Files from the International Federation of American Football – Austria 2011
VIENNA, AUSTRIA - On Saturday, the United States produced a stunning display of offensive fireworks and defensive dominance to humble Canada 50-7 in the gold medal game of the 2011 IFAF Senior World Championship and defend the world title won in Japan in 2007.
Canada-USA boxscore
Incredibly USA scored 21 points and Canada registered seven inside the last 1-minute 51 of the first half. The defending champion rarely looked likely to lose its grip on the world crown in front of 20,000 partisan fans at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, Austria.
USA game MVP: RB Henry Harris
Canada game MVP: DB Sammy Okpro
"We didn't hold anything back," admitted USA head coach Mel Tjeerdsma. "We have only been together for three weeks. I think those extra couple of days, in the group games you played every other day, and for this game we actually had four days to prepare, which is almost like American Football in the U.S. I think that really helped us.
USA began efficiently as quarterback Cody Hawkins moved the chains on an important third down completion, a Henry Harris run also earned a first down and they battled to the Canada one. From there Nate Kmic broke the plain as he was tackled and USA opened a 7-0 lead with 7.42 to play in the first quarter.
"Our first drive is a critically part of the ball game, and I thought it was big that we scored," added Tjeerdsma.
Canada might have hit straight back but the usually safe hands of Scott Valberg dropped a long pass into US territory. Both teams exchanged punts before Canada pressed to tie the contest.
"On defence, we struggled to do the things we hoped to do," said Canada coach Larry Haylor. "We hoped to do a little better with possessing the ball. We thought USA had an exceptional defensive line, which caused us a lot of problems. They executed extremely well and full credit to them.
"Tonight they were an outstanding team tonight, and we just didn't play as well as we wanted to.
"The experience of it all was an extreme positive. To be the first Canadian team to compete in this tournament was exciting. Graz was amazing and our time in Vienna has been equally amazing."
Valberg held on to move the ball to the US 35-yard mark and quarterback Mike Faulds then went to him in the end zone. Corner DeWayne Lewis broke up the pass thinking he had an interception but was ruled out of bounds.
To open the second quarter Faulds targeted Shamawd Chambers and Matt Walter carried to the 10 and Faulds thought he had made it to the one-yard mark. But the ball was frustratingly ruled to have been fumbled through the end zone for a touchback.
USA were merciless in reply. Matt Bassuener broke free up the middle to race clear 23 yards for a touchdown behind blocks of Nick Rossi and Luke Summers and score for a 14-0 lead.
Daniel Caralano and Charles Bay hunted down Faulds in backfield for a loss, Bay came up with a sack and rather than risk USA coming back at them with the advantage strong field position Canada took a deliberate safety and opted to kick clear having given up two more points.
The plan backfired as Ricardo Lenhart returned the free kick to the Canada 32 and a Harris run put the ball back into the red zone. Hawkins scrambled out to the left from seven yards for a commanding 23-0 lead with 1:51 to play
Canada punted and the ruthless Americans scored again as Joe Sturdivant collected a pass lofted over the secondary by Hawkins for a 27-yard touchdown with 40 seconds on the clock.
Canada looked assured of going into the locker room with a foothold as David Stevens took a 19-yard pass from Faulds in for a touchdown, but incredibly USA scored again. A squib kick aimed at preventing the US from gaining significant return yards hit the first player in its path and was recovered at the Canada 38. From there Hawkins dropped a pass into the end zone for Lenhart to score and bring up a breathtaking 37-7 halftime score.
USA safety Jordan Lake intercepted Faulds on the first drive of the second half to take possession at Canada's 13 and on the next play, Kmic increased the lead to 43-7 on the ground. Kmic was named tournament MVP afterwards.
The rivals traded punts then Lake came up with his second interception near midfield and three plays later on first and goal at the five, Harris took the handoff for another touchdown and USA led by 43 points.
Chambers, David Stevens and Alexandre Poirier moved the ball successfully downfield, but Michel-Pierre Pontibrand came up marginally short on a fourth down rush for Canada at the USA 7-yard mark.
Donnie Marshall, now under center for Canada, guided the persistent silver medalists downfield to take four shots at the end zone as time ran out on them scoring a second consolation touchdown.
********
GRAZ, AUSTRIA - Canada defeated Japan 31-27 in Wednesday semifinal action at the IFAF World Football championships.
Canada will play the U.S. at 7:00 p.m. local time (1:00 p.m. Mountain Time) on Saturday, July 16th. LiveStream will be available from Vienna, with commentary in German.
Former Saskatchewan Huskie RB David Stevens (#35) was named Player of the Game for Canada. A third straight two-touchdown performance by Calgary Dinos running back Matt Walter proved to be the difference as Canada finished atop the Group B standings.
Walter, the Dinos’ all-time touchdowns leader, is adding to his major total routinely at the event and found the end zone twice in the fourth quarter as Canada came out on top of a back-and-forth contest with the two-time world champion Japanese. Walter’s first score came on a three-yard run to put Canada ahead 24-20, and he added the game winner with just 3:31 remaining on the clock with a one-yard plunge across the goal line.
In the nation’s first-ever trip to the world championship, Canada finished 3-0 in round robin play with victories over France, Austria, and Japan all within a five-day span in Graz. Next they move to Vienna, where Ernst Happel Stadium will play host to the medal round – which culminates in a world championship showdown between Canada and the United States.
Walter racked up 62 yards on 17 carries, one yard behind Stevens’ 63-yard effort. Former Western Ontario quarterback Michael Faulds completed 14 of 21 passes for 204 yards with one touchdown and one interception for Canada in the victory.
Stevens was interviewed by sport.ORF after tha game, saying, "We have a lot of great players on this team who get a lot of reps and that helps. Four games in seven days is tough." About playing the U.S. for Gold, he added, "They're the best football nation in the world... we'll see who comes out standing on top."
********
by Ben Matchett, U of Calgary
GRAZ, Austria – Matt Walter of the University of Calgary Dinos scored a pair of touchdowns to earn player-of-the-game honours as Canada defeated Austria 36-14 to move to 2-0 at the World Championship of American Football on Monday night.
The victory, which follows a 45-10 triumph by Canada over France in their opener, sets up a semifinal match-up against Japan Wednesday. The winner advances to the gold medal game, slated for Saturday in Vienna.
Walter, who was a late addition to the Canadian roster after spending training camp with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders, scored two majors for the second straight game – the first on a 32-yard pass from former Western Ontario quarterback Michael Faulds to make it 14-0 in the second quarter, followed by Canada’s final score on a 6-yard run late in the fourth.
Canada but was made to fight for every yard against a determined host nation spurred on by a 4,500-strong crowd at the UPC Arena in Graz.
Walter racked up 74 yards on 9 carries along with three catches for 32 yards, while receiver Jakob Dieplinger and running back Mario Nerad delighted the home crowd by breaching the end zone for Austria. Faulds put in an impressive performance for Canada, completing 17 of 24 pass attempts for 233 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Linebacker Florian Heuter took the Austrian MVP honors, leading the team with 6.5 tackles including one for a loss, while offensively Dieplinger had 87 receiving yards and Florian Grein gained 65 on the ground.
Walter is joined on the Canadian team by two Dinos teammates, offensive lineman Reed Alexander and defensive lineman Josh Symons. Calgary head coach Blake Nill is the defensive coordinator for Team Canada. Former University of Saskatchewan Huskies David Stevens and Brian Guebert are also Team Canada members.
Of the 45 players on the Canadian roster, 41 are either current or former CIS players.
The U.S. defeated Mexico in a semifinal game on Tuesday. Canada and Japan face off Wednesday at 7:00 a.m. MDT for the right to play for the gold medal. The game will be available live online (German only) at www.ifaf.org.
The winner will take on the winner of the USA-Mexico contest for gold on Saturday night, while the two semifinal losers will meet up for bronze Friday in Vienna.