AFL Week 6
VIKINGS AT PANTHERS
Dacia Vikings QB #8 Austin Herink had his AFL & Vikings debut vs. the Prague Black Panthers on March 24th, when he delivered impressive stats: 23-15-0 (Att-Cmp-Int), 227 Passing Yards, 2 TDs, 137.1 QBR NFL. Photo (c) Hannes Jirgal
Dacia Vikings face Black Panthers for showdown in Prague
The Dacia Vienna Vikings start the 2nd half of the regular season with the same opponent they faced beginning the AFL 2019 season: the Prague Black Panthers. In the first match-up this year the Vikings managed to get a solid 28:7 win over the guests from the Czech Republic, although back then Vikings playmaker, QB #8 Austin Herink, only had 4 practices with the team and the back then second US-Import, DB Dustin Rivas, was not playing due to an injury.
Now the Men In Purple travel Sunday early morning per bus to the Golden City ambitious and determined to get this important second win over the Panthers. Currently both teams have a 3-2 record; only due to the score in the direct matchups the Vikings are ranked third and the Black Panthers are number five in the ranking. Needless to say, it will be a tough battle at the stadium Prosek on Sunday when the week 6 kicks off for the Vikings at 3 pm CET.
Vikings WR #4 Bernhard Seikovits had an impressive game versus the Black Panthers on March 24 with 5 Catches for 92 Yards and 2 Touchdowns. Photo (c) Hannes Jirgal
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„We need to be more consistent.“ (Vikings OC Max Kössler)
Prior to the game in Prague, Dacia Vikings Offensive Coordinator Max Kössler is aware how important it would be to return to Vienna with a victory in the pocket: "With a win we would make one step closer to our season's goal which is to be back on top. Our approach is to take one game at a time, so all our focus is now on the Panthers. The bye-week was essential for us to recharge our batteries, especially because we had no time off since the season kicked off. We took a long minute to reflect on the first half of the regular season, to emphasize on the learning moments and go from there. Now it is our ambition to execute our plays, to act as flawless as possible on all three sides of the ball and to step up our game week by week. I know that this Vikings team got incredible potential which was shown partly in the past games, especially in the international plays. What we need now is consistency."
Plenty of crucial changes happened within the Black Panthers coaching staff over the past 10 days. Photo (c) Hannes Jirgal
Prague: New HC, new OC and the starting QB is back on the field
Plenty of crucial changes happened within the Black Panthers coaching staff over the past ten days: Surprisingly, the club announced that they part ways with the head coach Dan Levy, the interims HC is now Petr Vitovec. Along with the new head coach the Panthers also presented a new Offensive coordinator. The position is now taken by Emmanuel Lewis who played on the Quarterback position during the weeks the American QB D. Potts was injured. “I expect a tough game against the Vikings, they are a well coached organization. We are going to have to bring our A game this Sunday." Lewis who started the 2019 season as OC with the Ingolstadt Dukes is confident that taking over the OC duties in Prague midseason is a challenge he can easily manage. "I've been through tougher situations in my life, i say that humbly but i think our coaching staff will be able to manage."
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Prague's playmaker Dylan Potts is now with his third AFL team in three years. After the Danube Dragons (2017) and the SonicWall Rangers Mödling (2018) he currently leads the Black Panthers' offense. A hamstring issue made him sit out a few weeks but he is now back on the field.
Vikings DL #1 Leon Balogh and the rest of the Vikings Defense gave Dylan Potts and his offense a hard day. Balogh finished the game in AFL week1 with 5.5 Tackles, 4.5/13 TFL/YDS and 1 Sack. Photo (c) Hannes Jirgal
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Vikings Defense dominated the Prague offense in the first match-up
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Vikings DL #1 Leon Balogh and the rest of the Vikings Defense gave Panthers QB Dylan Potts and his offense a more than hard day. He only completed four of eleven attempts for 22 yards. His usually dangerous runs remained pointless as well. At the end of the day the Dacia Vikings defense - with strong individual numbers by #1 Leon Balogh, DB #32 Luis Horvath, LB #40 Lucky Ogbevoen und LB #45 Ugo Uwakwe - held the Panthers by only 7 points.
This is even more impressive when we take a look at the current team statistics in the AFL: The Black Panthers have an average of 35.4 points per game. The team form the Czech Republic leads the Austrian Football League in the Rushing offense category with 1207 Yards (241.4 per game) and 13 Rushing Touchdowns. Panthers US-Import and Runningback Herbert Gamboa is also Leading Rusher of the AFL with 7 Touchdowns and a total of 625 Yards.
The Vikings certainly have to focus on the Panther's ground game and have to bring a dominating defensive performance in order to get this win in Prague on Sunday.
Starting Line-Ups vs. Prague will be published Sunday noon
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Early Sunday morning the Dacia Vikings will leave Vienna by bus. The arrival at the Prosek stadium is scheduled for noon so that there is enough time to acclimate and get the legs stretched after a 5 hours bus drive. Kickoff at Prosek stadium is at 3 pm CET – Visit the Gameday-website of the AFBÖ to follow the game via live-ticker powered by hockeydata.
The Dacia Vikings Offense and Defense Starting Lineups as well as a Gameday Update with the latest news about the team will be published by the Vikings on their social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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Key Facts
Prague Black Panthers vs. Dacia Vienna Vikings
Sunday, 19th of Mai 2019
Kickoff 3 pm CET
Stadion Prosek, Lovosická 559, Prag
Live-ticker available on gameday.football.at
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Text: Kiki Klepsch
Photos (c) Hannes Jirgal