IFAF 2011 World Cup Final

The USA dominated Canada to retain its crown in international football, blasting Canada 50-7 at the 2011 IFAF World Cup Final Saturday night in Vienna, Austria.

On its opening drive, the US drove all the way down the field, with Nate Kmic scoring on a 2 yard run. On its ensuing drive, Michael Faulds nearly missed on a deep throw that got behind the US defenders. That was the closest the Canadians would get to threatening to unseat the US team all night.

A key play in the game occurred with 8 minutes remaining in the 2nd quarter. Trailing 7-0, Canada had driven from its own 28 mostly on passes from Faulds and runs form Walters. With 2 and 7 at the US 10, Faulds scrambled and fumbled just short of the goal line. The ball hit the pylon, so it was ruled a touchback.

Matt Bassuener drove the US down the field, completing the drive with a 23 yard TD run to make it 14-0.

Things went downhill quickly for the Canadians from there. They went backwards on their next possession, so on 4th and 31 from their own 9, they decided to take a safety. DeWayne Lewis took the kick back 47 yards to the Canada 32. Four plays later, Hawkins ran in from 7 yards out to make it 23-0 with 1:51 remaining in the half.

The Canadians went 3 and out, and they US came back and scored in three plays, as Hawkins connected with Joe Sturdivant to bring it to 30-0 with 0:40 remaining.

34 seconds later, Canada was finally able to get on the board with a 19 yard pass from Faulds to David Stevens with 6 seconds left in the half. Canada decided to try for an onside kick- the US recovered and made the Canadians pay for it on a 38 yard pass from Cody Hawkins to Ricardo Lenhart as time expired to bring the score to 37-7.

Both coaches tried hard to keep their teams motivated at half time, and the second half was physical, but lacked much of the scoring of the first half.

Kmic and Harry Harris added TDs in the 3rd quarter, with the only blemish being a missed extra point. Greg Berkshire made his other 6 extra points. A final Canadian drive was stopped just short of the goal line as time expired.

Canada seemed to lack some of the composure it had showed in beating Japan on Wednesday afternoon. They fumbled twice and suffered two costly interceptions, and gave up 69 yards on 7 penalties (while the US had 78 yards, with no turnovers.

Harris gained 114 yards on 15 carries and was named game MVP, and the US ended up with 257 yards on the ground, and 183 yards passing. Cody Hawkins went 13-21 and 2 TDS. Faulds went 16-28 for 161 yards.

Nate Kmic had 49 yards on 8 carries and another 42 yards on 5 receptions, and was named World Cup MVP.

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Japan Wins Bronze

It was the hard-fought close game everyone expected. And for the 3rd time in four World Cups, Japan managed to edge Mexico to win the medal.

Mexico surprised some by coming out in the I and were able to move the ball across midfield. Some poor openfield tackling hurt Japan throughout the game, allowing QB Rodrigo Perez to escape on a 3rd and 5.

Both defenses have prove unassailable on the perimeters.

With 5:00 to go in the half, Japan finally scored on a 15 yard scoring run from QB Tetsuo Takata. On the drive, Takata completed a 27-yard pass to Ken Shimizu, and was helped out by a personal foul called on R.G.B. Lopez.

Diego Viamontes took the ensuing kickoff up the field, and then down the right sideline. When he shifted gears, the Japanese kick coverage was outleveraged, and he took it 82 yards for a TD to tie the score at 7-all.

2 series later, Takeshi Miyake intercepted a Perez pass at the 45 and returned it to the 24, and a penalty for out hiting out of bounds took the ball to the 12. Daisuke Aoki's 23 yard field goal wit 0:35 remaining in the half gave Japan a 10-7 lead.

This in spite of the fact that Japan managed only 18 yards on the ground and 61 in the air, compared to 52 and 111 for Mexico. But Mexico's 7 penalties for 67 yards swung things in Japan's favor.

Japan took the opening drive of the 3rd quarter 60 yards. From the Mexico 19 takata completed a burst corner eoute to Maeda for a TD to make it 17-7.

On Japan's next drive, they began a 9-minute 18-play drive from their own 30 to the Mexico 4 yard line- the key play being a fake punt on 4th and 7 from the 35 with Shun Sugawara completing an 18 yard pass to Michihiro at the end of the 3rd quarter. On 3rd and goal, a reverse pass by Ogawa back to Takata was snuffed out, and the chip shot FG was missed.

Mexico promptly moved from their own 20 drove to midfield mixing runs and passes, and apparent trick play TD pass to Heriberto Salazar was ruled an illegal forward pass. Perez and Salazar finally did get the TD from 10 yards out, to tighten things up at 17-14 with 3:54 remaining.

Japan strung together a couple of first downs, before Mexico was able to stop them around midfield, using up all their time outs.

Mexico started their final drive at their own 20. Daniel Rolsen made it up the sidelines to the 40 on 2nd down.

Perez crossed midfield, and was hit out of bounds giving Mexico the ball at the 35 with 12.5 seconds left. An out was ruled incomplete, and Mexico lined up for a FG with 8.9 seconds left. Fearing a fake, Japan called their final TO.

But when the kick attempt finally came, it was blocked, and Japan escaped with a 17-14 victory.

Mexico finished with 299 yards in total offense, compared to 253 for Japan,. Mexico's defense held Japan to 58 yards on the ground on 22 carries.

Day 6 - Graz

In a game that was close in just about every way, Team Canada beat Team Japan to win Group B championship and a birth in the finals against the USA on Saturday. This will be the first time since the Word Cup of American Football began in 1999 that Japan will not be in the final. They won the championship in 1999 and 2003.

Canada was on the board first, as they put together a 59-yard drive on their first possession, mixing runs and passes, before QB Michael Faulds hit Michel-Pierr Pontbriand from 2 yards out to go up 7-0.

Naoki Maeda returned the ensuing kickoff to the 40, and QB Tetsuo Takata drove them down the field on throws to Noriaki Kinoshita and Michihiro Ogawa and a big 17 yard run from Tomokazu Sueyoshi. yasuhiro Maruta carried it over from the 1 to tie the score with 2:14 to go in the quarter.

Japan next tried on on-side kick which failed, giving the Canadians great field position, but they were unable to capitalize. The teams kept exchanging possession until late in the 2nd quarter, when a Canadian drive that began at their own 22 was capped by a 4 yard TD run by David Stevens with 1:29 remaining. Stevens had 5 carries on the drive for 46 yards.

Maeda's return to the 37 gave Japan decent field position. Takata passed them down the field, including a 38 yarder to Ogawa, and a 15 yard TD pass to RB Takuya Furutani on a wheel route to tie it up at 14-all with 0:32 remaining in the half. But Faulds was able to put the Canadian in scoring position in 3 plays to the 16, and Lirim Hajrullahu kicked a FG to make it 17-14 at the half.

At that point Canada had the advantage in possession (33-22) and total yardage 186-169, the majority of it on the ground. Walters had 50 yards and Stevens had 48. Takata was 8-11 and 101 yards, and 1 TD for Japan. Ogawa had 4 catcehs fir 71 yards.

To open the 2nd half, Takata took Team Japan from the 24 to the Canada 6, where Daisuke Aoki kicked a FG to tie the game again at 17-all. Koki Kato intercepted Faulds on the next series, and had the ball at the Canada 32. They were able to pick up another first down, but had to settle for a 29-yard FG from Aoki to take a 3 point lead with 1:30 left in the 3rd quarter.

On the final play of the quarter, Faulds completed a 28 yard pass to Pontbriand. On 2nd and 11 from the 17, Faulds completed a pass to Shamwad Chambers. Atsushi Tsuji was able to strip the ball, but Johmeek Murray was ble to recover the ball to retain possession for Canada at the 3. Walters scored on the next play, and it was 24-20.

Both teams went 3 and out on their next couple of possessions, and Japan took over at their own 11 with 8:10 remaining. Japan to 7 plays to go 89 yards, helped by a roughing the passer penalty, and when Sueyoshi scored with 5:38 left, Japan had retaken the lead, 27-24.

Canada responded immediately- in what was acknowledged as the play of the game, when Faulds had to scramble, Stevens freed himself down the sideline for a 72-yard gain, stopped just short of the goal line. It took three attempts by Walters to score, which he finally did with 3:31 remaining, to make it 31-27.

Kato was only able to return the kickoff to the 5, which meant Takata had to work from his end zone. With 4th and 7 from his own 8, Takata was able to run for the 1st down. But they were able to get no further than their 16, and when Ogawa was unable to get a handle on the 4th down pass, Canada had the ball on downs with 1:34 left, kneeling down on 4 straight plays.

Japan did get the ball with 0:10 left at their own 25, but Takata was intercepted to seal the victory for Canada.

After receiving 230 penalties for 146 yards on Monday against Austria, Canada was able to reduce that to only 20 yards on 3 penalties. Japan also had 3 for 22 yards. Other statistics were also close- Japan outgained 349 to 328, mostly due to a 224 to 197 advantage in passing, going 20-34-1. Faulds was 14-21-1. Canada outgained Japan on the ground 131 to 125.


In the evening game, Austria seemed to dominate in the first half, outgaining France 131 to 54, but was only able to manage a field goal. France came back in the 3rd and scored 17 points in less than 3-1/2 minutes on passes to Anthony Dable and Jeremy Rbot and a FG from Bruno Nekili. A fumbled kickoff return by Armando Ponce De Leon was huge. France added another TD on a 22 yard pass from Max Sprauel to Rabot with ten minutes left in the game to go up 24-3. Sprauel was 10-20-1 and 3 TDs, and avoided being sacked.

Austria fought back with Thomas Haider releiving Cristoph Gross, as Haier fired a 28 yard TD to Jakob Dietlinger and a 22 yarder to Andreas Proeller with 3:31 left. Gross was only 8-22, and Haider finished 9-18 with 2 interceptions and 2 sacks.
Once again it was an enthusiastic Austrian crowd that made a lot of nosie, but was obviously disappointed by the home team's 3rd loss. They will Face Australia on Friday for 7th place. France will meet Germany on Saturday in a rematch of last year's European Championship, which was won by Germany 26-10.

Day 5 Innsbruck

In a game much closer than many had expected, Germany held off Australia 30-10.

Big passing days for both QBs- Kernan Dorney went 19-31-0 and 281 yards and 3 TDs for the Aussies; meanwhile Joachim Ullrich was 17-29-1 and 2 TDs and 280 yards passing for the Germans, including a 50 yard touchdown pass to Niklas Roemer who caught two and caught 8 passes for 153 yards on the day.

Germany added 216 yards on the ground compared to 62 on only 12 attempts for Australia. The size of the German lines, and 102 kg Jerome Morris made the difference. Waldemar Shcander carried 13 tiimes for 84 yards, and Danny Washington and Morris each carried for 59 yards.



Germany head coach Marshall Happer praised his opponent: "My hat goes off to the Australian team. Anyone that knows Australian sportsman know that they are people that fight to the bitter end. Certainly we knew that they would never quit and showed that they have a lot of heart."

Australia head coach John Leijten said: "The way we fought in this game and how close it was, is a win for Australia. I am very happy with the outcome of the game. Germany is a strong team. You come in here and play the US first, Mexico second and Germany third. There is no easy game here. We put our resources into this game that we could battle and hang in there."


It was the first win in the tournament for Germany; Australia is 0-3.

Day 4- Group B, Game 2 @ Graz

Japan Downs France 35-10

Japan was clearly the superior team, but definitely gave an uneven performance. Some dazzling runs and catches by Naoki Maeda, Michihiro Ogawara, and Ryoma Hagiyama and 73 yards in kick returns by Noriaki Kinoshita overcame an offense that had some good drives, but sputtered occasionally.

Japan's defense was able to bottle up the run for most of the game.

In the second half, France picked up their tempo ans was able to move the ball but as the approached the red zone, repeatedly hurt themselves with mistakes, including consecutive 15 yard penalties to take them out of scoring range. They finished with 10 penalties for 81 yards, and 191 yards total offense, while the Japanese had 352 yards, 237 of it in the air.

Co-MVPs for the game were French QB Maxime Spraule who went (21-33-0) and 233 yards passing; and 42 year young Yasuo Wakisaka who is appearing in his 4th World Cup for Japan.

Japan used their Fly Sweep to get outside, and some effective downfield passing. Japanese QBs Takata and Sugawara went 8-12 and 7-10 respectively.

In the evening game, Canada moved into Austrian terrritory on their first drive, but then stalled. A late hit on their next punt return gave them the ball at the Austrian 34, Michael Pontbriand ripped off a first down, but then fumbled the ball.

Canada received the ball at midfield on a punt for the 2nd time. On 2nd and 13 from their on 48, QB Micahel Faulds fired a perfect strike to Scott Valberg down the right sideline, and it was 7-0 with 5:28 to go in the 1st quarter.

A 32 yard catch and run by Matt Walters put Canada up 14-0. Walters finished with 9 carries for 73 yards, and another 32 yards on 3 catches, scoring 1 TD each.

Late in the half, Gross completed a 54 yard bomb to Jakob Diepplinger set them up at the 13 with half a minute to play. Two consecutive passes to the corner of the end zone were open, but went off the hands of the receiver. On 3rd down, Gross through an interception into the hands of Joel Lipinski, and Canada ran out the clock.

After taking over at midfield (again!) on an interception, Canada began a penalty plagued drive, Canada finally scored from a yard out to make it 21-0.

Canada seemed to be vying with Mexico for the penalty crown, as they amassed 146 yards on 20 penalties. This created a lot of long yardage situations, which they were able to get out of more often than not through significal RAC yardage.

Late in the 3rd Quarter Austria started a drive at its own 42. Going for it on 4th and 10, Gross found Dieplinger on a perfect post for a score to make it 21-7 with 10:01 remaining and the Austrian crowd went nto a frenzy that lasted throughout the 4th Quarter.

But in spite of incredibly loud support that lasted nearly a half hour after the game had finished, Austria was not able to score again.

Faulds was able to find Shamwad Chambers on the next drive wih a 47-yard TD pass, and Canada was able to add another to go up 34-7. They went for 2 and were sueccesful, continuing a disturbing trend.

Canada had just over 400 yards in total offense, as Faulds finished 17-24-0 and 233 yards and 3 TD. Gross was 10-25-2 and 156 yards.

Austria will take on France on Wednesday; Canada will face Japan to determine the Group B champion. Group A champion will be determned tomorrow when Mexico meets Team USA in Innsbruck.

Both of Friday's winners in Group A on Friday held form Sunday, on fine summer day in front of seven thousand fans, as Mexico and Australia faced off in the afternoon, and Germany met Team USA in the evening.


Mexico had a rather easy time with an Australian team that seemed a bit worn down. They scored late in the 1st quarter on a 4 yard Barrerarun, and followed that with a 76 yard flea flicker from Rodrigo Perez to Jose Antonio Alfonso.

Perez was 18-24 for the half, Mexico led 28-0 at halftime, out-gaining Australia 349 yards to 48.

Australia looked somewhat shell-shocked. They had suffered a 61-0 drubbing by Team USA on Friday.

More personal fouls does nothing to diminish Mexico's "bad boy image". They finished with 148 yards on 16 penalties.

Some were also perplexed by Mexico's decision to go for after a TD put them up 51-0. The attempt to run wide was adequately defensed, but Erick Arzate was able to take it up through a tired line for two points. Coach Rivera said something about needing to put it in, but that earlier in the game was too risky. (???)

After a FG and a Safety made it 58-0 Australia provided a brief moment of excitement for its fans as S Tautinoga Masaga Faletaogo intercepted a Mexican pass with less than 2 minutes to go, but as he crossed midfield lost control of the ball, giving Mexico another possession to score their last to make it 65-0.


The second game was more entertaining, and the game was closer than the final score indicates.

Turnovers and special teams played a big part in this one too:
Germany was able to stop a US drive midway throught the 1st period and started a small drive of their own. Germany lined up for what would have been the first points in the game a 3-0 lead, but Jordan Lake was able to block the kick, DL Johnnie Dingle scooped it up and carried it 75 yards himself for a 7-0 USA lead.

The next drive was mostly Nate Kmic, on passes in the flat, over the middle, or carrying the ball. Hawkins hit him on a crossing route that was stopped just outside the endzone, so coach Tjeerdsmann let him carry it in on the next play to make it 14-0.

Openfield tackling proved problematic for the German squad, as the US gained a lot of return yards, as an interception and returm by Myles Burnsides helped atone for a helmet-to-helmet penalty on the previous play. Kmic later scored from 5 yards out. He was later named game MVP

A late hit out of bounds and roughing the passer on 3rd and long took Germany to the US 24.
UB 24 yard TD pass on a streak from Joachim Ullrich to Christian Bollman to make it 21-7 with 1:15. An excessive celebration penalty, gave the US good field position, and they drove down to the 12 fo, r an apparent FG. But after a time out to "ice the kicker" holder Cody Hawkins picked up the ball and threw to Richie Brockel as time expired for a 28-7 US lead at the half.

Maurice Banks ran back an interception of an Ulrich pass 77 yards for a touchdown midway through the 3rd quarter and it was 34-7.

The Germans went 3 & out on their next possession, but when the snap went over the punter Dennis Wiehberg's head, he kicked it through the end zone. In the earlier game, the Australian punter had done the same thing, and was penalized with a safety, but prevented Mexico from an easy touchdown. The difference here was that wiehberg kicked the ball out from his own 4, and so was punished with a loss of down and half the distance to the goal, giving the US the ball inside the 2 yard line, from whence DeShawn Jackson scored on the next nn the next play.

On the next series, Ullrich completed a pass to Jerome Morris who was hit and dislodged from the ball, which was scooped up by Terrence Jackson and run in from 10 yards out for the final score.

Morris, who was born in Texas, lay on the field motionless for several minutes, was taken from the field on a stretcher and to the hospital for examination, but coach Marshall Happner later said that Morris was conscious and has movement in his extremities.

While the 48 hour turnaround was difficult for both teams, both seemed somewhat sharper than their first game. On Tuesday, Germany plays Australia and Mexico meets USA for the Group A title. Based on their division standings, teams will meet members from Group B this weekend in Vienna.

Day 2 - Graz (Group B)

Japan 24 Austria 6
Canada 45 France 10

more later

Day 1 - Innsbruck

And they call soccer "The Beautiful Game"? Really, they ain't got nothing on football, gridiron style.

Beneath the exquisite Nordkette Alps in the Tyrolian capital, Mexico and Germany slugged it out in a terrific game that showed a little bit of everything.

The 1st quarter started fast, with Mexico going quickly down the field from their own 34, they picked up 12 on a screen to Jonathan Barrera and 8 more on a run by Jose Reyes. On 1st down from the Germany 44, QB Rodrigo Perez rolled out and hit Oscar Ruiz down the right sideline for a quick 7-0 with just 41 seconds gone.

The Germans said they were initially stunned by the quickness of the Mexican team the first couple of possessions, so they knew they were in for a real fight.

Not just being metaphorical there. Things got rather "chippy" in the first half, with a lot of pushing and shoving after the play, some hits that appeared late or out of bounds, and several rather vicious tackles. On Mexico's second possession, there were three alternating 15 yard penalties within four plays. Mexican head coach Raul Rivera attributed much of it to the difference in officiating in Europe and Mexico. He says they bring NCAA officials down to officiate in Mexico, and they tend to let the play develop longer. Rivera said he had to tell his players to pull it back at halftime. But German head coach Marshall Happer suggested that he had warned certain his players of a certain proclivity of the Mexican team toward such play, especially when taking on European teams. He did not elaborate as to whether that had anything to do with past history and resentment towards former colonial powers- or just an intimidation tactic. At any rate, the 100 yards in penalties by Mexico in the first half nearly matched the 105 yards total offense the Germans amassed in total offense, and helped to keep the score close at 10-7.

Julian Dohrendorf gathered in a tipped pass from Joachim Ulrich to get Germany on the board with 2:34 remaining in the half.

While the speed of the Mexican front 7 dominated early, the Germans seemed the more physical team in the 2nd half. After the game, Rivera said he respected the "mentality of the Germans", and warned his team to expect as much. Germany slightly out-gained Mexico for the game 243-235, but the majority (166 yards) of that was on the arm of Ulrich (15-26-2).

Special teams played a deciding role in the game. Poor fielding of one Mexican punt in particular gave Germany the ball on their own 1 yard line was followed by RB Jerome Morris being tackled by LB Manuel Padilla in the end zone. The safety gave Mexico a 12-7 lead, and a long run-back of the ensuing kick by Jose Barrera to the German 10.

But Mexico failed to capitalize, and when the FG attempt was blocked and returned to the 30, momentum swung back toward Germany. From there, Germany marched down the field, and Morris scored from 3 yards out. A substitution infraction moved them back to the 8,but Germany made the successful 2-point conversion on a nice catch by Dominic Hansellman beneath the goal posts to take a surprising 15-12 lead with 11:05 remaining in the game.

Another long kickoff return, this time by Jose Miguel Luna to the Mexico 46 brought them back, and a 42 yard field goal by Jose Carlos Maltos made it a tie game with 8:22 left. Penalties, an interception and dropped passes halted the next three respective drives, until Barrera returned the next punt 60 yards to the German 25. From there, Mexico marched in, with Reyes scoring from 3 yards away to make it 22-15 with 2:22 left.

Once again a poor kick return gave the Germans the ball on their own 15, but Ulrich was unable to take them the distance, as he was intercepted on 4th down and run back to the 16, and Mexico ran out the clock.


Players and coaches for all four teams praised the setting, and talked about respect for their opponents and the unique pride in being able to represent their countries.


As head coach John Leitjen said, the Australian team played hard every snap, but were simply out -anned, 61-0 by a faster, more talented US team. Considerable excitement was generated later in the 3rd Quarter, when a Greg Berkshire extra point attempt was blocked, and run back, but was tackled just outside the end zone to preserve the shutout.

Diezas Calbert opened the scoring for the US with a blocked punt returned for a touchdown, followed by a couple more on the ground. With 329 yards passing in total, all 4 American QBs saw action, including Micah Brown who had 3 catches as a receiver for 30 yards and a TD, as did WR Alex Anderson . Nate Kmic had 7 catches for 106 yards and a TD. On the ground DeShawn Thomas and Henry Harris each had over 90 yards rushing and 2 TDs.

Co-MVP Cody Hawkins (who was 13-15 with 2 TDs), was in control from the beginning and took led the US to a 34-0 halftime lead. Hawkins, who face a lot of ups and downs playing for his father at Colorado, shined on the field, and later behind the microphone. He certainly has a bright future as a coach...or a politician. He was polished, yet lavish in his praise of IFAF World Cup officials and hosts, his teammates, respect for their opponents, the atmosphere, the stadium, the mountain backdrop, the town, the people.

At the end of the press conference after the game Cody grabbed the mic back and added a half-serious plea to the Innsbruck Raiders for the chance to come play for them.

The Games Begin

In the beautiful valley of the Nordkette Alps, the IFAF 2011 World Cup began in Innsbruck with a pair of games. If any of the rest of the games between now and the July 16th Gold Medal game are anything like the night cap, the fans are in for a wonderful treat.

Along the valley of the river Inn, in an exciting game that had ebbs and flows and just about everything else, Mexico defeated Germany 22-15.

In the first game, the US completely dominated Australia.

Action moves to Graz on Saturday, as Canada face France, and Japan takes on host Austria.

They're Ready

In their final press conference before leaving for the IFAF World Cup 2011, representatives of Team Japan appeared to be ready to face the challenge ahead of them.

Asked how this Team Japan team is different from previous ones, Head coach Kiyoyuki Mori said, "I think this team is avery good combination of experience players and younger players, Some players, for example (WR) Shoei Hasegawa, he has experience in NFL-Europe and the [2007] World Cup in Kawasaki. (DL) Yamanaka, (LB) Kosho they have good experience so we have a good combination" The youngest player on this year's squad is Waseda RB Tomokazu Sueyoshi; Panasonic Impulse DL Yasuo Wakisaka, at 42, is twice his age. Wakisaka has appeared in all 4 World Cup tournaments. Japan won the first two World Cup tournaments in 1999 and 2003, when the US did not send a team.

Mori also said after the loss in the Notre Dame-Japan Bowl in 2009, they emphasized being more physical, and have gained an average 10 pounds a man, without sacrificing speed.

The USA and Japanese Teams are considered favorites to win their respective Groups.

In the 2007 World Cup championship game held in Japan, the Americans defeated Japan 23-20 in double overtime on a blocked field goal.

The Americans will open the 2011 World Cup on July 8th playing Australia in Innsbruck.

The Japanese Team flies to Austria on Wednesday, and will face host Austria on Saturday the 9th in Group B action in Graz. Both games will be kicking off at 3PM CET (13:00 UTC; 9:00 ET; 22:00 JT).

Germany and Mexico and Canada-France will meet in the evening games starting at 7 PM local time.

Mori was quite impressed by the the Austrian team in their Charity Bowl XIII game against the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Terre-Haute, IN) on June 5th, as they lost 35-34 when their 2-point conversion attempt fell short.

"They are very good team. Very physical. They have improved.

"Offensively, they run a lot of shotgun and pistol formations. Defensively they run a 3-4, many blitzes and combination blitzes."