ELF: Raiders Tirol knock off previously undefeated Stuttgart Surge in thriller

The Raiders Tirol pulled off a stunner in European League of Football action on Sunday, upsetting the previously undefeated Stuttgart Surge on the road in a 45-42 thriller.

The Raiders won the toss and kicked off, but looked like they weren’t ready for gametime as Yannick Mayr of the Surge returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown.  The Raiders then went three and out, but got back in the game when Vincent Müller intercepted Surge quarterback Reilly Hennessey. On the next play, Lukas Haslwanter ran it in for a touchdown from 7 yards out to tie the score.  Soon after, Hennessey was picked off for the second time in as many drives, this time by Franz Korger.  But Tirol could not fully capitalize, as they had to settle for a field goal. Hennessey then settled back down and led his team down the field and into the end zone on a touchdown pass to Jan PIetsch.  

Stuttgart extended their lead early in the second quarter with a touchdown rush from Hennessey.  The Raiders punted, and on the first play of the Stuttgart drive, Hennessey found Mayr for an 84 yard gain, though Mayr was tackled at the one yard line.  But Hennessey ran it in again as the Surge took a 28-10 lead.  Tirol later got back on the board with a touchdown pass from quarterback N’Kosi Perry to receiver Cinque Sweeting, and they followed that up with a two point conversion.  After a Stuttgart fumble on their next possession, Tirol tacked on a field goal before halftime, and went into the break down 21-28.

The visitors struck early in the third quarter, as Perry found Haslwanter for a 37 yard touchdown on the second play of the half to tie the score.  But Stuttgart responded, as Hennessey and Pietsch connected for their second touchdown of the game.  Tirol got the ball back and put together a methodical drive.  They had to settle for a field goal, but Stuttgart was called for an illegal formation penalty, giving the Raiders the first down.  Perry ran for a touchdown on the next play to tie the score at 35.

After a series of punts, the Raiders took the lead early in the final frame on a field goal from Darragh Leader.  But Hennessey and the Surge offense took possession and easily moved into Raiders territory and capped off their drive with a 28 yard touchdown pass to Darrell Stewart Jr.  Tirol punted, and Stuttgart had a chance to seal the game with a score with mere minutes on the clock.  But the Raiders defense got the stop and made Stuttgart punt.  

The Raiders took over with four minutes on the clock and made some progress before being faced with 4th and 9.  But Perry found Philipp Haun for the first down, keeping the drive alive.  Two plays later, Perry hit tight end Richard Weber for an 18 yard touchdown pass, giving the Raiders a 45-42 lead with a minute left.  The Surge made some progress on their drive and set up a 55 yard field goal attempt for Lenny Krieg.  But Devin Taylor of the Raiders blocked the kick, clinching the game for the visitors.

Not only was this one of the best games of the 2024 European League of Football season, it was a massive win for the Raiders’ playoff hopes.  Now at 7-3, they are tied in the standings with the Munich Ravens and Madrid Bravos, so a loss in this game would have put them behind in the race for the final wild card spots.  Next week, they have an easy game against the Milano Seamen before a huge showdown in the final week of the regular season against Munich.  Stuttgart has essentially a free win next week against Barcelona before finishing against the Helvetic Mercenaries.