ELF: Vienna Vikings dismantle Berlin Thunder to stay undefeated

The Vienna Vikings remained undefeated on Sunday with a dominant 34-9 European League of  Football victory on the road over the Berlin Thunder.

After Berlin opened the game with a punt, the Vikings offense methodically moved down the field and found the end zone on a four yard touchdown pass from Ben Holmes to Daniel Schönet.  The home team would quickly respond as Jakeb Sullivan found Aaron Jackson for a 10 yard touchdown pass on their ensuing drive early in the second quarter.  But Vienna struck again when Holmes linked up with Noah Touré for a 10 yard touchdown connection.  Berlin went three-and-out before Holmes led his offense on another productive drive, though this one ended with a 38 yard field goal from Dennis Tasic.  This brought the score to 17-6 heading into halftime.

Vienna got the ball after halftime and punted it away, and Berlin marched down the field on their ensuing possession.  It concluded with a 29 field goal from Jonas Schenderlein, cutting the deficit to 17-9.  But the rest of the game would be a one-sided affair in favor of the visitors.  The Vikings offense soon got back on the scoreboard with a short rushing touchdown from Karri Parjarinen.  In the fourth quarter, Tasic drilled another field goal to push the lead to 27-9, and Holmes later put the cherry on top of the victory with a 1 yard passing touchdown to Reece Horn.  Berlin could not get much going in the second half, and Vienna cruised to a 34-9 victory.

This game was controlled from start to finish by the Vikings, as they outgained their opponents 415-238.  With 253 passing yards and 162 rushing yards, it was a balanced effort by Vienna, who proved once again that they can beat you in a number of ways. 

With the victory, Vienna has already clinched the ELF East title, and will have home field advantage in their first playoff game.  Their last three games are against teams with a total of three wins between them, so they should be in line to finish the regular season undefeated for the second year in a row.

The Thunder fell to 4-5 with the loss and things are looking bleak for them.  They are still in the playoff hunt, but with games against the mighty Paris Musketeers and Rhein Fire on the horizon, they look like they’ll end up with a losing record.