
“We wanted to establish an effective run gamein the matchup versus Amstetten which we accomplished although I was not entirely satisfied with my performance. Frankly, I was a little bit surprised that our ground game was functioning so well in the game against the Razorbacks. But I want to give credit to my entire unit as well as to our Offensive Line that did an exceptional job the past weeks,” Amadu praises his strong O-Line and his unit team mates. “It is up to us to continue executing effectively within the next weeks as well. We can’t and won’t rely on the current quality of our run game. We have to take it, build from there and raise the standard – just like Coach Hertel preaches to us in every practice,” adds the RB who puts 213 pounds on the weight.
2016, Islaam Amadu was the AFL leading rusher. In 2017 he quitted football for an entire year to focus on finishing his studies in engineering. Now he is back with the Dacia Vikings and proofed impressively that he hasn’t lost his dangerous explosiveness.
Coach Alex Hertel took over the Vikings running back unit in 2019 and is eager to work with Amadu, Marko Gagic, Guilano Moreno and Roman Simmel intensively. “Isi is used to act like a power RB who gains the secure yards after the line of scrimmage. But there is so much more potential within him – To exploit his maximum potential is what we are working on,” describes Coach Hertel his player and continues to talk about the RB practices in general: “We work on coming out as winners in these one on one situations. I want them to realize that running backs are playmakers who are capable of accomplishing big plays in game defining moments.”
Key Facts
Projekt Spielberg Graz Giants vs. Dacia Vienna Vikings
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Monday, 22ndApril 2019
Kickoff: 4 pm CET
Stadium Graz Eggenberg
ORF Sport Plus live broadcasts and streams the game live (https://tvthek.orf.at/live)
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Text: Kiki Klepsch
Photos: Hannes Jirgal