Swedish Season Kicks Off This Weekend: Who Will Topple the Carlstad Crusaders?
[tps_title]PREVIEW: Svenska Amerikansk Fotbollförbundet[/tps_title]
[tps_header]Uppsala 86ers[/tps_header]
Head coach Mike Mitchell‘s squad were underachievers in 2014 and aim to rebound from a season which saw them miss the playoffs after entering the year with high hopes.
The club has added veteran signal caller Jeff Welsh who played for the Dresden Monarchs (German semi-finalists) in 2014. He will be throwing to super Serb Strahinja Stepovic who transferred over from Orebro and is always a threat when on the field.
The running back duo of Jonathan Wikström and John Nilsson, who combined for almost 800 yards in 2014, return and with an offensive line including stalwarts Rasmus Andersson and Rasmus Karlsson, they could well surpass those totals.
On defense import linebacker Cameron Grad (Menlo College) will be looked to to fire up a squad which has lost a few veterans. Australian Jared Stegman is an interesting addition. The gifted Joshua Akena will help at linebacker. Henry Green and Philip Palmquist anchor a solid defensive line.
The 86ers will be in the playoff mix, but it remains to be seen if they have enough talent to challenge for the title.
