The Stockholm Mean Machines rolled to their fourth straight win in the Swedish Superserien in beating the winless Uppsala 86ers 34-6 at Stockholm’s Zinkensdamms IP field this past weekend.
Stockholm quarterback Alexander Thury threw for 286 yards and a touchdown with WR Alpha Jalloh inflicting much of the damage. Jalloh caught four passes for 84 yards and a touchdown but also returned a punt 59 yards for another touchdown, scoring both in the first quarter. RB Joshua Akena scored on a one yard plunge while Walther Vasanoja returned an interception 33 yards for a touchdown. Hans von Wachsmann kicked two field goals and four extra points.
For Uppsala, QB Gustav Bowall has a miserable evening throwing for just 54 yards and a touchdown while tossing two interceptions (one for a touchdown) and getting sacked three times. WR Jamal Hussein scored Uppsala’s only touchdown while RB Johannes Nilsson was the lone bright spot for the 86ers gaining 87 yards rushing.
Stockholm RB Joshua Akena Photo: Stefan Akander
The Mean Machines dominated the game from the opening whistle scoring on their very first possessions. Jalloh hauled in a 46 yard touchdown pass with just over a minute and a half gone in the first quarter to give Stockholm a 7-0 lead. He then calmly caught a Bowall punt at his own 41 yard line and found a seam and raced 59 yards to the end zone, upping the lead to 14-0 late in the quarter.
Thury marched the Mean Machines down to the Uppsala 14 yard line following Rufail Khalifa interception of a Bowall pass and von Wachsmann kicked the first of his two field goals to increase Stockholm’s lead to 17-0 early in the second quarter.
Even though Uppsala kick returner Ryan Hector put the 86ers in excellent field position with a 53 yard return to the Stockholm 30 yard line, the offense could not capitalize turning the ball over on downs.
Vasanoja picked off Bowall on the Uppsala 10 yard line just before halftime and carried it into the end zone to give Stockholm a 24-0 at the break.
Stockholm nose tackle Noghor Aibeuku Jemide Photo: Stefan Akander
Bowall finally kicked the Uppsala offense into gear early in the third quarter, engineering a 13 play, 67 yard drive that ate up almost eight minutes, capping it with an eight yard scoring pass to Hussein, narrowing the lead slightly to 24-6.
That was the last time that Uppsala would cross midfield. Stockholm’s defense kept the 86ers in check the rest of the way while von Wachsmann added a 41 yard field goal and then Akena finished off a five play, 66 yard drive with a one yard touchdown to round out the scoring.
With the win, Stockholm remains in first place with two games to go. In the only other action in Sweden, the Carlstad Crusaders downed the Örebro Black Knights 27-13.