Sweden: Örebro Black Knights stage huge 2nd half comeback to earn first win

The Örebro Black Knights found themselves in a deep hole this past weekend in the Swedish Superserien matchup with the Carlstad Crusaders.

Trailing 19-0 at the half, coach Sam Eisenstadt needed to find a spark and he did in Jesper Lindeus who caught two straight touchdown strikes from quarterback Trevor Vasey in the span of just under nine minutes to pull the Black Knights within five, 19-14. Running back Tim Göransson then punched in the winning score late in the game for the victory.

The game did not start that way though as Vasey and the Örebro offense ran into a stubborn Carlstad defense. Trailing 3-0 after Carlstad marched down to the Black Knights 22-yard line and kicked a field goal, Örebro reciprocated, with Vasey guiding his team to the Crusaders 22 only to get picked off.

Still, Carlstad was unable to do much, but an outstanding punt left the Black Knights with the ball on their own four-yard line. Vasey was only able to move his team out to his own 24 before being forced to punt but it did not go far and the Crusaders got the ball back at the Örebro 38. Carlstad quarterback Tim Morovick made no mistake, hitting wide receiver Kevin Borzei with a touchdown pass on the first play, extending the lead to 10-0, early in the second quarter.

With the Black Knights offense still struggling, Morovick marched Carlstad from his own 26 down to the Örebro six-yard line and Albin Forsman kicked a 21-yard field goal to extend the lead to 13-0 with less than a minute to go in the half.

Disaster struck again for the Black Knights as Forsman’s kickoff, and an ensuing penalty, pushed them back to their own 14-yard line. Then Vasey was picked off by Carlstad defensive back Per Gaarden who waltzed into the end zone from the 24 to give the Crusaders a seemingly insurmountable 19-0 lead at the half.

However, the second half saw a different Örebro team take the field. First the defense stiffened, halting Carlstad’s first drive. Then the offense started gaining momentum as Vasey mounted a 14 play, 82-yard drive, capping it with a 10-yard touchdown strike to Lindeus to narrow the lead to 19-6. Then Örebro’s special teams stepped up, snagging the ensuing kickoff at the Carlstad 38. The offense, fueled by the previous scoring drive and kickoff recovery, moved down to the Crusaders eight-yard line in seven plays. Vasey hit Lindeus again and running back Tim Göransson punched the ball in on the two-point conversion and suddenly, with plenty of time left, it was a five-point ball game with Carlstad holding onto a 19-14 lead.

Carlstad’s offense stalled again and their next possession, Morovick was intercepted by Johannes Lindeus who took it back to the Crusaders 36-yard line with six minutes left in the game.

Playing an air of confidence that was seemingly lacking in the first half, and keeping the ball wisely on the ground, Örebro marched down to the Carlstad eight-yard line, with Vasey carrying the ball for three of the six plays. Göransson then powered his way in and Vasey scored on the two-point conversion and suddenly the home team had its first lead of the game at 22-19.

Carlstad was not done yet though. With just under three minutes on the clock, starting from his own 21-yard line, Morovick fashioned his own impressive drive, maneuvering his team down to the Black Knights 26-yard line with just over a minute remaining. However, on 4th and 10, Forsman’s 43-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left, and the Black Knights players began celebrating.

Crusaders quarterback Tim Morovick completed 16 of 28 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown with wideout Kevin Borzsei catching nine of the 16 completions for 150 yards and a touchdown. Running back Alexander Segerfeldt carried the ball nine times for only 32 yards.

For Örebro, Vasey had 20 completions from 40 attempts for 147 yards and one score but was picked off twice, once for a touchdown. Göransson had 14 carries for 61 yards and a score. Jesper Lindeus had six receptions for 62 yards and two touchdowns while his brother Johannes had five for 21.

With the win, Örebro snapped a two-game losing streak and notched their first win of the season.

Next up for the Black Knights will be Denmark’s Copenhagen Towers this weekend in Copenhagen.