Team USA Player of the Game Brandon Monroe
By Joe Frollo
One of the most difficult things for a football team to do is come together as a group.It's not natural for many to sacrifice personal accomplishment for collective success.
Now try achieving that in just five days.
The U.S. Under-18 National Team proved time is relative when it comes to building a close group, rallying to beat Team Canada, 29-14, at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex in Austin, Texas.
(ED. NOTE: The Canadian lineup featured two players from the mcGill Redmen, including wide receiver Shaquille Johnson of Brampton, Ont., and offensive lineman Jordan Medal of Winnipeg).
The victory capped a successful International Bowl Week not just for the U.S. program but for these 44 players and eight coaches who traveled from across the nation to get here but found it was like never leaving home.
“We could talk for hours about how great winning this game was,” said U.S. head coach Chris Metzger of Southern Pines (N.C.) Pinecrest High School. “But – and we don't use this lightly – this was family, and that's what made it special. From that first phone call I made to all you guys to this moment, how far we've come.”
The United States fell behind, 14-0, in the first quarter as Canada was as efficient as the U.S was struggling.
USA vs. Canada Under-18 box score
Team USA fumbled away its first possession with Canada taking over at the U.S. 48. 10 plays later, Jonah Pataki scored on a 2-yard run.
The U.S. went three-and-out on its next possession, and Canada drove right down the field again, this time taking nine plays to go 57 yards, capped by a 12-yard touchdown pass from Chris Merchant to Kevin Collins.
It could have all fallen apart at that point, but sometimes all it takes is one play to turn momentum around – to show a team that not all is lost despite how much is going against it.
“All week we talked about building character and sticking to it,” Metzger said. “Those young men showed what representing their country meant to them.”
Late in the second quarter, with Team USA still scoreless, Brandon Monroe (Loomis, Calif.) broke around the right side and turned a third down into a 35-yard touchdown.
The team rallied around Monroe, who signed a national letter of intent Wednesday morning to accept a full athletic scholarship to San Jose State. He finished with 238 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 32 carries to earn U.S. Player of the Game honors.
“Coach told me in the third quarter that I'd be carrying the ball a lot more, and just said, 'All right. I'll do it,” Monroe said. “The offensive line did a great job. The tight ends and wide receivers were making blocks downfield. The whole team really deserved the award.”
Monroe became their work horse, and the rest of them plowed the field.
It didn't matter who was getting the yards. It was only important that the scoreboard was turning around.
“I'm very proud of how this team played a whole game,” said U.S. offensive lineman Alex Norton of Hamlet, N.C., who signed with Air Force on Wednesday. “I'd never seen a team come together so quickly.”
As Monroe continued to carry the ball, the U.S. offense began finding its stride. The American line wore down the Canadian defenders as the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Monroe found bigger and wider holes to run through.
The U.S. tied the game at 14-14 with 11:11 left in the game on a Monroe 2-yard TD run. The Americans took the lead with 7:29 to play when Monroe scored from 8 yards out. They sealed it on quarterback Tucker Beirne's (Coral Gables, Fla.) 1-yard sneak.
And all while the offense was moving, the U.S. defense completely shut down the Canadians. Led by six tackles from Nick McBeath (Miami, Fla.) and five from his Christopher Columbus High School teammate Joey Gonzalez (Miami, Fla.), Team USA's defense finished the game forcing eight straight punts and an interception by Mason Ewing (Layton, Utah).
“We talked all week about how we were going to fight for each other,” said U.S. tight end Jose Alvarado (Miami, Fla.), another Christopher Columbus student. “Families fight for each other and do what they have to do when times are tough. We wanted Brandon to run the ball. We were at our best when Brandon ran the ball.”
LIGHTS OUT Players from the United States and Canada stayed on the field late after the game Wednesday, leaving for the locker rooms only after the lights started being turned off.
Most still didn't want to go.
“I can't believe it's over already,” U.S. two-way lineman Cornelius Henderson (Dallas, Texas) said. “I'll never forget this.”
BORDER RIVALRY With the Canadians winning the Under-16 matching and winning the Under-19 world championship last summer in Austin, a rivalry is brewing between the two national team programs.
Canadian head coach Ryan Bechmanis, the defensive coordinator at Carlton University, said while the team didn't win, the players took the opportunity to test themselves and improve.
“You can't get better unless you play the best,” Bechmanis said. “Opportunities like these will help them grow as players and hopefully give them the chance to play at higher levels on both sides of the border.”
Merchant earned Canada's Player of the Game Award after completing 14-of-25 passes for 125 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Merchant was his team's second leading rusher until late sacks dropped him to just 8 yards on 12 carries.
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Team USA wins International Bowl, 42-10
The 2013 International Bowl was about redemption for the U.S. Under-19 National Team.
The sport is bigger than ever, played in every corner of the Earth with 64 International Federation of American Football member nations on six continents.
But this is our game. It's called American football for a reason.
A year after surrendering the International Bowl title to the IFAF World Team, the United States left no doubt who would wear the crown this time, jumping out early and cruising to a 42-10 win Tuesday night at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex in Austin, Texas.
On Wednesday morning, Team USA players will sign their national letters of intent with 34 colleges in 10 NCAA FBS conferences.
For this night, however, it was about celebrating their country before focusing on themselves.
“We were not going to take anything but a win,” U.S. linebacker and team captain Cory Jasudowich (Cheshire, Conn.; Connecticut) said. “We were not letting this one get away from us.”
International Bowl box score
None of the Team USA players or coaches were part of the group that fell, 35-29, in 2012 – the first loss ever for the Under-19 program.
Six of these players, including Jasudowich, were on the 2012 summer team that finished second to Canada in the IFAF Under-19 World Championship.
From the jubilation on the U.S. sideline as the clock wound down, nobody would have known this team came together just a week ago. This was not an all-star game. This was a National Team competition.
All 44 players and eight coaches shared in the feeling that it was up to them to restore America's honor.
“This team came here for the right reasons,” U.S. head coach Aaron Brady (Washington, D.C.; Gonzaga College Prep) said. “We wanted to bring the pride back.”
The United States came out determined to dictate the flow of the game.
Matthew McCrane (Brownwood, Texas; Kansas State) dribbled the opening kickoff, and Marco DelVecchio (Warwick, R.I.; undecided) picked it up after 11 yards for an onside kick.
A 19-yard run by Damien Haskins (New Boston, Texas; Oregon State) got Team USA going, though the drive stalled at the World 14. McCrane's 31-yard field made it, 3-0, with 8:02 left in the first quarter.
Though the United States didn't score again in the first quarter, the Americans held the ball for all but 2:05 of the first 12 minutes, outrushing the World Team, 103-6, in that span.
“Straight smash-mouth football,” said U.S. center and team captain Aubry Beal (DeSoto, Texas; Air Force). “As offensive linemen, we want the game to go through us.”
The World Team seemed ready to counterpunch until U.S. safety Shaquem Griffin (St. Petersburg, Fla.; Central Florida) intercepted the ball at the World 10. Griffin had his left hand amputated at age 4 but laid out for a one-handed catch to give the U.S. possession back.
“I just saw the ball out there, palmed it and rolled over on it,” said Griffin, who played along his twin brother Shaquill, both Central Florida commits.
Quarterback Shane Cockerille (Baltimore, Md.) capped a 16-play, 90-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run on the second play of the second quarter, seeming to take the wind out of the World Team sails.
Haskins added a 2-yard touchdown run four minutes later then tacked on a 2-point conversion to build the U.S. lead to 18-0.
The U.S. ground game kept churning, getting consistent yards from Haskins, Terrell Newby (West Hills, Calif.; Nebraska) and Chase Abbington (St. Peters, Mo.; Missouri).
“We believe in the running game,” Brady said. “We have three great backs, and when you can run the ball with success, why go away from it?”
Even when the World Team saw cracks of daylight, Team USA reasserted itself.
Following a 39-yard field goal by World Team kicker Louis-Phillipe Simoneau with 3:32 left in half, Team USA's Newby made five would-be tacklers miss on the ensuing kickoff, bringing the ball back 66 yards to the World 33.
Newby converted a third-and-14 with a 16-yard screen pass reception to earn a first down at the World 20. Five plays later, Newby hauled in another third down pass, this time for an 8-yard TD and a 25-3 lead that Team USA took to halftime.
Newby earned Team USA Player of the Game honors with 88 yards rushing, 24 yards receiving, the long kickoff return and the touchdown.
“I've had a lot of fun this week,” Newby said. “Meeting all these guys, we'll all be following each other through our careers. This week gave me a taste of what to expect at the next level with all the talented players here.”
Although Newby earned individual accolades, it was a team effort as it seemed every U.S. player got into the action.
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Haskins ran for 83 yards and a touchdown, while Abbington added 66 yards and a score;
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Cockerille threw for 120 yards and a touchdown, running for another;
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Rodney Adams (St. Petersburg, Fla.; undecided) caught five passes for 45 yards, including a 12-yard TD from backup QB Austin Henyon (Benbrook, Texas; undecided);
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Tere Calloway (Seattle, Wash.; Nevada) had an interception;
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Jasudowich had five tackles while Lance Virgile (Miramar, Fla.; Illinois) and Wyatt Teller (Bealeton, Va.; Virginia Tech) got in on sacks.
In all, the U.S. ran 68 plays compared to 32 by the World for a 422-142 advantage in yards.
Running back Nic Demski of Canada earned World Team Player of the Game after running for 74 yards, including a late 61-yard touchdown run.
“To get to play in Texas – which is the heart of football – is a great experience,” World Team head coach Tuomas Heikkinen of Finland said. “It's always a bit sour after a loss, but I'm sure overall, especially for those from outside North America, this was a great experience.”
