The Vienna Vikings used a strong third quarter to defeat the Danube Dragons 24-16 in the Austrian Football League semifinals this past weekend to advance to the Austrian Bowl for the 13th time since 2010.
In the other semifinal matchup in the AFL, the Prague Black Panthers also relied on a second half surge to beat the Graz Giants 27-20 after trailing 18-13 after two quarters, to reach the Austrian championship game for the very first time..
Vienna Vikings 24 – Danube Dragons 16
In Vienna, the Vikings fell behind early as Danube scored on their first possession after picking off Vienna quarterback Nico Hrouda. Dragons quarterback Alexander Thury marched his team down to the Vienna seven and then punched the ball in himself to give the Dragons a 7-0. Then early in the second Dragons kicker Felix Deutschmann booted a 31 yard field goal to extend the lead to 10-0.
The Vikings finally found the end zone late in the half as running back Kevin Wojta scored from three yards out to narrow the lead to 10-7.
Vienna scored midway through the third period with Hrouda connecting with Nils Keimel for a 15 yard touchdown giving the Vikings the lead for the first time, 14-10.With two minutes left in the quarter, Vienna kicker Kevin Voznyak extended the lead to 17-10 with a 28 yard field goal.
The fourth quarter saw both defenses rise up and the quarterbacks trade interceptions, first Hrouda and immediately after Thury. Vienna capitalized as two plays late, Hrouda hit Maximillion Andre Fine for a 57 yard touchdown increasing the lead to 24-10 with eight minutes left.
Neither team could move the ball consistently later in the fourth until Thury drove the Dragons down to the Vikings five yard line with a minute and a half to go. He found Samuel Imarhiagbe in the end zone to narrow the lead to 24-16, but that was as close as they came.
Prague Black Panthers 27 – Graz Giants 20
Photo: Kunzfeld & Kunzfeld
In Graz, the Giants took an early 3-0 lead after capitalizing on an interception of Prague quarterback Drequan Harris. The Black Panthers answered as Harris marched his team 75 yards in eight plays and took the ball in himself from the one and Prague took a 7-3.
Late in the first, the Giants responded as running back Fabian Pließnig capped an 80 drive with a three yard touchdown giving Graz back the lead, 10-7.
The Black Panthers scored on the next drive with receiver Kamil Robal hauling in a Harris pass. The extra point attempt was blocked, however, and Graz defensive back Devonte Myles returned it all the way for two points to make it a 13-12 game in favor of Prague going into the break.
The Giants grabbed the momentum early in the second half as quarterback Nicolas Visser connected with Julian Kappelari to give Graz an 18-13 lead. They scored on the two-point conversion and the Giants were in the lead 20-13 going into the final stanza.
That’s when Prague took over as Harris hit Jakub Wolesky to tie the game at 20-20. Then, with less than a minute remaining in the game, Prague running back Jakub Mezina scored the game winning touchdown.