The SWARCO Raiders Tirol turned back a determined British London Warriors squad 35-12 in the fourth and final duel of the BATTLE4TIROL. An enthusiastic crowd at Tivoli Stadium in Innsbruck braved the heavy rain which slowly dissipated as the game wore on and watched as the speed of the Raiders was too much for the Warriors.
Swarco running back David Oku was outstanding in the win picking up 138 yards on 11 carries while scoring two touchdowns. He also picked up another touchdown on a 15 yard pass from quarterback Sean Shelton. His counterpart for London, Dwayne Watson, is a true power runner and proved it on this night as he constantly pounded off tackle and into the heart of the Raiders defense.
Although the Warriors opened up the scoring as Ian Jaquet kicked a 40 yard field goal in the first quarter following a solid 50 yard drive by the London offense to open the game, the Raiders responded with two touchdowns in the period to take a 14-3 lead.
In the second, Watson again led the charge for the Londoners as they hammered their way down into Swarco’s red zone but had to settle for a 23 yard field goal after quarterback Bradley Thompson bobbled the ball losing 15 yards in the process.
With a 21-3 halftime lead, Oku opened the third quarter with a 50 yard kickoff return and added a 27 yard run to bring the Raiders deep into Warriors territory. Running back André Fabien capped the drive off with a one yard touchdown run extending the lead to 28-6. Oku’s third touchdown of the night on a wing pass from Shelton gave Swarco a 35-6 lead in the fourth quarter.
The Warriors managed to recover a Swarco fumble on the Raiders 19 yard line and capitalized with a 19 yard Thompson to Jacquet touchdown pass late in the contest to make the final score 35-12.
Swarco Raiders head coach Shuan Fatah:
“I am proud of how we played today. We showed that we can beat a tough, very physical team like the Warriors. This is a good tune up for the Austrian playoffs coming up.”
Game MVP for the Raiders was, fittingly, the entire offensive line, while kicker/receiver Ian Jacquet was picked as the Warriors MVP after accounting for all of the team’s 12 points.