Game analysis
The Vikings faced off against the Carlstad Crusaders at Sola stadion this past Saturday. Outside of the weather, there were few bright spots to be found. The Vikings struggled both on offense and defense, unable both to get the offense going and get the defense off the field. It is evident that the level in the Superserien is higher than what the Vikings were facing in the Norwegian Eliteseries. This team was good enough in Norway to rely on impressive solo performances or explosive plays to win games, but in Sweden it’s just not enough. The general feeling so far this season is that it’s the little things the Vikings just can’t quite get right. Catch that one pass, make that one tackle, gain those tough last yards for the first down or touchdown.
One thing that should be noted is the long list of injuries the Vikings has sustained so far this season. In the game against the Crusaders alone, four receivers did not play due to injury with another one being injured during the game. Head Coach Derek Mann had to stand in at QB for injured starter C.J Fowler, import linebacker #1 Will Sewell missed the game, as well as the Vikings top two pass rushers #60 Thomas Holt Sundby and #88 Bror Sture. It got so bad that at one point the offensive huddle consisted of 3 running backs, 2 of them playing receiver, a Head Coach playing QB, and the defensive line coach playing offensive guard. To put it mildly, that is not a recipe for success. Going forward, the Vikings needs to get healthy to be able to be competitive.
Standout performances
One player was mentioned before the game as a player to watch during this game, linebacker #42 Mattias Eriksson. Eriksson was credited with 11.5 tackles on the game, more than twice as much as the next guy on the list. The Vikings could only muster 223 yards of total offense and 6 points, and Eriksson was a big part of the Vikings offensive struggles.
It’s hard to pick just one guy to give credit to when the entire offense performs as well as the Crusaders offense did. Offensively they put up 484 yards of total offense with 6 touchdowns. Almost all of the offensive production came through the air with QB #10 Slade Jarman slinging the ball to the tune of 432 yards, 77.4% completion percentage and 6 passing touchdowns. He was throwing it to receivers #11 Kristian Natunen (7/144/1TD), #4 Willem Van Comperknolle (9/133/3TDs), and #12 Albin Forsman (5/127/2TDs) who all thrived on Saturday.
For the Vikings a couple different players showed up in the stat sheet. RB #8 Rune Nilsen earned the most all-purpose yards with 106, WR #6 Harald Daniel Lomax Bjerke caught 5 passes for 50 yards and the only Vikings TD on the day, while DB #21 Gaute Gunleiksrud recorded 7 solo tackles.
Game recap
The Vikings day started off terribly. After moving the ball well on their first offensive drive, the Crusaders scored. On a play where two different Viking defenders were in the backfield with quarterback Slade Jarman all but wrapped up for the sack, the Crusaders managed to flip it and score
The Vikings offense stepped on to the field led by HC turned QB Derek Mann. The Vikings did not respond, earning two first downs before ultimately being forced to punt.
The Vikings second defensive drive was up and down. Again two separate Vikings defenders were close to getting a sack, but just couldn’t quite bring Jarman down, and the Crusaders were able to convert a long third down attempt. The drive ended with a 20 yard pass from Jarman to #4 for a touchdown. Score 14-0
The Vikings offensive struggles continued in their third drive going one step forward and two steps back.
Tackling continued to be an issue for the Vikings. On multiple occasions the first defender either completely missed the tackle, or lost their grip of the player they were trying to bring down. Another drive, another Crusaders TD Jarman to Forsmann. 21-0
On the last drive of the first half the Vikings offense finally started to eliminate some of those backward steps. A penalty led to one untimed down to end the half. Crusaders #5 picked off the pass intended for Vegard Tysse. Score going into halftime: 21-0
The Vikings started off the second half with a 3-and-out. Crusaders followed up with a TD. Jarman hit #4 for his third touchdown of the day. 28-0
Anthony Thach checked in and showed his potential, but got little help in the way of blocking. The Vikings went 3-and-out again. On the punt however, Ehsuh Htoeleh turned on the jets and hit the Crusaders return man that had bobbled the catch, forcing a fumble that the Vikings recovered. Nothing came easy however and the Vikings had to scratch and claw their way down the field until a blown coverage left #6 Daniel Bjerke wide open in the end zone for the easy pitch and catch. The PAT was blocked. 28-6.
The Crusaders responded with the longest pass of the season on a 90 yard catch and run for the score. 35-6
The Vikings offense finally started to show some of the firepower shown early in the season. They got three consecutive first downs on three plays, setting them up with a 1st & goal close to the five yard line. Getting to the red zone turned out to be easier than getting into the end zone, and the Vikings offense walked off the field without points
The Crusaders encountered no such issues, hitting pass after pass before they scored yet again. Pat no good, 41-6 final score.
**Photos credit: @shotbyanika (Instagram)