Oslo Vikings

Winning the improbable!

Javon Bailey dives into the endzone! Considered the strongest league in Europe for American Football, the Oslo Vikings did the improbable and beat the GFL-North, Berlin Adler. The 5-time winners of the German Bowl (most recently in 2004) play in the German Football League; which includes some of the most powerful teams in Europe such as the Braunschweig Lions and the Hamburg Blue Devils. There were only a select few who believed that the Vikings could earn a victory against such a team, made even more difficult by playing on the road after a grueling 16-hour bus ride from Oslo. But on a warm, clear Sunday afternoon thats exactly what they did defeating the Berlin Adler 18-13.

Nicolay Aslaksen runs the ball in for a touch down! Accomplishing this was no small feat. The game marked the first time ever a NoAF team had ever faced an opponent from the GFL. The quality of this league cannot be understated. Teams from the GFL have won the Eurobowl 9 times, widely regarded as the most elite American Football competition that is played on European soil. Germany is far and away the most developed country for the level of play in football, with hundreds of youth, seniors and even female teams competing in its leagues. There are several magazines, newspapers and television shows giving detailed, weekly coverage throughout the GFL season. The GFL-North in particular stands out as the elite in a country which fields many top organizations.

“I think this ranks up there in measuring the biggest wins ever for the Oslo Vikings, or a club in Norway for that matter.” Head Coach Val Gunn said in an interview at the post-game press conference. “When you are playing a team from the GFL, especially from the North, you know that you are going to be in a battle against a well-coached, talented opponent. For a club who plays in a two-team league, with a small budget and limited coaching staff, this makes our win even more amazing. To be the first team ever to play against and beat a GFL team is very special and I am proud of the effort to which everyone put in.” In the interview, Val Gunn also hailed the defense for its superb effort holding the Berlin Adler offense to only a 109 yards in the game. Nicolay Aslaksen and Javon Bailey were awarded the MVPs in the winning effort for the Oslo Vikings.

The battle of the lines! The first half of the game was a defensive struggle as both teams found it difficult to find any rhythm. Berlin opened the scoring with an 11 play, 69 yard drive, finished off by a 3-yard run by Adler HB Pavlos Tasavdaridis. Two Oslo Viking drives deep into Adler territory in the first half were wasted on interceptions. But it could be felt that despite the setbacks that momentum was on the Vikings side. The offensive line was dominating defense and so the running game would be the point of attack for the second half. The opening drive to start the third quarter proved this true as the Vikings marched 53 yards on 10 plays to even the score at 6-6. After stopping the Berlin Adler offense, the Vikings score again to take the lead for good 12-6. Another drive midway through the 4^th quarter ended in success for the Vikings as the opened the lead on the Adler 18-6. On the previous drive, Brett Hall the American import at QB for the Berlin Adler took a big hit and was taken out off the game to risk any serious injury. This was the only starter to leave the contest early for the GFL team. At 18-6 the game seemed in hand for Oslo, however they would not make it easy on themselves. After botching two kickoffs out of bounds the Adler set up a brilliant return and scored on a 17-yard pass to make the score 18-13 with just over 4 minutes left to play. The Adler defense forced a Viking punt and got the ball back with 1:43 left on the clock, but were unable to mount any offense and the Vikings held on for the victory.

Team Statistics (Final)

EFAF CUP

Oslo Vikings vs Berlin Adler (Apr 29, 2007 at Berlin)

OV BA

FIRST DOWNS................... 15 10

Rushing..................... 11 4

Passing..................... 2 3

Penalty..................... 2 3

NET YARDS RUSHING............. 135 62

Rushing Attempts............ 35 31

Average Per Rush............ 3.9 2.0

Yards Gained Rushing........ 156 109

Yards Lost Rushing.......... 21 47

NET YARDS PASSING............. 86 47

Completions-Attempts-Int.... 9-20-2 8-19-0

Average Per Attempt......... 4.3 2.5

Average Per Completion...... 9.6 5.9

TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS........... 221 109

Total offense plays......... 55 50

Average Gain Per Play....... 4.0 2.2

Fumbles: Number-Lost.......... 0-0 1-0

Penalties: Number-Yards....... 9-60 5-42

PUNTS-YARDS................... 3-128 2-53

Average Yards Per Punt...... 42.7 26.5

Net Yards Per Punt.......... 34.3 26.5

Inside 20................... 0 0

50+ Yards................... 0 0

Touchbacks.................. 0 0

Fair catch.................. 0 1

KICKOFFS-YARDS................ 4-159 3-146

Average Yards Per Kickoff... 39.8 48.7

Net Yards Per Kickoff....... 5.8 38.7

Touchbacks.................. 1 0

Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD. 0-0-0 3-25-0

Average Per Return.......... 0.0 8.3

Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD 3-30-0 3-116-0

Average Per Return.......... 10.0 38.7

Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD.. 0-0-0 2-18-0

Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD. 0-0-0 0-0-0

Miscellaneous Yards........... 0 0

Possession Time............... 00:00 00:00

Third-Down Conversions........ 2 of 11 3 of 12

Fourth-Down Conversions....... 3 of 4 0 of 4

Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 0-0 0-0

Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 0-0 3-13

PAT Kicks..................... 0-2 1-2

Field Goals................... 0-0 0-1