The Dacia Vienna Vikings (2-1) head to Graz, Austria to face the 1-2 Projekt Spielberg Graz Giants is a key matchup for both squads Easter Monday as the Austrian Football League enters its fourth week of play.
Vienna is coming off a 61-0 thrashing of the Amstetten Thunder in Austrian league play and a 60-0 blanking of Denmark’s Triangle Razorbacks in the Central European Football League. The Vikings opened the season by beating the Prague Black Panthers 28-7 but were bounced 48-28 by arch rivals and defending Austrian champions, the Swarco Raiders.
Graz finally got a win last week, beating the Black Panthers 35-14 after losing their opening two games in the AFL to the Danube Dragons (12-10) and Mödling Rangers, 45-39.
The rivalry between the Vikings and the Giants is decades old and is now dubbed El Classico. In fact, Easter Monday will be the 76th time the Vikings play the Giants in the history of the AFL. Between the two, they have won the Austrian title 24 times with the Vikings holding the edge with 14 championship crowns and Graz 10.
The Vienna offense, behind the play of quarterback Austin Herink, has performed well. Herink has thrown for 753 yards and 11 touchdowns in the AFL with Bernhard Seikovits as his favorite target after catching 17 passes for 276 yards and four touchdowns. The Vikings ground game has undergone some improvement and is now averaging 140 yards a game with running back Islaam Amadu having rushed for 184 yards and two touchdowns in three games. In the last two games against the Thunder and Razorbacks, Amadu has been unstoppable. The 28-year-old Viennese with roots in Ghana has scored six touchdowns. Against the Thunder, he put up 145 yards rushing yards and 2 TDs while versus the Razorbacks he scored four times in the first quarter..
Giants quarterback Jake Kennedy has been solid, throwing for 708 yards and 9 TDs in three games. WR Philipp Sommer leads the team in receiving with 244 yards and 2 TDs on 16 receptions. Alexander Sans is the Giants leading rusher with 175 yards on 34 carries.
Beyond the rivalry, both teams badly need a win today just to keep pace. Vienna sits in third place in the standings while the Giants find themselves in sixth.
Watch the game live on ORF Sport Plus. Dacia Vienna Vikings @Spielberg Graz Giants, Monday, April 22, 4p CEDT (10a EDT)