Austria: Danube Dragons advance to Austrian Bowl final after defeating Telfs Patriots

| American Football | 07/19/2022

The Danube Dragons remained unbeaten this past weekend in the Austrian Football League semifinals after rolling over the Telfs Patriots 31-13 and advancing to their first Austrian Bowl since 2010.

The overwhelming headline coming into this game was Danube Dragon’s signing of Silas Nacita. The former Baylor running back was a dominating force in both Germany and Italy before the pandemic and proved that he has not lost a step since last playing in Europe in 2019.

After three years away from the game, he returned in dominant fashion in the Austrian Football League following the departure of Danube’s star offensive receiver, Cam Lewis.

Nacita arrived in Vienna just a few days before the game against Telfs but was without a doubt their most impactful player, scoring three of the four touchdowns for the Dragons.

The first two scores of the game came with Nacita at wildcat, rushing the ball in from short yardage. But midway through the second quarter, the Patriots’ dangerous duo of quarterback Aaron Ellis and wideout Ravon Johnson sprang into action.

Johnson ate up chunks of yardage with his long frame and ability as a runner to place them in position to get their first score. But this was all the Patriots could muster against the stingy Danube defense however as they harassed and harangued Ellis who finished the game with 249 yards but only two touchdowns.

Dragons quarterback Chad Jeffries was rarely put in a position to force the issue and came away with just six completions and 166 yards. His receiving core was however plagued with a number of dropped passes causing this number to be far lower than it should have been.

The Dragons have steamrolled every opponent they have faced this season, and have now extended their unbeaten record to 11-0.

They will meet the Vienna Vikings in the Austrian Bowl on Saturday July 30. The last time the two met, the Dragons came out on top 57-42. If this scoreline is anything to go by, the final should provide for an exciting Austrian finale.

Daniel Mackenzie is a Press Association graduate who works in journalism and communications in the third sector. Daniel began playing football for the London Warriors and Team Great Britain and has since played across Europe.