Semifinal Game preview: Spartans VS Nordmen

The road to the Iron Bowl continue with the semifinal games this weekend! The #4 seed Pirkkala Spartans will host the #2 seed Rovaniemi Nordmen on Saturday , the winner gets a ticket to the iron bowl.

The Spartans man-handled the #1 seed of group B in the quarterfinal 8-26 and got the home field advantage for the semifinals. The Nordmen will have a long trip, which might take a toll on them but at least they have plenty of time to make finishing touches to their gameplan. Last time these two teams faced was the last regular season week in Rovaniemi, the Nordmen came out on top that time. What will happen this time with the season on the line for both?

What to expect from the Spartans

The Spartans must have a chip on their shoulder after the regular season loss to the Nordmen. No doubt they will pull out all their stops to tip the scale for them. With the spot to the iron bowl on the line, the winning team of this game will need a near perfect performance.

The Spartans missed a few key players on the previous games between these two teams, expect them to have their full roster at home for the most important game of the season. The roster is at its full, getting back key players from injury and WR/QB Riihelä and RB Milandou who didn’t play in the previous game against the Nordmen. You would imagine having all of their key guys back that they are are a more versatile and dangerous team.

What to expect from the Nordmen

Hot off a massive win against the Trojans, the Nordmen definitely are hyped up and locked in on the prize. The Nordmen have their longest trip of the season to Pirkkala. A trip like this always takes a toll on the team, but the Nordmen roster did not suffer many losses for the trip. The Nordmen are ready to fight for the spot in the iron bowl.

The defense of the Nordmen has been phenomenal all year, with a few guys missing you might see new names stepping up to the stage. With a few changes made watch them still make the opposing offense feel uncomfortable. DC Ryan Oliveira has been preparing his hard hitting unit all week and making sure they are ready to leave all out on the field on Saturday.

Offensively, what to expect? The key to this game for the Nordmen is ball control, the warriors of the four winds have been an explosive fast scoring team all season long. With the offense going up and down in every game, the offense needs to stay steady and keep the ball moving on every drive. QB Lucas Martinez needs to put his offense to places where they can score and need to capitalize the chances they get. He has a lot of help to make the happen, The “three amigos” WR/RB Virkki, WR Salmela and RB Vaarala will have a big role in the success of this offense, also the heavily improved offensive line needs to keep it going and dominate the trenches. We will see tomorrow if HC Jonathan Ashton has some playoff aces up his sleeve.

The game will no doubt be a very hard fought and physical, one of the best games of the season for sure. Both teams are big favorites to win the 2nd division , but only one team will get the chance to fight for the championship.

Expect the Nordmen to look very similar to what you’re used to; playing their own game — just bigger and better in the semifinals!

Important Info

Kick-off is at 4pm, Saturday August 13th at Pirkkalan keskuskenttä. The home team will also be streaming the game on Twitch tv on their channel Pirkkalaspartans. Lets cheer the Nordmen in Pirkkala and on stream!