LIVESTREAM Austria: Traun Steelsharks @ Prague Black Panthers, May 8, 15:00 CET (3 pm, 09:00 am ET)
The Prague Black Panthers (3-0) will try to keep their unbeaten record intact Sunday, May 8 when they play host to the Traun Steelsharks (1-2) as the Austrian Football League winds up its fourth round of play.
Prague has opened the AFL season with three straight wins, beating the Mödling Rangers 48-14 and then downing the Salzburg Ducks 17-7. Last week, they had no trouble defeating the Graz Giants, 31-19. The Steelsharks have had a tougher road losing their first two games. They opened with a 16-10 loss to the Danube Dragons and followed that by losing 41-25 to Graz. They finally turned things around last week with a 28-24 victory over the Swarco Raiders.
The Black Panthers have managed to deploy strategy and toughness on both sides of the ball, producing one of the league’s best defenses. They have allowed just 40 points in three games so far. Quarterback Javarian Smith has managed the offense well, averaging almost 33 points a game. Smith has thrown for 604 yards and six touchdowns in the three games and his main targets are Canadian wideout Ben von Jagow who has 19 receptions for 176 yards and two touchdowns while teammate Kamil Roba has 14 catches for 153 yards.
The Steelsharks have struggled this year in their first year in Austria’s top league, but they have turned it around it seems with the win over the Raiders. Their signal caller is veteran John Uribe, a product of Lindenwood University, who is in his fourth season with Traun. He has had an adequate start to the season and has completed 52 of 97 yards for 692 yards and nine touchdowns in the three games. In last week’s win, he stepped it up throwing for 317 yards and four scores. Still, Uribe and the offense will need the defense to step up as well. So far, the Steelsharks have allowed an average of 27 points and 339 yards per game.
