Friday night football continues this time in Uppsala, Sweden in the Swedish Superserien. The defending champion Stockholm Mean Machines visit the Uppsala 86ers.
This is only the second game of the season for both teams as they are trying to find their identities after an all too long and strange offseason.
The Mean Machines enter week 2 1-0 after an exciting win against the Carlstad Crudsaders. Stockholm’s offense totaled only 227 yards on the day. German quarterback Jan Weinreich threw for 151 yards and two crucial touchdowns in the win. Veteran running back Timmy Goransson ran for 66 yards on the ground to help the Mean Machines chew the clock and get the win. Look for American quarterback Timothy Morovick to be in the lineup this week against Uppsala. Morovick is a true dual threat quarterback that has had a lot of success in different European leagues. Mean Machines offensive lineman Keanu Ebanks had some thoughts on the matchup:
“Uppsala are a solid team coming off a tough loss. We have to get a good push on the defensive line and linebackers. We have to make sure we execute in the passing game, better than we did last week. The defense has to play like it did last week and we should come away with a win.”
Stockholm Mean Machines @ Uppsala 86ers, Aug. 28, 18:30 CET (12:30 ET)
Defensively, the Mean Machines shutdown the Crusaders offense until the 4th quarter. German linebacker Leon Littfinski was the star on defense racking up 6.5 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, and an interception returned 50 yards for a touchdown. Look for their defense and Littfinski to play well again against an Uppsala team trying to find their offensive identity.
For the Uppsala 86ers, they lost a tough game 21-7 last week to the Örebro Black Knights. The 86ers used a combination of players on offense but weren’t able to click gaining only 80 total yards of offense on the day. the 86ers relied heavily on two of their best athletes Josh Akena and Oscar Nevermann. Both players were asked to play on offense, defense, and even special teams. Nevermann ran the ball, threw seven passes, punted, and made a tackle for a loss showing remarkable versatility and conditioning. Not to be outdone Akena played running back and was also the team leading tackler making 7 stops on the day. Akena had some thoughts on the upcoming matchup against Stockholm:
“What we need on offense is for the offensive line to step up and show how dominant we can be, and the rest will fall into place.”
Friday night’s matchup will feature some of the best athletes in Sweden playing against each other. Look for the 86ers to run the ball and try to control the clock and shorten the game against a very talented Stockholm squad.
Watch the game live here. Stockholm Mean Machines @ Uppsala 86ers, Aug. 28, 18:30 CET (12:30 ET)
Click to enlarge images
Uppsala 86ers roster
Stockholm Mean Machines roster
