FLL Week 5/23
Facing the Tigers has historically never been an easy task for the Saints ladies, since the former bring a much needed diversity to the FLL with their run-play heavy offensive system. This game saw the opponents start with the ball, trying to get first on the board. The Saints defense did a good job of covering the Tigers receivers on the open field, but because of the opposing QB’s impressive run skills, they marched down the field, ending their first drive in 6 points. The Saints offense responded with a quick a score of their own, in part thanks to a 25-yard catch by receiver Steffi Schönecker. As the first half went along, considerable improvement was seen on the defensive side of the ball, but unfortunately that could not be translated into the scoreboard.
The Tigers managed to score another three times in this half, utilizing their athleticism as best they could. Offense did their best to keep up, performing under pressure and finishing this first half only 6 points behind the Slovenians. Some may say it was luck, but those on the sidelines knew it was the coaching and the team’s ability to adapt to the opponents that turned the game in the Saints favor. Defense was able to implement all the lessons learned in the first half, not allowing the Tigers to score on their opening drives of the second half. Not being ones to let opportunities pass them by, the Saints receivers led by QB Saskia Stribrny embraced this chance to get in front of the Tigers by scoring another 20 points in this half. The opponents never gave up, by finishing strongly and scoring on their closing drive of the game. First game, first win for the Saints: 40:34.
(Scores: #84 Jessica Macharia 21p, #42 Stefanie Schönecker 13p, #2 Anja Pewny 6p; Sacks: #64 Helena Bachler 1x)
On went the Saints to their next match, the most important of the day, against the leaders of the FLL, the Vienna Constables. Both teams had comfortably secured a place in the playoffs, so this game only served to decide the opponents of the post-season stage. The Saints captains, also known as the SaskiasTM, won the coin toss for the team, so the defense was the first to be sacrificed to the Gods of Flag. This turned out to be a well-thought-out sacrifice, as the Cons offense did not manage to get the first down on this opening drive, turning the ball over to the Saints. The offense could not take advantage of this particular chance, but they were so ashamed of that, they made sure to capitalize on every other opportunity of the first half. QB Sassi led the team patiently on the field, taking the time to spread the ball around to her receiver army.
On the other side of the ball, defense made their opponents work for every caught ball, forcing long drives but still conceding 12 points during this half. The halftime break saw the Saints in a 8 point lead over the Constables, with a real chance of finishing the regular season at the top of the standings themselves. The second half showed why the opponents are one of the best Austrian teams, as they persevered by showing determination and outscoring the Saints by 9 points. Just like on the first meeting of the season, the determining factor turned out to be the PATs, where the Cons never made a mistake. Saints narrowly lose this game 32:33.
(Scores: #84 Jessica Macharia 12p, #42 Stefanie Schönecker 7p, #39 Claudia Freiberger 7p, #2 Anja Pewny 6p; Interceptions: #9 Saskia Macharia 1x)
The ultimate game was set to be played at 16:15, the last time slot of the day and to say the Saints were overly motivated for this one would be a blatant lie. Alas, the job had yet to be done against the young but very talented Viennese team Knights/Vipers. They proved very quickly in their opening drive that no teams are to be underestimated in the FLL, speaking to the steady growth of the game in the past few years. The Knights offense took our rather new defensive unit by surprise, thanks to well-constructed plays that ensured continuous scoring. As a result, despite the Saints offense not missing a beat, the Knights’ team ended the first half only 6 points behind.
This game was starting to seem like the very identical twin of the teams’ first offensive showdown, earlier in the season. Both defenses continued to struggle in the second half, with the Saints only stopping a few drives, helped in part by a pick from the team’s personal pick machine, Saskia Macharia. Approaching the end of the game the defense, plagued by many injuries during this season, took another unfortunate blow, as star Blitzer Helena Bachler got injured in the line of duty. A somehow sloppy win for the Saints to end the regular season: 53:35.
(Scores: #42 Stefanie Schönecker 20p, #84 Jessica Macharia 12p, #2 Anja Pewny 12p, #39 Claudia Freiberger 8p, #18 Franziska Glaser 1p; Interceptions: #9 Saskia Macharia 1x; Sacks: #84 Jessica Macharia 1x)
With these two wins and one loss, the ladies end up on the third place of the table, set to face the second-placed Amstetten Thunder in the semi-finals. Now that the duty is done and the first goal of getting into the playoffs reached, the Saints will go back to training, the drawing room and to film study to prepare for the hottest phase of the year.
Next Gameday, 30th of September at Ravelinstraße Footballzentrum Wien: 11:15 Semi-final vs Thunder
Die folgenden Fotos wurden uns von Fabian zur Verfügung gestellt.
Die folgenden Fotos wurden uns von Hanna zur Verfügung gestellt.
