After a year of hiatus due to pandemic measures around the continent, the coming weekend will mark the comeback of CEFL Championship. All participants are meeting the new season of this elite European tournament with a lot of enthusiasm.
This is the first time after almost two years that any game is played in international competitions. We’ll get the opportunity to see if last year’s inactivity has left a trace on teams and their players. Two games are played on Saturday, both of them in Austria.
The season opener is at 17:00 CET in Vienna, where one of the all-time European best, Dacia Vienna Vikings are hosting Serbian champions Kragujevac Wild Boars at Footballzentrum Ravelin. An hour later, current CEFL Champions from 2019, Swarco Raiders Tirol are welcoming Italian champions, Milan Seamen at the American Footballzentrum in Innsbruck.
National championships in all three countries are being played without any interruptions so far. Dacia Vikings have a perfect score in Austria after 4 weeks of play. They’ve hosted Swarco Raiders as well and they’ve dealt them their only defeat by a touchdown margin. After two playing weeks, the Wild Boars also have a loss 42 – 43 in the Serbian derby against their fierce rival well known to CEFL fans, SBB Vukovi from Belgrade. Italian league is well underway and Milan Seamen have a 4-1 score, losing by 4 points in the opener to their challengers, Parma Panthers.
Dacia Vikings seem to be coasting through the national league. They have a formidable team roster with hardened players, backed by three imports: quarterback Eystin Salum, wide receiver Mitchell Paige, and defensive back Andrew Spencer. They will have to pick two of them who will play to respect the required limit in the CEFL Championship.
Kragujevac Wild Boars’ will rely on their offensive weapons to post big numbers, as they’re used to doing domestically. Under center, they will also have an import player, Isaiah Weed, and their rushes will be piloted of Ashton Heard. Their defense will get help from the international from UK, Courtney Etienne and Zarubin brothers from Russia.
This is the first time these two teams are meeting. It’s also Dacia Vikings’ premiere game in the CEFL Championship, while the Wild Boars are returning for the eight time. Serbian team has three CEFL Bowl appearances and a big win in the inaugural season in 2006.
Saturday, 15 May, 17:00 CET
Dacia Vienna Vikings – Kragujevac Wild Boars
Live stream: https://streamster.tv/event/football/vikings-vs-wild-boars-2021/
Swarco Raiders Tirol will this time be without their dominant running back, Sandro Platzgummer, who’s earned a spot on the NY Giants’ roster. American, Sean Shelton is returning as the starting quarterback, and two other import players are shoring up the defense. They are defensive back Davion Washington and linebacker Adrian Wentland.
Milan Seamen have played once before in the CEFL Championship in 2019. They were winless because of their player corps issues and tough competition in their conference. Their standard signal caller, Luke Zahradka will make sure of that they do better offensively, and the other side of the ball will be led by the defensive back, Jeremiah Johnson.
The Seamen have hosted Swarco Raiders two years ago during season 2019 and the score was 23 – 50. The Raiders later won it all for the third straight time playing at the Calanda Broncos in the CEFL Bowl XIV. They are the trophy hoarders of the CEFL Championship which have never lost a single game in their three seasons thus far.
Saturday, 15 May, 18:00 CET
Swarco Raiders Tirol – Milan Seamen
Live stream: https://livestream.com/raidersTV