The first place and unbeaten Carlstad Crusaders will play host to the fourth place Oslo Vikings, Saturday, June 29 in the first game of the Swedish Superserien Semifinals.
The Crusaders have not played a game in over a month after finishing the regular season with a 7-0 record, earning a bye into the post season. The Vikings, on the other hand, defeated the Örebro Black Knights 41-28 in the quarterfinals which was their fourth victory in a row.
In the only meeting between the two teams in 2024, Carlstad defeated the Vikings 41-6 in Karlstad. But that was on April 27. The Vikings are a different team now. After opening the season with four consecutive losses, they have turned things around winning their last four but also doing so in convincing fashion. In the playoff win over the Black Knights, their ground game was the highlight. They rushed for 111 yards against the best rush defense in the league. Running back William Sewell was tough to bring down rushing for 88 yards and three touchdowns and will definitely test the Crusaders front seven today. Rune Nilsen was the Vikings leading rusher during the regular season but saw very little action in the quarterfinal win.
Watch live PPV. Oslo Vikings @ Carlstad Crusaders, June 29, 17:00 CET (5 pm, 11 am EDT)
Oslo quarterback CJ Fowler threw for 213 yards and two touchdowns in that win with Frederik Fjeldseth his favorite target catching seven passes for 113 yards and both of those passing touchdowns. Matthew Snawder was Oslo’s leading receiver during the regular season with 22 receptions for 495 yards and eight scores.
The Crusaders are coming off their most impressive regular season perhaps since 2018 when they also entered the playoffs undefeated and reached the final.
They finished with the top offense scoring an average of 38 points a game while averaging 389.4 yards a game. Quarterback Slade Jarman led the league throwing for 1,956 yards and 24 touchdowns with his key receiver being Willem Van Compernolle who hauled in 44 passes for 540 yards and nine touchdowns.
Crusaders running back Young Kennedy was the second leading rusher in the Superserien with 65 carries for 479 yards and five touchdowns. He will be tough again today.
Carlstad had by far the best defense in the league giving up an average of just nine point a contest.
The Crusaders are playing at home and even though Oslo has definitely got the momentum going into this game, Carlstad will be very difficult to beat.