In the second to last Friday Night Football matchup in Sweden this year, the undefeated (8-0) Carlstad Crusaders travel to Stockholm to take on the winless Tyresö Royal Crowns (0-8) at Bollmoravallen field.
This is the second meeting of the year between these two teams. Carlstad won the first 50-12.
Carlstad is aiming towards its record eighth title and have handled the rest of the league with ease so far. Meanwhile, the Royal Crowns have suffered through their worst season in many years and are wrapping up what could be deemed a rebuilding year.
Tyresö was stripped of its only win of the season for the use of an ineligible player.
This is the second away game for Carlstad in seven weeks. The last won was against the Orebro Black Knights which Carlstad won handily.
Carlstad quarterback Philip Juhlin tops the league in passing by a wide margin with 2,194 yards passing and 28 touchdowns while only throwing only two interceptions. His leading receiver is Jacob Dahre who also leads the Swedish league with 753 yards in receptions. Crusaders running backs Christian Forsman and Victor Toresson are the fourth and fifth leading rushers. On defense, linebacker Christian Kuylenstjerna is third overall in tackles in Sweden while defensive lineman Olov Flemstrom anchors the best front seven in the country. The Crusaders secondary features Alpha Jollah who makes life miserable for opposing quarterbacks. Although he did not arrive until midway through the season, he has made his presence felt.
Carlstad RB Christian Forsman and Tyrseo LB/RB Aslan Zetterberg Photo: Hans Cullberg
One of the bright spots for the Royal Crowns this season has been the play of linebacker Erik Rauge who is now third in tackling so far. \another player to watch for Tyreso is running back Aslan Zetterberg who has rushed for 375 yards so far this season while also starting on defense.
Quarterback Ted Eriksson has started the last two games with Otso Flinkman gone due to injury. He threw for three touchdowns in the loss last week to the Limhamn Griffins.
Carlstad head coach Tracey Gere:
“Our goal this week is to play solid football. Tyresö has had a hard time this season and it has been a long season. We have some injuries right now, players who are gone and so on. It can be easy to lose focus. Again, the goal is for the opponent to feel both physically and mentally that they have played against the Carlstad Crusaders regardless of the score in the match. Although it does not show in the standings, Tyresö is a physical team. We have to keep this in mind.”
Kickoff is 6:30 pm (12:30 EDT) and the game is being broadcast live on CMore in Sweden (PPV) and shown in a tape delay at 10:20 pm on TV4.
Watch the game live (Pay per View) by clicking here. Click on the button that says “Prova 2 veckor gratis – Try it for 2 weeks for free” . Then fill in your email address, name and password and click Skapa konto, Open account. Add your credit card number. You have two weeks free viewing. After that, if you don’t cancel it costs 99 Swedish kronor, or about $11 per month.