Week 4 matchups in Sweden
The Swedish Superserien swings into the last half of it short fall season this weekend with all four teams in action.
So far, the defending champion Stockholm Mean Machines have been dominant and opened with three straight wins. They square off Saturday, September 12 hosting the 1-2 Örebro Black Knights at home while on Friday, September 11, the 2-1 Carlstad Crusaders (2-1) will take on the winless Uppsala 86ers at home.
Friday, September 11, Uppsala 86ers (0-3) @Carlstad Crusaders (2-1)
These two teams met a week ago with Carlstad winning comfortably 20-0 in a game which saw the Crusaders run the ball 37 of their 57 offensive plays. In other words they ground out the win. Expect a different type of game this time as quarterback Danny Farley will likely open up the game more, throwing to Jacob Bergwall, Kevin Brözsei, Robin Juhlin and Alexander Segerfeldt. Running backs Emil Knutsson and Emil Emil Östlund rushed for a combined total of 151 yards last week, carrying the ball 33 times between them.
Meanwhile, the Uppsala offense, still hobbled without the services of quarterback Olle Hesselgren, continues to struggle and totaled just 85 yards last week which included -30 yards rushing. Gustav Bowall is in a tough spot playing quarterback and unless the running game is established with running backs Oscar Nevermann and Mattias Gauthier not to mention Joshua Akena, carrying the ball, it will be a long night. However, Akena is needed badly on defense as well.
Carlstad is playing at home though which should give them an added advantage.
Saturday, September 12, Örebro Black Knights (1-2) @Stockholm Mean Machines (3-0)
The Stockholm Mean Machines are on a roll and with three wins, two very convincing ones, behind them, they look impressive. Last week they beat the Örebro Black Knights handily 43-7 although Örebro turnovers were a contributing factor. Quarterback Tim Morovick has looked more and more comfortable in leading Stockholm’s potent offense and leads the league in passing (404 yds, 6 TDs) and rushing (153 yds, 3 TDs) accounting for nine of his team’s 15 touchdowns. His receiving corps led by Pär Lindelöf (147 yds, 2 TDs), Edvin Almeida Taborda (142 yds, 5 TDs) and Felix Grönqvist (116 yds) is tough for any secondary to cover.
Stockholm running back Timmy Göransson has rushed for 121 yards so far. The Black Knights offense has operated in fits and spurts with starting quarterback Jake Sisson just back from a back injury he suffered in the first game of the year. He looked shaky at times last week behind constant pressure from the Stockholm front seven. Still, with running back Kasper Wedberg in the backfield, the second leading rusher in the league, he can start to rely on his running game. Expect Sisson to find his other receivers in this game with Jimmy Palmborg (9 rec., 93 yds, 1 TD) having been his go-to guy so far.
If the Black Knights can avoid handing Stockholm excellent field position this week they could surprise.
Watch both games live on AFI.tv.
