The French league takes a mid-season break for international competition this weekend, and Flash de la Courneuve will play host to the first BIG6 Europe tournament game.
After two marathon weekends of back-to-back Saturday/Sunday games, the Swarco Raiders from Austria are traveling to Paris for international American football competition. The teams have met twice before, but the last time was in 2009.
The last time these two teams met was in the 2009 Eurobowl final in Innsbruck, Austria where the Raiders overcame the Flash 30-19.
The Flash (3-4) themselves are 9-time French national champions, but have already suffered four defeats to French foes this season, three in their last three matches. The Raiders (4-2) have won three straight between matches in their BATTLE4TIROL invitational (Stuttgart Scorpions, Dusseldorf Panthers) and their win against Austria league foe the Graz Giants.
In only it’s second season, the BIG6 is a new competition. Approved by the IFAF Europe and created by the American Football Verband Deutschland (AFVD) & American Football Bund Österreich (AFBÖ), the German & Austrian American football federations, the tournament was created to meet the needs of a number of European clubs who wanted high-level meetings outside the competition of national championships.
Historically, the finalists meet in the Eurobowl where a champion is crowned. Germany’s Berlin Adler were the inaugural champs last season, overcoming a field of six clubs that were divided into two groups.
La Courneuve finds themselves in the company of two old and formidable European powerhouses, the Swarco Raiders from Innsbruck, Austria and New Yorker Lions from Braunschweig, Germany.
These two clubs have combined for in 8 Eurobowl appearances and 5 Eurobowl titles. In other words, the Flash will be definite underdogs when they face off against these two European American football orges.
Key Players
#25 David Oku (RB, Swarco Raiders): In his two appearances in the BATTLE4TIROL David Oku had 15 runs for 183 yards and a touchdown. He also caught 8 passes for 48 yards. He also scored a 82-yard punt return touchdown against Stuttgart.
#6 Kyle Callahan (WR, Swarco Raiders): Kyle Callahan was one of the few players to have played all four games of the marathon weekends. In the BATTLE4TIROL he played as a wide receiver and caught a total of 11 balls for 189 yards and 4 touchdowns. In the AFL, he played two games as a quarterback and went 33 of 59 passes for 369 yards with two touchdowns and an interception on. He’s caught 19 passes for 152 yards and 2 touchdowns.
#20 Patrick Pilger (DB, Swarco Raiders): Pilger has quickly established himself in his first season as a solid starter. In the BATTLE4TIROL he racked up 13.5 tackles (12 solo) and a tackle for loss. In the AFL, he leads his team with 12.5 tackles (11 solo) a sack and 2 interceptions. This week he was also named as “AFL Player of the Week.”
#12 Paul Durand (QB, Flash de La Courneuve): Flash relies on a local French quarterback. Paul Durand’s has national team credentials and has already won a championship with Amiens in France. This season he’s gone 107 of 193 passes for 1,622 yards with 16 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He also had 44 rushes for 70 yards.
#6 Marcus Shaw (RB, Flash de la Courneuve): From 2010-2013 Shaw played at the University of South Florida and appeared in 38 games (13 starts). He rushed 239 times for 1,156 yards and 6 touchdowns. He also caught 26 balls for 202 yards and returned 18 kickoffs for 458 yards. With the Flash, he’s rushed 79 times for 540 yards and 5 touchdowns and caught 11 balls for 170 yards.
#22 Mickael Doukouré (WR, Flash de la Courneuve): One of the many talents of their own developmental program is Flash wide receiver Mickael Doukouré. He leads his team with 34 catches for 521 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Match Info
Saturday, April 18th, kick-off at 6p CET
Stade Marville
Departmental Park Sports Marville
51 Avenue Roger Salengro
93120 La Courneuve.
Entrance: €5 per person
Ticket sales will be on site the day of the game.
LIVE STREAM: https://flash.oniryk.com/
BIG6: https://bigsix.eu/2015/01/20/