In the preview for the quarter finals I wrote that the Vikings would need to be at their best to be able to take the W back to Oslo and advance to the semi-finals. And what do you know, the Vikings pulled out some outstanding individual performances along with every player filling their role. The Vikings played their best game of the season, coming away with the road win and advancing to the semi-finals in their first ever playoff appearance in the Superserien.
The Vikings offense put up 28 points in the first half, scoring 14 each in the first and second quarter. The Black Knights scored 7 in each quarter in the first half. The Vikings entered the second half with a 14 point lead. It looked a little scary after a scoreless Vikings third quarter, but a fourth quarter that contained two more touchdowns put the game out of reach for the Black Knights. The Vikings offense came onto the field in the victory formation, kneeling down to end the game.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Vikings played phenomenal on third downs, only allowing 1 conversion on 11 attempts. Of course, this does not tell the full story as the Vikings defense put the Black Knights offense in difficult third down situations all game. Normally, a defense that is good on third down is also good on first and second down. If you can stop an offense’s first two plays for short gains, it gets that much harder to convert on third down. In isolation it does not look great to allow 28 points in a game, but to only allow an opposing offense to convert a combined 4/15 3&4th downs is pretty darn good. This statistic tells the tale of a Vikings defense that never allowed the Black Knights offense to find their groove, effectively forcing them to go all or nothing to catch up on the scoreboard.
Standout performances
You know him, you love him, it was of course #1 Will Sewell doing it all. Sewell had himself a very good defensive game, posting 8 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack and for good measure he forced 2 fumbles. That in of itself is a pretty solid game that for sure makes an impact. Did you know Sewell used to play running back but made a switch to defense in college? If you didn’t, you could probably tell after this game. Along with his defensive heroics, Sewell was a mainstay on the offense, carrying the ball 14 times for 88 yards and 3 (!) touchdowns. Oh, and he also had 4 catches for 38 yards. American football is known as the ultimate team sport, but Sewell was clearly a large part of that team in the quarter finals.
Multiple players played well against the Black Knights, like #15 Niklas Fengler, who caught some passes as a receiver and jumped in on defense to play some DB as well. But one player that always seems to be in the area of a pass is DB #11 Håvard Gundesø, and this game was no different. Against the Black Knights he was the third leading tackler on the team, and he recorded an interception along with a pass breakup. That is a pretty good game statistically as a player on the defensive backend.
Wide receiver #3 Matthew Snawder didn’t have his normal explosive outing, but he did score again, bringing his season total to 8. Snawder caught 4 passes for 30 yards, but he added value in other parts of the game, blocking from the slot for Sewell’s big day, and even throwing a pass for an explosive 26 yard completion. Even when he doesn’t catch the ball himself, he brings explosiveness and juice to this Vikings offense.
Next up are the Carlstad Crusaders, a team the Vikings have lost to previously this season. This time the Vikings will have back certain key players they were missing the first time around. Winner books a ticket to the Superserien finals, stay tuned!
*Photos courtesy of Örebro Black Knights Facebook page*