Wrocław Panthers travel to Vienna to take on unbeaten Vikings

| American Football | 07/15/2023

Today, the 4–2 Wrocław Panthers and their newly signed quarterback Mak Sexton will make the relatively short trip down to Vienna to take on the undefeated Vikings in Week 7 of the European League of Football (ELF)

Following their Week 6 loss to the Hamburg Sea Devils, the Panthers placed starting quarterback Matthew Vitale on injured reserve, despite him playing the whole game. Up until that point, Vitale had formed an electric connection with one of the best receivers in the ELF, Tony Tate. 

Since opening week, Tate has obliterated secondaries on his way to 13 touchdowns and 700 yards. Unless he is double teamed, Tate will roast any defense, regardless of their record. This is something Vienna will undoubtedly be scheming towards, whether they can stop him is another question entirely.

This will be Sexton’s first game for the Panthers after what will have surely been an extremely short week of preparation. Tate’s skills are evident, but will Sexton have built a rapport to take advantage of them? The Panthers will likely lean heavily on the rushing skills of young Polish running back Dawid Brzozowski who is still leading the league in yardage. But despite his impressive yardage, Brzozowski will not be able to beat the Vikings’ on his own and will need help from his new quarterback.

There is little to say about the Vikings. They have been overwhelmingly dominant in all but one game they have played this year. Their undefeated record was validated last weekend with the thrashing of Austrian rival Raiders Tirol.

The Wegan brothers, Florian and Anton, Finnish running back Karri Pajarinen, and quarterback Chris Helbig have been borderline unstoppable on the ground. They have combined for a league-leading 1,112 yards and 15 yards. The Vikings’ passing game has been a little less impressive, but who needs to be effective through the air when you’re throttling teams into submission on the ground?

This will be the first of two meetings for the conference rivals. The Vikings are heavy favorites to win this game, but it will be interesting to see how Sexton fairs in his first ELF game and if the Vikings’ excellent defense can contain Tate.

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.