Sweden: Stockholm Mean Machines stay unbeaten, rally to beat Örebro Black Knights
The Stockholm Mean Machines kept their winning streak in Sweden alive Saturday when they came from behind to defeat the Örebro Black Knights 23-7 in Stockholm.
Stockholm has now not lost a game to a Swedish team since June 8, 2018 extending their unbeaten string to seven games.
Mean Machines quarterback Alexander Thury completed 17 of 27 passes for 204 yards and one touchdown and scored another on his own. Hans Maximilian von Wachsmann caught a touchdown pass and kicked all three extra points. Denny John scored a third touchdown on a spectacular 90 yard kickoff return and the defense forced a two-point safety.
For Örebro, quarterback Johnny Knox did not have a great afternoon throwing for 63 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 47. Johannes Lindeus caught the lone touchdown pass while Vekko Lehtonen led all rushers with 63 yards on the ground.
Stockholm Mean Machines defense played outstanding football. Photo: Stefan Akander
The Black Knights opened the scoring when Knox hit Lindeus from eight yards out to cap a short 35 yard drive to take a 7-0 lead. Örebro had already been knocking on the door on their first possession when Lehtonen fumbled on the Stockholm three yard line.
The lead was short lived though as John took the ensuing kickoff all the way back, 90 yards, to even the score at 7-7 with five minutes left of the first quarter.
Midway through the second quarter, Thury engineered a six play, 78 yard drive, finishing it off himself, barging into the end zone from the five yard line and Stockholm took a 14-7 lead.
Then, an excellent kickoff that trapped the Black Knights on their own two yard line and an aggressive defense that tackled Knox in his own end zone, increased the lead to 16-7 at the half.
Örebro reached the Mean Machines 15 yard line midway through the third quarter but came up empty handed and Stockholm made them pay. Thury marched his team all the way down to the Black Knights 25 yard line and capped the 77 yard drive with a touchdown pass to von Wachsmann to widen the lead to 23-7 early in the fourth quarter.
With both teams now playing hard-nosed defense, neither could gain any momentum and a final drive by Örebro petered out at their own 34 yard line.
With the win, Stockholm is in sole possession of first place in the Swedish Superserien with four games left to play.
