ELF: Tirol Raiders and Frankfurt Galaxy battle it out for second place in the Central Conference

| American Football | 07/03/2022

The defending ELF champion Frankfurt Galaxy will travel to Innsbruck, Austria, Sunday, July 3, to take on the Tirol Raiders in a battle for second place in the European League of Football’s (ELF) Central Conference.

Both the Raiders and the Galaxy had rocky starts to the season, losing their week 1 and 2 matchups. This was an even bitter pill to swallow as both were coming in as two of the league favorites. The Raiders suffered two narrow defeats to open the season, losing to the Vienna Vikings and Cologne Centurions while Frankfurt lost a close game to the Rhein Fire before getting soundly beaten by Vienna.

Since starting their seasons 0-2 however, both have bounced back. After missing week 2 with an injury, Frankfurt quarterback Jakeb Sullivan torched both the Wroclaw Panthers and Cologne Centurions for a combined 410 yards and seven touchdowns through the air.

To aid Sullivan in his crusade for his second ELF championship ring will be newly acquired and former NFL receiver, Reece Horn. Today we will see the two pair up for their first game together. The duo will likely be one of the most dangerous come the end of the season.

The Raiders followed their two losses with wins against the Berlin Thunder and Stuttgart Surge. These are hardly wins to shout home about. Nevertheless, we saw glimpses of what Sean Shelton and the Raiders had been doing in the Austrian Football League for years in those games.

If the Raiders hope to keep their postseason hopes alive, they will need to perform today and show the rest of the league that they can compete with the league’s top teams.



Daniel Mackenzie is a Press Association graduate who works in journalism and communications in the third sector. Daniel began playing football for the London Warriors and Team Great Britain and has since played across Europe.