The Graz Giants will play host to the Prague Black Panthers in the opening game of the Austrian Football League season for both teams.

Graz finished third in the AFL in 2023 with an 8-2 record while the Black Panthers topped the regular season with a 10-0 record.

These two teams faced each other once in 2023 and the Black Panthers preserved an undefeated regular season by edging Graz 43-42. Both teams reached the AFL semifinals but were eliminated. Prague were beaten by the Vienna Vikings 27-17 while the Giants were knocked out of the playoffs by the eventual champions, the Danube Dragons, 27-23

The Giants are led by quarterback Nic Visser (Husson University, NCAA Div. III) who threw for 7,183 yards and 50 touchdowns in his three year career at Husson. He led the Commonwealth Coast Conference in passing in his senior year after throwing for 2,158 yards and 17 touchdowns, and finished fourth in the nation with a 72.7 completion percentage.

For Prague, Tyler Jarnagin (Benedictine University, NCAA Div. III) will start at quarterback. The 6’2″, 210 pound Jarnagin finished his five years at Benedictine having thrown for 8,812 yards and 88 touchdowns against just 17 interceptions.

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