For the second year in a row, the Danube Dragons and Vienna Vikings will meet to decide the Austrian title as Austrian Bowl XXXVIII kicks off Saturday at NV Arena in St. Pölten.
The Dragons defeated Vienna 51-29 in the 2022 championship game while in the 2023 regular season, the teams split the series. The Vikings won the first game 24-13 at their home stadium in Vienna while Danube won the rematch on their home turf 14-10 to finish the regular season. This year the Austrian Bowl features two Austrian quarterbacks in veteran Alex Thury and young Michael Szabo.
For the Danube Dragons veteran Alexander Thury, also quarterback of Team Austria leads them onto the field as they look to defend their title. Thury will look to target former ELF and GFL receiver Mario Flores and Austrian talented Lorenz Laggner, while Mattias Locker will take most of the carries out of the backfield.
Watch the game here – Livestream Austrian Bowl XXXVIII: Danube Dragons @ Vienna Vikings, July 29, 19:00 CET (7 pm, 1 pm EDT)
On defense head coach Fred Armstrong and defensive coordinator Daniel Docal boast the AFL’s top defensive unit allowing only 9 touchdowns in 10 regular season games while giving up a league-low 143 yards a game. Defensive tackle Destiny Ehizogie Idiahi and Julian Meidl are two leaguers on the Dragons defnse looking to shut down the Viking’s potent running game.
For the Vikings, 18-year-old Michael Szabo replaces injured starter Nico Hrouda as the quarterback casting some doubt on the Viking’s chances of pulling off the upset. However the Viking’s offensive identity not rely on the passing game, as they had the top rushing attack in the league, averaging 172 yards a game on the ground. Vikings running back Devontae Jordan was the league-leading rusher averaging video game like 8.9 yards a carry.
On defense, the Vikings have two elite pass rushers to look for as well as Marcel Kovarik and Max Grunsteidl are the league two top sack leaders brining in 22 sacks combined in only 10 games. If the Vikings can get the Thury and keep the chains moving on the ground they could knock off the defending champion Dragons.