As the Swarco Raiders make final preparations for Austrian Bowl XXXV Saturday, July 27, where they will face their chief rivals, the Dacia Vienna Vikings for the eighth time since 2010, Raiders wide receiver Patrick Donahue gives his thoughts on the game.
Donahue is a veteran of championship games. He was an important factor in the Raiders 2018 Austrian championship. He also was a member of the Schwabisch Hall Unicorns in 2015 and 2016 in the German Football League appearing in the German Bowl both years. He offers his views on all of this and much more.
AFI: You are getting ready to play in your second straight Austrian Bowl. Can you compare this year’s team to last year?
Donahue: Yes this will my my second straight Austrian bowl as a player but the teams tenth straight! That just speaks volumes on the Raiders historically being able to practice and prepare at a high level year in and year out. If I were to compare this year’s team to last year’s team I’d say we are more fluid on offense than last years already talented squad and more stubborn on defense than last year’s team. But the difference is in our young players that have gained experience during last season. Just to throw a few names out there like Marco Schneider, Nico Winterle, Nico Melcher who is a Sack Machine, Alexander Nitzlnader just to name a few. these are guys that have increased roles on the team in all three phases of the game.
AFI: In last year’s game, you had a great day with 160 yards receiving and a touchdown. You were a key in the first game against them this season. What are your thoughts about tomorrow?
Donahue: The only stat I worry about is us scoring more points than our opponent , but nonetheless I was thankful I was put in positions to help our team get the victory. Vienna has a very impressive coaching staff and what their coaching staff does extremely well is give multiple fronts and coverages in an attempt to slow us down.
Photo: Swarco Raiders
AFI: You put a lot of pressure on defensive secondaries. Does that help your other receivers?
Donahue: Sean Shelton is one heck of a QB and we have the best offensive line in Europe. Those two things right there are a secondaries nightmare. Anytime you are able to trust your O-line and Your QB , it gives you a sense of confidence. Confidence to know that we can score on any play at any given moment. Secondaries in the AFL attempt to cheat to one side or the other or try to double cover and we are completely fine with that because we are always prepared.
AFI: You have developed a good chemistry with your quarterback Sean Shelton. How much of a difference can that make in a big game like this?
Donahue: The chemistry that Sean and I have is second to none. We are consistently communicating. For us a game is much slower than our actual practice so when we are out there our reads or so crystal clear and I can feel where Sean will be expecting me even if it’s a broken play.
AFI: You have played in German championships and Austrian. When it comes to a game of this magnitude, is there any real difference?
Donahue: I’ve been fortunate to be apart of two German Bowls and this will be my second Austrian Bowl. I can say that the only difference are the weather conditions. The Austrian bowl is in July and the weather isn’t too bad. But the German Bowl is in October when the weather is not ideal, and that makes for terrible field conditions and sloppy games.
AFI: You are playing a team you have beaten three times this year. Does that make any difference tomorrow?
Donahue: Whether we have beaten this team or not is irrelevant. The most important game is the next game, we as a team do not dwell on losses nor do we on wins. It’s an onto the next mentality because that’s what we do. We Focus and Finish.
AFI: And anything else you would like to say!
Donahue: I would like to take this time to Wish my Mother Diane, a Happy Birthday on this coming July 30th I love you with all my heart. I’d like to wish my sister Trisha a speedy recovery and I love you. To my brother Derrill We got this! ILY. To my dad and all my brothers & sisters I love Y’all! To my nieces and nephews , cousins I love y’all dearly. To my daughter Maya you are daddy’s pride and joy ILY ! And to all my family enjoying Lake Havasu without me I love y’all too and don’t hit the cha cha slide without me! I miss y’all every day!