American-Football Blog

JPFF playoffs 2012-1-14

2012-01-16T06:16:00.000-08:00

The Urawa Ulowers(!) will meet the Brandings in the Eastern Championship game on January 29th.

Urawa was able to hold off the Kawasaki Grizzlies in the first game, winning 19-14 on a late interception.

In the second game. The Tachikawa Falcons scored first, and The Brandings trailed at half-time 7-6, but came back with a big second half to defeat the Falcons 32-7.

The winner of the Eastern championship game will meet the western champion in February. The JPFF championship game is the latest of all leagues in Japan.

Rice Bowl LXV

2012-01-01T18:41:00.000-08:00

January 3rd (Tuesday)
Kansai Gakuin vs. Obic Seagulls
14:00 Kickoff at The Big Egg (Tokyo)

2011 Japan X-Bowl

2011-12-20T04:45:00.000-08:00

2011-12-19 Japan X-Bowl

Three quick, deadly strikes by Noriaki Kinosita in five plays struck mortal blows to the championship hopes of the Fujitsu Frontiers, and were the difference in another nerve-wracking tight X-Bowl battle between the Obic Segulls and the the Frontiers. Despite being out-performed and out-gained most of the night, the Seagulls prevailed 24-17.

Fujitsu seemed in command for most of the ball game, leading at halftime 7-3, and when a 31-yard Fujitsu FG put them up 10-3 with 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, it looked like that might be all they need.

But Kinoshita took the kickoff, split the coverage and went 98 yards for a touchdown. The extra point attempt missed to the left. Yusuke Kaneoya had also missed his first FG attempt,, before hitting a 21 yarder on their next and last possession of the first half.

After Kinoshita's electrifying return the Obic fans regained their excitement. The two teams traded 3-and-outs. Then Obic struck deep several times, going 87 yards in just 4 plays- the last 10 on a WR screen to Kinoshita, They followed that up with a trick play 2-point conversion on a fake dive pass from TB Takuya Furutani to TE Akimitsu Mori to take a 17-10 lead with 10:30 remaining.
On the first play of their next possession, Sugawara struck again on a 66-yard bomb to Kinoshita, sending the Fujitsu fans into shock and dismay.

Early in the game, both teams moved the ball on runs up the middle and several scrambles. Karl Noa admitted they did not have a man accounting for the QB.

Fujtsu led the game in almost every statistic, out-gaining Obic 365 to 337 and leading in time of possession by 7-1/2 minutes in spite of their no huddle offense.

"Their no huddle seemed to throw us out of our rhythm" said Noa. "We couldn't substitute, and it definitely had an affect on us", said Jackson. "But we got some hits on their QB, and that made a difference in the end".

All three foreign Seagulls expressed sympathy for Brad Brennan, who once again came close, but failed to make it to the Rice Bowl. "Brad played an awesome game," they all agreed.

Obic seemed intent on stopping the Fronteir's Takeshi Akiyama, and Brad capitalized. Brennan had 9 catches for 128 yards- big catches several on third and long, whether over the middle, on the sideline or on WR screens. Brennan had three catches on the final drive, as Fujitsu drove down to the Obic 11 ib the final minute. Three straight incompletions brought up 4th down. Brennan was able to work himself open in the end zone, but Izuhara's pass was off the mark. Izuhara finished 19-34 with 1 interception.

Kinoshita barely topped Brennan with 129 yards on 5 catches (the last two for TDs), while Ryoma Hagiyama had 8 catches for 91 yards for Obic.

The Fronteirs did a good job of containing Sugawara and the Seagulls- Sugawra picked up only 10 yards on the ground, while Furutani finished with 13 carries for 50 yards. But after a mediocre first three quarters, Sugawara's last four passes went for 43, 24, 10, and 66 (the last for TDs) so he finished 18-23 with no interceptions.

"They were doing a lot of different things," said Obic LG Frank fernandea, "but they always do" "We saw that they were trying to cover the best receiver in the league 1-on-1, so we decided to take advantage of that," added Fernandez.

While no surprise, the Fronteir's no-huddle attack gave the Seagulls some problems.
"we couldn't make substitutions like we wanted," Noa said. Both Noa and Jackson felt that some of the hits they put on the QB took their toll.

Jackson added that he will look forward to playing KG, as their offensive coordinator "is the same guy who brought me to Japan" when he was coaching for the Saeagulls.

When asked what he thought was the biggest factor in the game, Jackson said, "you know, momentum is such big factor in this league." Obic seemed to make it count the most.

JPFF SemiIfnals 2011-12-18

2011-12-18T07:59:00.000-08:00

In JPFF semi-final action at Yokohama Stadium, the Eastern Conference finalists were determined.

The Urawa Ulowers (!) won the first game, handily defeating the Davey Jones 25-0.

But the second game was much more interesting. As the sun set over the rim of the stadium, the Brandings kicked a FG as time expired to defeat the Setagaya Southland Raiders 10-7.

The Brandings led 7-0 at halftime, before a blocked punt was scooped up and run back for a TD by the Raiders.

The Raiders seemed in control for much of the second half, yet their offense was unable to put the ball in the end zone. Still, when Tataki intercepted an Ooshiro pass at midfield with just over 5 minutes remaining, they seemed ready for the victory. The Raiders drove into scoring position, but missed their FG attempt, giving the ball back to the Brandings for their final drive.

The Brandings were stopped at the Raiders 12 yard line in the final minute and lined up for a short FG. which was blocked. But the officials ruled that the Raiders had made illegal contact with the center, giving the Brandings a first down at the 6. A couple of runs failed to scored, so they lined up for a FG. The kick finally went through, and the Brandings moved on to the Eastern Championship game in Kawasaki on January 16th.

X-League Semi-Finals 2011-12-04 Yokohama Stadium

2011-12-04T18:36:00.000-08:00

The Obic Seagulls will return to the Tokyo Dome once again to defend their X-Bowl title against the Fujtsu Frontiers, as they manhandled the Kajima Deers 45-20 in semi-final action on Sunday, while Fujitsu blasted the Nojima Rise 38-3.

The Seagull lines were dominant on both sides of the ball. OT Frank Fernandez said they took much of their game plan from watching Nojima in their victory a couple of weeks ago on the same field. "They like to stunt and blitz a lot, so we were able to run Power and get the running game rolling."

Obic scored on their opening drive, and went up 17-3 on a 42 yard pass from Sugawara to Furatani to on the final play of the first quarter. Sugawara was 16-26-1 for 203 yards; meanwhile Katoh and Ozaki went 16-39 and 4 interceptions, including three in the final quarter, dooming any real chance Kajima might have had at staging a comeback.

Vice-captain Kevin Jackson said, "We were disguising our coverages a bit and I think that confised them", said Jackson.

At one point, Kajima threatened to get back in the game. A 2nd quarter TD and a 3-and-out defensive stop, the Deers took over trailing 17-10. Jackson tipped a pass, and Mitsunori Kihara intercepted the ball at the Kajima 20. Two plays later, Sugawara scored on a 15-yard run, and Obic never needed look over its shoulder again.

The Seagulls outgained the Deers 193 to 156 yards on the ground. Furutani picked up 110 on 18 carries.

The second half didn't go much better for the Deers- they were able to manage one touchdown, Satoh going over from the 1 late in the 3rd quarter. But in the final period, they were stopped on downs once, and their final three drives ended with interceptions.

"Our defense is well-suited to what they do. early in the year we faced a lot of running teams, but today we were able to use our pass rush well", said Jackson.

In the second game, the Fujitsu Frontiers turned in a dominating performance to return to the X-Bowl for the second time in three years, defeating the Nojima Rise 38-3.

Despite a noticable size advantage, it was the Fujitsu Frontiers that outgained Nojima Rise 257 to 123 on the ground, and added 158 yards in the air.

Nojima actually struck first, taking the opening kickoff and marching down to the Fujitsu on 12 plays, setting for a 42-yard Idezawa field goal, what turned out to be the only points of the day for the Rise.

But Fujitu responded with a 65-yard drive in 7 plays, as Motoki Yoshida hit Brad Brennan in the corner of the end zone on a 22 yard scoring strike to make it 7-3. Nojima fumbled three plays later, Kosuke Kamiyama took it in from 7 yards out, and it remained 14-3 at halftime.

On the opening drive of the 2nd half, Fujitsu followed up a good return with a drive, Kon scored from a yard out on 4th and goal to make it 21-3. Kamiyama scored again on their next drive, as they went 79 yards in 5 plays, and the rout was on. Kamiyama finished with 117 and 2 TDs on 22 carries.

The Frontiers only need to throw 15 times in the game, completing 10 of them, as snaps were shared by Yoshida (4-6), Izuhara (5-8), and Hiramoto. Nojima's Kinoshita finished only 10-22 with 1 interception.

Brennan said, "alot of the credit goes to the defense- they've been playing really well".

Fujitsu has made it to the X-Bowl twice, in 2007 aND 2009 and lost both times. e Frontiers faced the Seagulls in the X-League championship game in 2002, a game won by the Seagulls 14-7.

Urban Football League 2011-11-27

2011-11-27T00:27:00.000-08:00

In what tunred oout to be a tight game, the Battlehawks missed a 42-yard FG as time expired, and the Roebucks were able to hold on for a 14-13 victory. The Battlehawks had driven from their own 5-yard line with less than two minutes remaining.

The Bettle Hawks scored twice in the 4th Quarter, Qb Akira Yasushi throwing for one TD to Shinichiro Matsuo and running for another with three and a half minutes remaining. But the Battlehawks missed the extra point.

The Roebucks had scored twice in the 2nd quarter on a pair of turnovers- an interception by Kenta Watanabe returned for a touchdown to make it 7-0.

Then the Batlehawks recovered a fumble at midfield and scored late in the half to make it 14-0 at the half.

A long kick return by Yuichi Yamazaki was wasted when another Roebucks drive stalled, and the FG attempt from close range was wide.

X-League - November 2011

2011-11-21T08:26:00.000-08:00

The four teams for the X-League playoffs have apparently been set, all of them based in Tokyo. It was a busy day in X-League action on Sunday, as the Panasonic Impulse and Kajima Deers suffered their first losses of the season. In action down in Kansai, the Obic Seagulls scored on an 18 yard pass from Sugawara to Kikuchi with 24 seconds remaining to defeat Asahi Soft Drinks 20-13 in a come from behind victory. In the second game there, after trailing 10-3 at halftime, Fujitsu scored three TDs in the second half to defeat the Panasonic Impulse, 24-10.

Meanwhile at Yokohama Stadium, the Nojima Sagamihara Rise continues their winning ways in their first year in the top division, defeating Kajima in overtime, 27-20.

Both teams moved the ball, but had trouble scoring for most of the contest. Each had problems hat prevented scores- Kajima in the red zone; and Nojima with 4 turnovers. Kajima hit their first FG, missed the next, and then had one blocked. On their next trip to the red zone, they decided to go for it on 4th down, but failed. The Rise led 13-3 at the half on a couple of FGs sandwiching a Sugihara TD. He finished with 104 yards on 19 carries in regulation. Nojima finished with 202 yards on the ground and 194 in the air as Kinoshita was 12-20 with three interceptions, and added another 52 yards on ten carries.

Meanwhile Katoh was 20-30 and Kojima went 6-11 for Kajima, combing for 287 yards, and they picked up 170 yards on the ground on 34 carries, Satoh with 12 of them for 76 yards.Kajima didn't find the end zone till 10:34 remained in the 4th quarter, scoring on a 49 yard pass from Katoh to Nakagawa. Nojima answered with a 5 minute drive and a TD of their own, Miyako scoring from the 1. But Kajima rallied once again, scoring on a 5 yard pass from Katoh to Nakagawa with 3:43 remaining and then recovering the onside kick. They drove into the red zone once again, as Nojima let the clock wind down, and Kajima kicked a 20-yard FG with 11 seconds remaining.

Nojima had the ball first in overtime, and scored when Sugihara took a screen pass in from 8 yards out. Then on first down Kajima threw incomplete. An ill-advised sack on second down was followed by a penalty, making it 3rd and 25 from the 40. Katoh tried to throw long, but it was intercepted by Kitamura near the goal line to seal the victory for the Rise.

Based on a complicated tie-breaking system that takes "strength of schedule" into account, Kajima will still get into the playoffs in spite of the loss. Nojima, formerly the Onward Skylarks, lost its sponsorship after the 2008 season and re-formed as the Sagamihara Rise, but was demoted to the third division and spent the 2009 and 2010 seasons moving up. They lost to Obic in the season opener 24-19, but have since reeled off six in a row.

November 12th

2011-11-12T11:03:00.000-08:00

A glorious Indian Summer day at Kawasaki, with some of the "other" teams in X1 meeting in a
doubleheader of teams without wins. It would be the last game of the regular season. (Stage 2)
for the losers of each game.

Bullseyes Tokyo 17 Unisys Bulls 14
After a slow start, the Bullseyes scored 10 points in the 4th quarter to defeat the Bulls.
It was 4th quarter scrambling by Bullseye's QB Atsushi Ozawa that made the difference. Ozawa
picked up 41 yards on 9 runs, in addition to going 19-31-2 and 1 TD through the air for 206
yards. Machinori Fujisawa finished 12-22 with no INTs and 98 yards passing for Unisys.
The Bullseyes went three and out until Ozawa hit on Shota Katoh with a 23 yard TD pass for
the only score until late in the 3rd quarter. That's when Keita Saruwatari went in from 3 yards
out, capping a 9 play, 65 yard drive to tie the score at 7-7. Keita Saruwatari picked up 89 yards
and 1 TD rushing on 15 carries for the Bulls.
An 11 play drive earlier in the quarter resulted in a missed FG by Fumitaka Iseri for the Bulls that
would come back to haunt them.
Yuki Itano missed a 24-yarder on the Bullseyes' next possesion, which was followed by Ozawa's
2nd interception in 4 drives.
But then the Bullseyes scored on their next couple of six-play drives. Ozawa scored on a QB
draw with less than 3 minutes remaining to make it 17-7.
Unisys was able to drive and score quickly on a pass from Machinori Fujisawa to Yuichi Kondo to
make it 17-14 and generated some excitement when they recovered the ensuing kickoff; but
the ball did not travel the 10 yards necessary so the Bullseyes took over and ran out the clock.

All Tokyo Gas Creaters 41, Fuji-Xerox Minerva 28
In the second game, All Tokyo Gas came out(!) and dominated the first half, never punted,
scored on the first three drives of each half, and cruised easily to defeat Fuji-Xerox 41-28.
The Creators amassed 519 yards on offense (compared to 350 for Fuji-Xerox), outgaing them
on the ground (217 to 138) and in the air (299 to 212). QB Ryo Murata went 15-21 and 199
yards and was relieved by Atsushi Shibata (5-5) and Misasmitsu Den (2-6). Between them, they
completed passes to eight different receivers, and there were no interceptions. Toshihiro
Katusmi started for Fuji-Xerox and went only 4-12. Naoya Ichikawa was more effective in relief,
especially effective throwing to (#14) Tomohiro Hoshino who caught 10 passes for 126 yards,
and scored the final touchdown of the game.
Masashi Sakurai picked up 57 yards on the ground on three carries, and Shinsuke Jumonji
picked up 49 on seven carries for Tokyo Gas; Shinichi Maekawa led all rushers with 113 on 18
carries for the Minerva.
Tokyo Gas took the opening kickoff and scored on a six-play drive, then a couple of ten-play
drives resulting in a FG and another TD, and finally adding a FG with 4 seconds remaining in the
first half to make it 20-0. Another attempt earlier in the 2nd quarter bounced off the left upright,
wasting a 70 yard punt return by Fumitaka Obana, who was tackled short of the goal line.
(#21) Komori was impressive at CB for Fuji-Xerox, breaking up several passes.
In the second half, while they never really threatened the lead, Fuji-Xerox did open up a bit and
got on the board, scoring one in the 3rd quarter, then three TDs in the final frame to make the
score look respectable.
For their part Tokyo Gas did not take their proverbial foot off the proverbial- well, gas- as they
added three TDs of their own in the second half, and another FG attempt was blocked. The two
FG miscues and one fumble lost were the only black marks on an otherwise succesful day for
the Creaters.
The two winners of today's games will meet at Kawasaki next Saturday.

new season, new- yet familiar- faces

2011-09-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

It only took a couple of series for the Rise to feel at home again in X-league's Division 1, but on Wednesday night they let the Japan 2010 champion and everyone else know that they were back were they belonged and a force to be reckoned with. But in the end the Obic Seagulls overcame 3 fumbles and recovered an onside kick with 1:38 remaining and were able to run out the clock for a 24-19 victory at the Tokyo Dome.

The Rise were formally the perennial power known in various incarnations as the Onward Skylarks, etc. over the years , mostly under coach Dan Lynds. In December, 2008, Onward suddenly pulled its sponsorship. They were able to scramble and reform, but not in time to make the deadline to retain its Division 1 status. So the Sagamihara Rise were relegated to Division 3. With great community support, the Rise overwhelmed their Division 3 and Division 2 opponents and were able to move up for this year.

With the move to Division 1, the Rise have a new head coach, Takayuki Sunaga, and a new sponsor: Nojima. Lynds returned to the States this year to coach at Riverside California community College under Tom Craft, the former head coach at San Diego State.

The Rise seemed slightly stunned on their first series on offense (they went 3 and out) and on defense early (Obic moved easily down to their 8), but when the Seagulls fumbled there and the Rise recovered, the newcomers adjusted to the speed and intensity of Division 1 ball.

Obic drove again on their next drive and managed a FG, but Nojima came back with a 6 play drive and scored on a pass from Kinoshita to Inoue to take the lead as the 2nd quarter began. Kentaro Kimura's extra point attempt was blocked, and he was later replaced by Shin Idezwawa. Obic responded, going 60 yards in 5 plays, to take a 13-6 lead at halftime.

Both teams used a bit of formationing, and varied attacks. Obic DE and Vice-Captain Kevin Jackson said, "We didn't know what to expect; we didn't really have much film on them."

Both defenses stiffened near their own goal lines- each of Obic's first four drives reached inside the Nojima 10, fumbling twice, and settling for a FG once.

Obic seemed to be determined to be aggressive, disdaining the fair catch, and mixing inside runs with perimeter attacks. But Nojima's defense had excellent pursuit for most of the evening. The Seagulls worked to work the bubble screen and Kinoshita open on WR screens, but the Rise were able to cover them quickly.

Meanwhile Nojima had difficulty getting outside. TB Masatoshi Sugihara finished with 12 carries for 44 yards, while Obic's Takuya Furutani finished with 11 carries for 85 yards and 1 TD.

Obic had a slight edge in the air: 184 to 158, as Shun Sugawara went 18-24. Meanwhile nojima's Masato Kinoshita went 8-16 in the air, and picked up another 62 yards on the ground, including the 13 yard draw that went for a TD to bring the Rise to within 5 points with 1:38 remaining. The Rise scored on 4 of their last 5 drives.

Nojima was penalized a total of 10 times for 71 yards, including 5 holding calls, and 1 pass interference call. Lined up against former NFL-Euope WR Noriaki Kinoshita and Obic's other talented receivers, a slightly over-matched Ishiguro Takaya was called for two of those (and could have been called for one or two more), once in the red zone and once a a critical 3rd and long late in game that set up the Seagull's winning score. Obic's flags came a couple of false starts and several offsides.

"It was good to win," said Jackson, "but we made a lot of mistakes. A lot of mistakes"

The Rise featured a couple of new players from Hawaii this year, Derrick Faavi, and Keith Ah Soon, who came over and greeted fellow UH alumni Jackson, Karl Noa and Frank "The Tank" Fernandez after the game. "We need them to get us banners like you've got heere," the said, referring to the large banners fans hang from the stands promoting some of the favorite Japanese or foreign players. They join Reggie Miller, who has been with the Rise dating back to the Skylarks.

IFAF 2011 World Cup Final

2011-07-16T15:12:00.001-07:00

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.

````````````

Japan Wins Bronze

2011-07-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-13T14:24:00.001-07:00

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

2011-07-13T00:04:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-11T14:37:00.000-07:00

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.

2011-07-10T22:57:00.000-07:00

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)

2011-07-09T22:23:00.000-07:00

Japan 24 Austria 6
Canada 45 France 10

more later

Day 1 - Innsbruck

2011-07-09T04:37:00.001-07:00

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

2011-07-08T21:21:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-05T07:18:00.000-07:00

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."

Spring Ball 2011

2011-05-20T02:33:00.000-07:00

While the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crises in Japan brought many things to halt, most football teams were soon back at it.

Most teams have several scrimmages already over Golden Week, and there is a full weekend coming up, with X-League games at Kawasaki on Saturday and Sunday,

Several college teams meeting in interdivisional and intersectional matchups on Sunday.
There will be a KCFF triple-header played at Japan Sports University. Meanwhile in the KCFA, Aoyama Gakuin will take on Keio, and Chuo meets Nihon at Aminovital, while Hosei hosts Nanzan at home.

JPFF Playoffs

2011-01-16T20:12:00.000-08:00

In Japan Private Football Federation semi-final action on Sunday at chilly, but sunny Kawasaki Stadium, it was the Grizzlies and the Brandings who prevailed to take their place in the Eastern Conference Championship on January 30th.

After spotting the Davey Jones a TD early, the Grizzles rallied for 26 unanswered points, to take their place in the

In the second game, the Brandings used a solid ground game and efficient play-action passing and halfback option passes, and held off the Urawas 14-6.

In the Eastern Conference Championship game the Brandings and Grizzlies will kickoff at 13:30 on the 1/30 at Kawasaki Stadium. The Urawas and Nagano will meet in a consolation game beginning at 10:30.

JPFF Playoffs

Rice Bowl

2011-01-03T17:03:00.000-08:00

Before more than 35,000 fans in the Tokyo Dome, the Obic Seagulls trounced the Ritsumeikan Panthers to win the Rice Bowl

In a rather lackluster game after an exciting season, the Seagulls shut out the Panthers 24-0 in the 28th annual meeting of collegiate and shakaijin champions. It was the Seagulls fourth title, the first two coming when they were sponsored by Recruit. The win denied the Panthers their fourth title.

Ritsumeikan mostly flailed on offense, unable to move the ball on the ground, and QB Shoma Taniguchi connected on only 9 of 38 passes for 69 yards, was intercepted three times in the 4th quarter. Considered a running threat, he managed only 24 yards on 13 carries. A missed 40-yard field goal ended their only scoring threat of the afternoon.

Former Hawaii University players Karl Noa and Kevin Jackson figured prominently in the pressure put on Taniguchi. Noa had a couple of sacks, and Jackson added a tipped and then intercepted a pass to his stats.

Meanwhile Obic QB Shun Sugawara was 15 of 25 for 199 yards, throwing for the first touchdown (a 49-yard strike to Ryoma Hagiyama), and running for the second. The Seagulls scored on a FG as time expired in the 1st half to make it 17-0.

Sugawara, who lost in the Rice Bowl twice as a collegian with the Hosei Tomahawks, transferred to the Seagulls this year from the Sagamihara Rise, who will join division 1 of the X-League next season. Sugawara was named game MVP.

The Furutani twin brothers figured prominently in the Seagull's attack: Shinya with long punt returns, and Takuya rushing and scoring the final TD of the game.

free Rice Bowl tickets drawing

2010-12-29T19:28:00.001-08:00

The Metropolis magazine MetPod is giving away free tickets to the Rice Bowl (between the Obic Seagulls and the Ritsumeikan Panthers). For a chance to win:

To: metpod@metropolis.co.jp
Re: "Rice Bowl"

[body]: (the name of your favorite Japanese football team- any league, any level. Just pick one)

The Rice Bowl will be held at the Tokyo Dome on January 3rd (national holiday in Japan). Kickoff will be at 2PM. The game will also be televised by NHK.

2010 Japan X Bowl result

2010-12-20T18:36:00.000-08:00

Stormy but low score
Panasonic Pick-Six up
Obic come back late

2010 Japan X Bowl

2010-12-20T18:34:00.000-08:00

Winter cold outside
Seagulls-Impulse in Big Egg
Exciting X Bowl!

Clash of the school titans

2010-12-02T23:31:00.000-08:00

more american football action this weekend as the season comes to a head:

A double-header of X2 League games at Kawasaki on Saturday, December 4th beginning at 11.

On Sunday, in first division X-league semi-final action, since the Fujitsu Frontiers were knocked out of the playoffs, the Obic seagulls (including 3 American players) will take on the Kajima Deers at 2:30 at Kawasaki; meanwhile the wild card IBM Big Blue will be down in Osaka to face the Panasonic Impulse.

The big college game in the Kanto area is the Clash Bowl on Sunday the 5th- featuring the top two teams in the KCFA- the perennial champion Hosei Tomahawks will face the Waseda Big Bears at Ajinomoto Stadium (that's near Tobitakyu station on the Keio line).

Pregame festivities will include youth football games featuring the Little Tomahawks and the Little Green Machine from Kanagawa; and from the Tokyo area- the Gators, comprised of a lot of expat kids, going against the Japanese Hurricanes.

Then the main event kicks off at 13:00- bands, cheerleaders, a half-time show- the whole works. The winner of the clash Bowl goes to Osaka for the Koshien Bowl to determine the university champion on December 19th.

end of November

2010-11-28T20:29:00.001-08:00

UFL action at Oi Stadium #2.

The Roebucks will meet the Thunderbirds in the championship game on December 12th.

November 27-28

2010-11-25T08:37:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving weekend. Big games coming up this weekend in the States- the last game of the regular season. The top 3 college teams play on Friday.

Here in Japan:
College football on Saturday at Komazawa Stadium #2 right there in Komazawa Park.
Triple-headers both Saturday and Sunday at Aminovital.

Final regular season games on Sunday for the for the Kanto Collegiate Football Federation. Sunday is the last regular season game for the Urban Football league at Oi Dai Ni stadium as well; and Sunday also closes out the regular season for the Japan Private Football Federation- but spectators are of course,welcome- at Grand Yasushi Ken Oomiya and at Minato Mirai.

You can check listings (see links), but the kickoff for the first game is usually around 11AM; and where there is a third game, that usually starts around 4:30.

...and the 6-year dental and medical schools in Japan have special leagues of their own- they will have 3 games at 10, 12 and 2 on Sunday in Kawasaki stadium.

Dress warm and enjoy american football, japan-style!

2011 X-League Division I blocks

2010-11-21T16:59:00.000-08:00

The X League announced it's divisional alignment for 2011. The Kanto area is divided into two "blocks", nominally the Eastern and Central, which are redrawn each year, based on standings.

EASTERN
Kajima Dears
Fujitsu Frontiers
Meiji-Yasuda Pirates
All-Mitsubishi Lions
Bullseyes Tokyo
Fuji-Xerox Minerva

CENTRAL:
Obic Seagulls
IBM Big Blue
Asahi Beer Silver Stars
Hurricanes
All Tokyo Gas Creators
Nihon Unisys Bulls

shaking out

2010-11-21T15:08:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks of November are when things shake out- play-off and regulation games are decided, and tentative alignments for next year are formed.

While most divisions of most leagues in Japan have their last game coming up this coming weekend, Division 1 of X-League and KCFA (Kanto) and the KAFCA (Kanssai) concluded their seasons, and will have playoff games the first weekend in December.

In college action at Kawasaki Stadium, after leading 20-10 at the half the Hosei Tomahawks defeated the Tohoku Hornets 51-16; not to be outdone, the Waseda Big Bears pounded the Hokkaido champion Otaru University of Commerce squad- also called the Tomahawks- by a 56-13 score. Hosei and Waseda will meet in the "Clash Bowl" on 12/5 at Ajinomoto Stadium. The winner will face the Kansai champion in the Koshien Bowl to be crowned as collegiate champion.

In 2nd Stage X1 action, at Kincho Stadium (formerly the Nagai Ball Field) in Osaka, Kansai and Kanto teams split a double-header. The Asahi Challengers got close at the beginning of the 4th Quarter to make it 21-16, but the Kajima Deers pulled away to a 38-23 win. The Panasonic Impulse scored a TD later to make it 23-16 over the Fujitsu Frontiers. The Frontiers, who won the Pearl Bowl in July and were favorites to return to make it to the X-Bowl, finished in a 3 way tie for a spot in playoffs.

That drawing was won by IBM, so the Big Blue advance, even though they just lost to Obic 55-27. IBM coach Shinzo Yamda looked over at me and said, "We were just lucky; we didn't do anything to deserve it". They were shut out in the first half, as Obic scored 4 TDs in the 2nd Quarter. With 77-yard KOR for a TD by Josh Sample to open the 2nd half, and a TD after an ill advised scramble by Obic QB Morishita which resulted in a fumble giving IBM the ball on the 4 yard-line, the Big Blue were able to close it to 31-17 with a little over 17 minutes left in the ball game, but 6 turnovers in the game, and three more Obic TDs in the 4th quarter put the game out of reach.

In the semi-finals on 12/5, Obic will meet Kajima at Kawasaki, and IBM will travel to Osaka to face Panasonic at Nagai.

irikaesen or Relegation games (otherwise known as Replacement or my favorite, Up-Down games) will take place the following weekend.

good football too

2010-09-18T17:05:00.000-07:00

Three terrific Division II collegiate games on a beautiful football Saturday at Konmazawa Park, with it's 5 yard end zones and all.

While Division I games in September are generally lopsided affairs, this year there seems to be a lot more parity in Division II. (In week 1 in B block, the bottom four teams in the division defeated the top four).

In the morning game, the Toyo Vikings and the Musashino Pheasants from block A fought to a 17-all tie. Toyo scored first on a field goal, and a late drive brought them inside the 10 to give them a shot at a short field goal, but it was blocked to end the game (there is no overtime in Division II regular season games). Both teams featured impressive passing attacks.

After a two hour wait for the kickoff of the second game (to avoid the mid-day heat) the Gakushuin Generals and Aoyama Lightning got off to a slow start, but showed lots of offense throughout the day, as #21 for both sides ran (and in some places kicked), and showing great speed and determination for their respective teams. The Generals scored first on a field goal, and Aoyama came back tith a drive of their own to take a 7-3 lead. After falling behind on another General's drive, Aoyama scored late in the half on a beautiful fade to Anzaki who beat the CB and S for a TD with less than a minute to go. But Gakushuin Marched down and scored on the final play of the half to reclaim a 3 point lead.

Aoyama scored on a FG to tie it 17-all early in the 3rd period, and went ahead ona 1 yard run by Kimura early in the 4th period. Gakushuin returned the kickoff for a TD to tie it up again. From there, turnovers did in Aoyama, as a fumbed point gave Gakushuin a short field, and a couple of TD receptions by #87 late made the final 38-24. The Generals are now 2-0, and Aoyama falls to 0-2.

In the evening contest, the Yokohama Mastiffs fell behind to the Takushoku Rattle Snakes after scoring early, then finally scoring a TD again with two minutes left. The Rattle Snakes drove to near the Aoyama goal line, but after spiking on 1st and 3rd down, their FG attempt on 4th down was blocked, allowing the Mastiffs to escape with a 13-10 victory.

Football Weekend

2010-09-10T07:38:00.000-07:00

Well, if you like American Football in all of its various and glorious forms, head out on Saturday to Amino Vital field (Tobitakyu/Ajinomoto Stadium station on the Keio Line). There on one stage (of field turf) you will find flag, touch, and tackle football. The "Flag Festival" kicks off at 10:30, followed by Touch Football at 14:30. A college division I game caps it off with Nippon Daigaku taking on Kanagawa beginning at 17:15.

There will also be X2 games played at Oi Stadium #2, in the stadium near the horse track, and a pair of X3 games at Kawasaki.

Sunday will feature various games:
KCFA I-A games at Kawasaki; X2 games at Amino Vital. JPFF will also have several games taking place in both the Kanto and Kansai regions- check their website.

(see LINKS section)

are you ready for some football?

2010-09-07T07:53:00.000-07:00

X-League action continues throughout the week, with most of the games held at the Big Egg (Tokyo Dome). Several have been critical of the league for the expense of renting the Tokyo Dome- said to be several million yen, but with the hot weather and then the taiphoon that hit Japan mid-week, the air-conditioned dome has proved to be a welcome shelter from the elements.

Due to the semi-professional nature of the league, several teams have been hampered by work conflicts preventing various members to appear.

But the lone upset this week so far has been the Bulls-eyes mild upset of Fuji Xerox by a score appropriate to the facility of the baseball facility: 7-3.

KCFA Division II notes

2010-09-05T07:42:00.000-07:00

One curious occurrence this weekend: in the B block of Division II, the four bottom teams in the division defeated the four top ranked teams. Cannot ever remember that happening.

Who knows if the weather had anything to do with it: on the new field at Tokyo Institute of Technology on Saturday, it was 42 degrees (107 F) by the time of the kickoff of the second game.

As is the case in most divisions in Japan, games are scheduled approximately two week(ends) apart.

Football!

2010-09-01T00:23:00.000-07:00

Apologies for months of neglect.
New host for the a-football website.

Have various scraps of notes to upload here. Bear with us,

Anyway, glad the season is finally here again. To football season, truly nothing quite compares....

2010 Pearl Bowl

2010-06-30T02:00:00.000-07:00

The 2010 version of the Pearl Bowl will be held on Thursday, July 1st at the Tokyo Dome.

Perennial rivals Obic Seagulls will face off against the Fujitsu Frontiers beginning at 19:00.

While I am never much of a fan of indoor football, and the Bigg Egg is certainly one of my least favorite places to watch a football game, the recent hot muggy weather, and the high probability of rain and lightening probably justify the use of the Tokyo Dome indoors facility in this case.

The two team's fate was decided on 6/13 when Obic handily defeated the Pirates; and Fujitsu defeated their other main rivals Kajima by a much closer 20-17 score. In that game Fujitsu only completed 5 passes (albeit for 85 yards), but gained 252 yards on the ground.

There are four Americans appearing on the rosters of the two teams. University of Hawaii alumni DEs Kevin Jackson (#11) and Karl Noa (#12), and OL Frank Fernandez (#67) will play again this year for the Seagulls; while former Arizona Wildcats WR Brad "Boo" Brennan (#15) returns for yet another season with the Frontiers.

2010-06-25T16:30:00.000-07:00

More East & West action on Saturday in Japan.

At Oji Stadium down Kobe way, Mieji will visit Kansai Gakuin. Meanwhile Nichidai will host Kyoto University at their facility in Shimo Takaido. That game was moved up from a scheduled Sunday contest at Amnino Vital field.

Both games will kick-off at 16:00.

movement

2010-06-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

It wasn't an earthquake, but movements in the NCAA last week are tremors that portend seismic shifts in the football landscape there.

First Colorado announced it would leave the Big 12 for the Pac Ten (now 11). On Friday, Nebraska announced it was leaving the Big 12 for the Big Ten. That would give the Big Ten 12 members, while the Big 12 now has ten. Go figure! Don't worry though- no one expects things to remain that way for long.

Pac 10 commissioner Larry Scott appears to have outmaneuvered the Big 10's Jim Delaney, at least for the moment. Delaney began all the rumblings and speculation by announcing that the Big 10 was looking to expand withing the next 12-18 months; and that it wouldn't necessarily stop at twelve, indicating that 14 or 16 were possibilities. The hugely successful Big Ten TV network pays member schools a larger TV revenue share than that of any other conference, and larger than Notre Dame's exclusive contract with NBC.

Scott's plan that seems to be developing would bring 5 more teams to the Pac Ten to bring it to 16 of the PacWest (you read it here first) Conference, including what is generally regarded as the big prize, Texas. Presumably those teams would combine with Arizona and ASU to form an inland division, with the old members of the Pac Eight forming the Coastal Division. Their television contracts expire in 2011, and many are expecting them to attempt to construct something similar to the Big Ten network with Fox Sports.

The Big 10 was also reported to be in discussions with Texas, but did not want to bring along a lot of extra baggage- Texas Tech and Baylor by name- which the Texas state legislature forced the Big 12 to accept when Texas and Texas A & M joined the Big 8 to create the Big 12 in 1994, marking the demise of the Southwest Conference.

The Aggies are said to be eying a spot in the SEC instead, which would probably be good for them, getting out from under the Longhorn shadow.

The admission of Nebraska to the Big Ten frankly surprised me. It seems a much better deal for Nebraska than it is for the Big Ten. While the Cornhusker football program might bring some prestige, Nebraska ranks below all other Big Ten schools in academics; and offers a very small television market.

With Big Ten membership usually comes admission to the CIC, a consortium of shared research (and a huge amount of research $$) and graduate school programs that includes all Big Ten schools and the University of Chicago. It was established as an academic counterpoint to the athletic conference in 1958, and also boasts the largest combined library in the US. It is considered second in prestige only to the Ivy League. All members of the Big 10 are now members of the elite Association of American Universities, which was founded in 1900 with fourteen members, mostly from the Ivy League, as well as Michigan, Wisconsin, (and Stanford and UC Berkeley). The AAU now has 61 members. So achieving an invitation would be attractive addition to the legacy of the head of any university, as it is generally these people who make the decisions on which conferences to join.

The Big Ten has long thought to be pursuing Notre Dame as well as Texas. Notre Dame is fiercely protective of its Catholic and independent, especially in football. Though it is not a member of the AAU, it has been ranked #20 by the USN&WR, and would bring a nationwide fan-base.

My prediction- which proved to be wrong- was that the Big Ten would first approach ND and Texas simultaneously. Then, depending on the results of those negotiations, would look to expand in the East: Maryland, perhaps Virginia, and Rutgers and/or Syracuse (to heighten a presence in the NYC market); and (especially if Texas joined) into the Mid-southwest: meaning Texas A & M and/or Missouri (St. Louis and Kansas City markets). One intriguing idea included Georgia Tech along with Maryland, as one GT blogger pointed out that half the schools in the Big Ten are actually closer to Atlanta than many of the schools in the ACC.

Spring Football

2010-05-28T02:35:00.000-07:00

Like elsewhere, football is a year-round commitment for players in coaches. But in Japan, fans are able to see lots of competitive football in Spring and Fall.

While Autumn is considered the true regular season, teams are actually forged during the spring and summer. The spring seasons feature their own tournaments and games, and the atmosphere is a little more fun and relaxed. A little.

This weekend has a pretty full schedule at all levels, with games at Amino Vital, Kawasaki, as well as at Takai University Takamgahara Ground, and Gakushuin's ground in Mejiro.

The Harbors meet the Bandits in X-3 Tokyo Bayside Bowl action kicking off at 11 AM at Amino Vital. The Bandits prevailed over the Steelers 13-10 on May 3rd at Oi Dai-ni, when the Harbors soundly defeated Marubeni 34-7. That game will be followed by Japan Sports U vs. Meiji Gakuin at 13:30; and Tokyo Gakugei vs. Boei at 16:00.

Sunday morning High School Students will begin things there, followed by Medical school games at 13:30, and Kokushukan vs Rikyo in the later game. Meanwhile X-1 (Pearl Bowl) action continues this weekend at Kawasaki with double-headers scheduled for both days. X-1 continues playing 60 minute games, 20 minute half-times. More on that later.

German-Japan Bowl

2010-04-25T17:02:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Japan prevailed in the first ever German-Japan Bowl 24-14, held in Dusseldorf.

The speed and experience of the Japanese team seemed to make the difference. Noriaki Kinoshita returned the opening kick-off 81 yards, and caught a pair of TD passes from Tetsuo Takata. Takata finished the game 15-25-0 and 159 yards with 3 TD passes (the other going to S. Hasegawa), and 42 yards on the ground. Kinoshita finished with 118 All-Purpose yards and was named MVP.

Zimmerman went 14-19-1 for the German squad, and Patrick Scott gained 65 yards on 9 carries. The Japanese outgained the Germans 293-231, averaging 5.3 yds/play to 3.6 yds/play for the Germans. 2 interceptions and 3 fumbles hampered the German efforts, while the kicking game continued to be the one apparent weakness in the Japanese game in international competition- M. Schmitt blocked a FG attempt and returned it 61 yards for the German's first touchdown to tie the score.

In the 2007 World Cup held in Kawasaki, Japan, the two teams did not face each other, but took the silver and bronze, and Japan lost in overtime to the US in the final.

The trip gave the Japanese squad a good chance to practice their German- the 2011 World Cup will be held in Austria.

What shall become of football coaches?

2009-12-26T21:10:00.000-08:00

Urban Meyer stepping down as Head Coach at the University of Florida was the big news over the weekend. He was hospitalized with chest pains following the SEC Championship game; and several times in the past he has suffered problems with headaches, indicating another possible health problem. It appears that the stress from coaching could be enough to endanger his life.

The Gators were the NCAA defending FBS champions. Meyer is considered at the top of his profession, having brought quick success in his stops at Bowling Green, Utah, and now ending his fifth year at Florida, where they have won two national championships. Florida is now considered a prime head coaching job because of its facilities and fan base, and especially its location in the recruit-rich state of Florida.

It's not surprising- only surprising that it doesn't happen much more often. I wonder if (and I hope) this will begin a discussion in the US about head coaching and head coaches- their health, their roles, and the sometimes inhuman expectations place upon them. Nowadays, football coaching is definitely one of the most intense and stressful jobs imaginable.

It's not just about practice and games and meetings. Add to this the ever-expanding and intensified duties of recruiting. Coaches rarely have much time to spend with their wives and families. It is a 7-day a week job much of the year, 80-120 hours a week. Meals with their families are virtually unknown.

College head coaches are held responsible not only for mentally and physically preparing athletes (over one hundred at a larger program like Florida) for a dozen or so games a year. But they also are held responsible for for monitoring their student-athlete's academic and social activities, pretty much year-round. Then they must spend time and energy dealing with the fans and the press. They are also involved with meeting boosters and fund-raising. The head coach, his staff, and a hundred others are under critical media scrutiny round the clock all year long. anything out of line, and the Head Coach has to answer for it. As Bobby Bowden, who is finally retiring this year, once said: "most parents can't keep track of only 1 or 2 teenagers every hour of the day; I am expected to do it for 105 of them!"

While often compared to CEOs, the reality is that most head coaches are involved with- and worry about- every single detail of their programs. They have to. They dare not leave a single stone unturned, lest they be criticized. Guilt also haunts them. They become obsessed with "out-working" their opponent. When asked what time he woke up and started working in the morning, he answered: "10 minutes earlier than whatever time Jon Gruden said he did." [Gruden is a notorious short sleeper and early riser]. Coaches spend much time doing what is known in the coaching profession as "chasing ghosts", i.e. working through every single possible scenario- of which there are too many to predict.

Apparently Meyer was offered a chance to take a sabbatical by Florida AD Jeremy Foley, which he declined.

I have recently begun to think the sabbatical idea is an interesting concept which should be given more consideration- say after every 5 seasons or so. Of course coaches who are fired or resign are often given an involuntary one, but many seem to benefit from a year or two away
It would allow a coach to spend time with his family and look after his health. It would also give him time to research and visit other programs and learn more about the game. Of course, something like that could hardly happen unilaterally. It would probably have to be something imposed by the Coaches Association and the NCAA, and written into their contracts.

Here's an interesting possible development worth considering. Meyer says he will step down as Head Coach, but will attempt to be involved with the Florida Gators in some way. What role? In the US, some administrative duties are delegated to Director of Football Operations, a position that has developed over the last twenty years or so. Perhaps we will see Meyer move into an expanded Director of Football Operations role, or perhaps there will be some new sort of position created for him. Maybe we will see more duties of head coaches become divided, or they'll become more like corporate CEOs, delegating more to their Recruiting Directors and Coordinators. It will be interesting to see how football evolves.

One of the curious things about Japanese football that is sometimes is difficult to explain to foreigners is how football teams generally have both a Kantoku and a Head Coach. Kantoku is a title (and also an honorific) that is used for skipper of a baseball team (the Manager in English); it is also used to indicate the director of a film. But exact division of labor and authority and ranking between the Head Coach and the Kantoku seems to vary from team to team, and so is hard to define.

Sometimes the Kantoku is the ultimate authority. At others the Head Coach runs the show, while the Kantoku is more of a figurehead, or a liaison with the school or sponsor or alumni network. Hosei University is an example where the Kantoku (Aoki-san) is the spokesman and leader and decision-maker, and directs general policy for the team; yet he is rarely involved with the exact X's and O's. For other teams, such as the Kajima Deers, Head Coach Mori handles all game and practice decisions, while the Kantoku is more of a general manager type. It all seems to depend on culture and needs of the specific organization, and the individual personalities involved.

Is it just possible that executive authority positions in the US may evolve in a way that they more closely resemble the Japanese model?

X-Bowl 2009 (12/21 Big EGG report)

2009-12-21T16:24:00.000-08:00

After losing to the Fujitsu Frontiers on a game-ending field goal in the regular season and trailing at the half, the Kajima Deers came back to win the 23rd annual X-Bowl, 21-14. It was another close, hard-fought match-up between two of the top Kanto League perennial powers. The attendance topped 22,000, filling the lower deck and portions of the upper deck as well.

After several drives that stalled in the first half, the Deers came roaring back (can deers roar?), scoring on their first four drives of the second half, capped by a 78 yard touchdown pass from Yuusuke Ozaki to Naoki Maeda. They twice failed on 2-point conversions and sop so only led 18-11 with 4 minutes left, when they added a 22 -yard field goal to make it 21-7, before Fujitsu frantically tried to come back.

The Frontiers scored with 2:25 left on a 6-yard pass from Izuhara to Brad Brennan to make it 21-14. They failed to gain the on-side kick but were able to get the ball back with around 17 seconds left and were able to move the ball to midfield, but ran out of time.

The Frontiers moved well on their opening drive, scoring on a 32 yard run by RB Yuichi Kon, and holding Kajima scoreless in the first half. But mistakes and missed opportunities plagued their efforts. QB Izuhara seemed to lack arm strength on many of the throws that required them, and was intercepted 3 times, and had another easy interception dropped. He was 12/22 and 121 yards passing, and Motoki Yoshida added 19 yards going 2/4.

The Deers threw the ball for 245 yards, with Takuya Yamashiro going 10/13 and Ozaki going 3/5 including that TD pass Maeda, and had one interception. The Deers held the ball for nearly ten minutes longer than the Frontiers, and out-gained them 408-275.

12/20 Yokohama Stadium report (JPFF)

2009-12-20T20:31:00.000-08:00

A report on an exciting day in Kawasaki coming up in a few hours or so, but first, made an early morning visit to Yokohama Stadium for the the 10AM kickoff of the JPFF Kanto All-Star game, which, fittingly, ended in a 14-all tie.

This is probably the loosest of all the football leagues (certainly looser than the other shakai-jin leagues in the Tokyo area), with little of the grim seriousness of the top university or X-League teams. In the All-Star game, it seemed hardly a play went by without officials or players on one side or the other- and often both- chuckling at some tumble or another. While attendance was small, the early morning game was blessed by brilliant sunshine throughout the whole stadium to warm things up.

By contrast, as the cold late afternoon shadows enveloped most of the field and stands at Yokohama Stadium, the JPFF Kanto championship game between the Kawasaki Grizzlies (in blue) and the Kamakura Lazarus (in red) heated up rather late. It was scoreless at halftime. In the second half, both teams seemed to move the ball more efficiently. But several Lazarus turnovers near the Grizzly goal line kept the game a 6-all tie until late in the contest, when the Lazarus were finally able to score and come away with a 12-6 victory, and the Kanto division crown.

The Lazarus will face the Kansai winner in February (!) 7th for the JPFF Championship. The Kansai League champ will be determined on 1/10, matching the winner of the KGL (either the Riverside Jokers or the Kyoto Southpaws) and the winner of the OFL (Bootlegs or the Nagoya Club Brutus). Those four teams will meet in semi-final action in a double-header in Kansai on Wednesday 12/23.

12/13 Outreach Bowl and Urban Bowl report

2009-12-13T23:20:00.000-08:00

While perhaps not quite as exciting as the Koshien bowl, the games at the Edogawa Track and Field Stadium were still quite close to the end.

In the Outreach Bowl, the Over 39ers scored with just over a minute left, and defeated the Under 59ers 13-0. The 39ers team consisted of older players from several teams in the UF.

The game was played with special rules that essentially forbade contact below the waist or tackling below the ground, and did away with kickoffs. But it was still a good, exciting match.

After a prolonged ceremony my various Edogawa officials (and singing of the rousing Edogawa anthem), the 18th annual Urban Bowl kicked off at 13:30.

The game featured a rematch of the top two teams in A-Block, who won their semi-final games on November 29th. In their regular season game in October, the Beattle Hawks scored the only touchdown in first quarter in a 10-6 victory.

This game would turn out to be even closer. While perhaps not quite as exciting as the Koshien bowl, the Thunderbirds repeated as champions of the UFL by defeating the Battle Hawks by the lowest score possible in a football game actually played: 2-0. (A forfeit is recorded as a 1-0 score). It came on a safety early in the 2nd Quarter.

After intercepting a pass on the Thunderbird's first play from scrimmage, the battle Hawks drove down to the Thunderbird 3-yard line, where they fumbled the ball. After that, the Thunderbirds generally had the better field position throughout the day, twice downing punts in front of the Battle Hawk goal line early on.

Early in the 2nd Quarter, after two straight dives into the middle of the line, the Battle Hawks an a zone play to the right. But the running back Kohei Akahori was tackled behind the line of scrimmage by Sunada resulting in two points for the Thunderbirds.

The Thunderbirds used play action passing quite effectively to complement their run game.

After the halftime show- featuring four cheerleading teams associated with the Edogawa League, the teams continued in the second half much as they had in the first.- mostly a field position game. While both teams moved the ball between the thirties, they were unable to score. A late drive by the Thunderbirds, throwing(!) most of the way, brought them to 4th and goal from the 5 yard line. They tried another play action roll-out pass, which fell incomplete in the end zone.

Taking over with 1:46 remaining, the Battle Hawk used their own Wild Hawk formation to run the ball for a few plays, and then began throwing the ball to around midfield. Remarkably, they still huddled.

They were able to get the ball to the Thunderbird 45 yard line. But on their last play, a sort of tunnel screen, the receiver was tackled after a few yards to end the game.

It was the Thunderbird's fourth Urban League title, as they also won in 2001 and 2004, as well as in 2008. The Battle Hawks won 8 of the first 9 Urban Bowls, and won again in 2006.

2009 Koshien Bowl report

2009-12-13T19:20:00.000-08:00

The amazing success of the Kansai University Kaisers this season continued on Sunday, as they defeated the Hosei Tomahawks 50-38 to capture their first Koshien Bowl win in 61 years.

While many were probably expecting a low scoring game, it was 17-16 at halftime, and 33-31 after three quarters. But three scores for Kansai in the 4th quarter put the game away for Kansai. It was primarily the running ability of Yutaka Fujimori and Daichi Haraguchi that made the difference. Haraguchi was awarded as the Best Player, while senior LB Kenjiro Odate received the NFL Special Award. Takuto Hara finished his fine career forHosei, receiving the Fighting Spirit award.

Junior Fujimoiri had said he had always dreamed of playing at Koshien- though he had thought that would come as a high school baseball player in the national tournament.

But on the ground in football, he not only got his wish, he returns home with the Chuck Mills trophy. More importantly he and his teammate bring home the the national collegiate championship trophy.

They will face the X-League champion (to be determined at Tokyo Dome on December 21st) in the nationally televised Rice Bowl on January 3rd.

12/13: All Ages

2009-12-13T06:42:00.000-08:00

The game down in Koshien Bowl is not all that is happening this Sunday.

In the Tokyo area, at Edogawa Rikujo-kyogi-jo track and field stadium in Nishi Kasai, the Urban League Championship game will kick off at 13:30. Vying for the crown will be the Battle Hawks and the Thunderbirds. Each won a hardfought semifinal game to reach the championship game: the Battle Hawks scored a lone touchdown in the 3rd Quarter, but that was enough to defeat the (Edogawa River) E.R. Cougars 7-0. In second semi-final game, the Thunderbirds took even longer to defeat the Roebucks: in a game that went scoreless in regulation, the Thunderbirds scored a TD in overtime to win 6-0.

But perhaps the most interesting game on Sunday- from a human perspective that is- will be at the same stadium before that. The 2nd Annual Outreach Bowl will feature two teams of guys who just can't hang up their cleats. The Over 39ers will face the Under 59ers-and apparently not all of them really are under 59(!)- but essentially guys in their forties and fifties, strappin'em up, and bringin' it on. Apparently there a re a few special rules to protect the knees and limiting tackling, but still football for those whose passion for the game just will not fade away.

Koshien Bowl 2009

2009-12-12T01:02:00.001-08:00

The 64th Annual Koshien Bowl- the contest for supremacy of Japanese collegiate football, will take place Sunday on Japan's most hallowed sports ground, Koshien Stadium in Osaka. This year, Kansai U. will make its first appearance in 61 years, facing perennial contender Hosei University. The Tomahawks lost to Ritsumeikan in last year's Koshien Bowl.

Koshien is in its 86th year of existence, and it hosts the National High School Baseball Championship tournament every summer, and the National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament every march, as well as being home of the Hanshin Tigers baseball team. It seats approximately 50,000.

Kickoff is at 1:00 PM.

Up-Down

2009-12-12T00:49:00.000-08:00

Several of the "Replacement" games were held this weekend. I attended the ones at Komazawa Dai 2 Stadium. Neither of the Area League teams was able to unseat the last placed Division III teams, but the Shibaura Fighting Engineers gave the Fighting Seagulss of Yokohama City University all they could handle, finally succumbing by a 17-10 score.

In the earlier game, Bunkyo University defeated Takasaki City University of Economics 35-7.

12/6 Kawaski: X semi-final

2009-12-07T20:08:00.000-08:00

The Fujitsu Frontiers dominated the Asahi Silver Stars in their contest on Sunday at Kawasaki Stadium, setting up a rematch with the Kajima Deers in X-Bowl 2009 at Tokyo Dome on December 21st.

The Frontiers led 17-6 at halftime, and scored another TD 17 seconds into the 3rd quarter, before Asahi was able to score a pair of TDs n the second half. The Silver Stars outgained the Frontiers in total offense, accumulating 333 yards through the air on 51 attempts. But the Frontiers held the Silver Stars to 26 yards on 26 carries on the ground, and were stopped several times in the second half, including a goal line stand on 4th and goal, to ensure the victory.

Had some great shots of the action, the fans, and of the cheerleaders for both teams as well as the all-league cheerleading squad which performed at halftime...but they mysteriously disappeared on the ride back to Tokyo. Hope to redo some of those at the X-Bowl.

Fujitsu defeated Kajima on a last second FG in their showdown on October 25th to win the X-League Central Division.

The X-Bowl is scheduled to kick off Monday, December 21st at 7 PM.

12/5: More X-Men

2009-12-05T12:42:00.000-08:00

For the first time in memory (in my memory, anyway), the initial Saturday in December was not warm and sunny afternoon in the Tokyo. But it was still quite a fine day- if you happen to be a creature from the woods.

In X2 action at Kawasaki, Club Oaks held the Wranglers to 99 yards rushing and only 5 of 22 passing, as they came away 27-13 victors, their first victory of the season.

In the afternoon game, The Dentsu Caterpillars proved mightier than the Warriors 30-7. That makes them 5-0, while the Warriors are 3-2.

The big news of the day in X-League came from Nagai Stadium in Osaka. Despite giving up 348 yards passing and 520 yards of total offense, the Kajima Deers defeated defending X-League champions Panasonic Impulse 34-26. The Deers trailed 17-0 midway through the 2nd quarter before an 89 yard kickoff return by Maeda got them on the board. They followed that with a FG and three TDs in the 3rd quarter. In spite of Panasonic going 23 for 29 passing, it was 3 interceptions- including one returned for a TD- which proved their undoing.

The Deers has earned a right to go to the X-Bowl in Tokyo Dome on December 21st where they'll meet the winner of the other semi-final game played at Yokohama Stadium on Sunday between Fujitsu Frontiers and Asahi Silver Stars.

X-Men

2009-12-03T16:26:00.000-08:00

In 2009, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of American football in Japan, (and after all, we have, according to the KCFA yearbook "A CHALLENGE STARTS TO THE 100th ANNIVERSARY"!) the post-season schedule formats for the top university and shakai-jin leagues were altered to try to improve things. In the case of the shakai-jin X-League Division I that meant changing the format, dividing the season into two "stages". The First Stage concluded at the end of October.

The top 3 teams of the East, Central, and West divisions then were put into a pool to play each other in a Second Stage. The bottom 3 teams in each division did likewise. The goal was to was to create more balanced games later in the year. This makes more sense to me for several reasons. Perhaps greatest of all was that formerly, the (regular) season was over for most teams early in November. In most parts of Japan September suffers from the oppressive heat of summer giving way to taiphoon season. In Tokyo, some of the best football weather of the year comes in November and December. This gave us more games (and hopefully more evenly-matched games) that could be played and viewed in comfort.

There may have been some question as to whether those 3rd place teams actually belonged this year- they were mostly trounced by the higher placed teams- but this is obviously a work in progress. Each team played two games against their 2nd Stage pool. Then 4 teams were chosen to represent the divisions, along with a wild-card team (this year the Kajima Deers) based on their combined record in the two stages.

Nevertheless, the semi-finals will be played on December 5th (at Nagai)- a rematch of last year's X-Bowl (Kajima versus Panasonic), and December 6th (at Yokohama Stadium), where the Fujitsu Fronteirs will take in the Asahi Beer Silver Stars. Kickoff for both games will be at 14:30.

The winners of those games will meet on Monday evening, December 21st at Tokyo Dome, for the 23rd X-Bowl.

Clash Bowl, Flash Bowl

2009-11-29T19:47:00.000-08:00

The 10th annual Clash Bowl to determine Japan's eastern collegiate champions was played on Sunday at Ajinomoto Stadium, and the Hosei Tomahawks dominated the Waseda Big Bears 38-11. Hosei led at halftime 21-0, and went up at one point 38-3, before the Big Bears scored late.

The Tomahawks will face Kansai University, winners of the Flash Bowl- the champions of western Japan. The Kaisers- this year's surprise winners of the Kansai league- defeated Meijou of Nagoya (the winner of the Tokai region and subsequent playoff) 42-6 today to become the Western Champion.

The two teams will meet on December 13th in Osaka at the Koshien Bowl to determine a truly national collegiate champion for Japan. Previous Koshien bowls were in the form of an invitational, with the Kansai league champ playing the winner from the Kanto league. But beginning this year, a playoff system was enacted to involve the other geographical areas of Japan, including Tohoku and Hokkaido in the east; and Kyushu, Hokoriku, Choshikoku, and Tokai in the west.

The winner of the Koshien Bowl will then face the top shakaijin team from the X-League on January 3rd, in the Rice Bowl.

November 28th @ Aminovital

2009-11-28T21:52:00.000-08:00

Late November means the end of the regular season. Normally, it should mean some of the best games of the year, as games are seeded (based on the previous year's standings), meaning that we will see #1 vs #2, #3 vs #4, and so on in the last game.

While none of the games on Saturday turned out to be close, the final games are important, as the top two finishers in each Division II block will play the bottom two teams in their respective Division I blocks with a chance to move up and take their place.

While KCFA Division II B block teams were squaring off in Kawasaki, the top 6 teams of A block met at Aminovital.

In both divisions, the top ranked teams (Komazawa in A, Kanagawa in B) repeated as champions, with the #3 and #5 teams filling in the next spots.

In B block, Kanagawa finshed their regular season by shutting out Tokyo Gakuin 21-0, and will face the Teikyo Assasins on December 20th. 3rd seed Aoyama Gakuin, whose only loss was a forfeit to Kanagawa on November 14th, defeated the Tsukuba Excaliburs 42-17. They will face the Senshu Green Machine on the replacement/relegation/up-down game.

Meanwhile, in A Block the Obirin (count 'em) Three Nails Crown (4-2-1) scored 21 unanswered points in the 2nd half to defeat the Komazawa Blue Tide 21-6, but Komazawa (5-2) had already clinched the division title, and will play Yokohama Kokuritsu to try to reach the first division. In the middle game, the T.I.T. Buffaloes (5-2) dominated the Self Defense Force Academy Cadets (1-5-1) who dropped to 7th place, 31-0. DT/P/K Daisuke Izumihara continued to impress with booming kicks and a long FG for the Buffaloes, and sophomore QB Tatsuya Tokunaga had an effective day passing, and senior QB Mamoru Saitoh doubled as TB. The Buffaloes' final score came as the result of a Saitoh to Tokunaga throwback pass for a touchdown.

Unfortunately for them, Buffaloes will not make it to the playoff games on December 19th, as the surprising 5th seed Tokyo City U. Helios (5-2) defeated winless Utsunomiya by a 35-6 score. The Helios are scheduled to face Ichinohashi U. for their Division I spot.

Kansai Clash

2009-11-23T21:39:00.000-08:00

Fabulous football weekend in Kansai. High school, college, and shakaijin games, and a nice trip to practice and the impressive facilities at Ritsumeikan, including their amazing weight room.

Much more intense, passionate vibe around football down there.

Will flesh out more details later!

New Kansai Champion!

2009-11-21T19:45:00.000-08:00

The feel-good story for the 2009 football season has to be the triumph of the Kansai Unversity Kaisers. The Kaisers closed out their season on Saturday, defeating Konan 44-7 before a large crowd of their fans at suburban Kobe's Oji Stadium, to go a perfect 7-0 and win the Kansai League for the first time in 61 years.

The star QB of their 1948 team was Heian Hazama, now the honorary Chairman of the American Football Association's Western Conference, who was positively beaming after the game.

Kansai had finished the 2008 season in 5th place. They shocked the Kansai football world earlier in the season by knocking off perennial powers Ritsumeikan and Kansai Gakuin, by 14-7 and 17-13 scores, respectively.

Much of the credit is given to their head coach an alumnus of former power Kyoto University, who has overseen upgrading of the facilities and the program.

Clash Bowl round 1 notes (November 15th)

2009-11-15T17:20:00.000-08:00

The new college football playoff format began Sunday, as Hosei Tomahawks and Waseda Big Bears each won their respective first round games, by nearly identical 57-13 and 59-12 scores respectively over the Otaru Tomahawks, and the Sendai Silver Falcons.

The Hokkaido champion Otaru Tomahawks tied KCFA A Block champion Hosei at 7-all on a 45 yard return by Takumi Sekine of a blocked punt midway through the first quarter. But then the Hosei offense went to work, scoring touchdowns on their next five possessions, and led 41-10 at halftime. On the day they ran the ball 48 times for 419 yards, including 117 yards on 17 carries from Kentaro Katoh (including the first and last TDs of the game), and 98 yards on 11 carries from freshman Tetsuo Ikeda. QB's Yamaguchi and Takajima went 10-12 passing at one point, and combined for 159 yards and 3 TDs. They controlled the ball on a couple of five minute drives in the 4th quarter, and Otaru had little chance.

Otaru's impressive standout was their TE and kicker Tadashi Iwasaki (#81 junior), who boomed kickoffs to the endzone (even after a 5-yard penalty), and kicked a 47-yard field goal at the end of the first half, and then kicked a 52-yarder early in the 3rd. That is unofficially a Clash Bowl record. The junior TE also caught 3 passes for 47 yards.

Not to be outdone, Waseda's Tomokazu Suehiro (RB #30) scored three TD's in the first half, and led 41-6 at half-time as the KCFA B Block surprise champion Big Bears defeated the Tohoku champion Sendai Silver Falcons 59-12. Suehiro finished with 119 yards on 10 carries. Waseda QBs Haga and Hirono only completed 3 passes (on 9 attempts), but finished with 353 yards total offense, double the output of the Silver Falcons offense.

The Big Bears defense was dominant, led by Ryo Takada's 4 tackles and Scott Duffy (#99 jr, from Huntington Beach, CA) at NG, his very conspicuous in his pink tape-wrapped shoes ("they ran out of black", he explained). The second half was fielded mostly by 2nd and 3rd teamers for Waseda.

The standout- literally- for Sendai was their tall (198cm) TE/WR/P/DL (#86) Kohei Okajima. Sendai had some success getting the junior open deep against much shorter defenders, though for some reason, the Silver Falcons kept trying to throw him a lot of Outs. He ended up with 4 catches for 60 yards, in addition to 5 punts for 157 yards (31.4 average). RB Hironobu Marui (#22 sr) impressed the Big Bears, with 66 yards on 10 carries. Junior QB Sasuga Yoshida was 10-20 passing for 96 yards.

The score should have been closer, but the Silver Falcons self-destructed several times in the red zone- giving up penalties and sacks and mistakes after driving to first and goal.

While the teams from the north were obviously not yet prepared for the speed and strength of the Kanto teams, everyone seems agreed that this game and new format is a positive first step to creating more nation-wide interest in football in Japan.

Return of the Single Wing?

2009-11-09T13:44:00.000-08:00

Something curious I have noticed in recent weeks has been the rebirth of actual Single Wing formations. No, not talking about the shotgun. And not even Wildcat formations that has become the rage all the way up to the NFL in the States this year. We are talking about honest-to- goodness, old-fashioned tight formations in a single wing or Notre Dame box, just like your (great) grand-daddy used to know and love.

On Halloween the T.I.T. Buffaloes waited till the second halfe to break out the ghosts of the old Spinner Series, and even broke one for a long touchdown in their 23-6 victory over the Obirin Three Nails Crown to seal the lid on their, er, coffin.

The Meiji Griffns used a similar 2TE, Single Wing formation yesterday in the second half as a power formation with some success, when they attempted to drive down and tie the score with Hosei, in the exciting game they finally lost 35-28.

November 7, 8th notes

2009-11-08T19:54:00.000-08:00

Ends and beginnings.

The X-League Division I 'Second Stage' got off to a- well, i guess you could call it a start- this weekend, and the KCFA concluded its Division I seasons with a couple of exciting games at the top.

Based on standings through the first 5 games, the top shakaijin division split each conference into top and bottom three teams, and began playing teams in the other conference. This unfortunately still did not necessarily bring about enough in the way of competitiveness, as Fujitsu and Panasonic (among others) now in mid-season form romped to one-sided victories.

Such was not the case in local college football. Hosei scored at the end of the first half to make it 28-14, and the Tomahawks somehow outlasted the power of the Meiji Griffins in Souta Kyoshi's last game, 35-28.

But the real shocker came on Saturday, when the Waseda Big Bears- who in games earlier this season had lost to Division I newcomer Kokushukan Rhinoceros (3-4) and had to go to overtime to beat the Senshu Green Machine (2-5)- knocked off undefeated the Nihon University Phoenix 24-21 to win the KCFA Division I B block with a 6-1 record. It was Nihon's first loss in regular season in several years .

Culture Day: 11/3 report

2009-11-03T21:22:00.000-08:00

November 3rd is "Culture Day" in Japan. For me that means football!

Not a lot of scoring on Tuesday at AminoVital Field (with Mt. Fuji in the background on the left in the photo, and football in the foreground on the right).

But nonetheless, there was some some exciting, hard-hitting football for the national holiday. In all, four games (count 'em!). Double,-double the fun! Well, not exactly, as at the lower divisions and the medical leagues, they play with 10-minute quarters.

The first three games were amongst medical university teams. In Japan, students apply for and enter medical and dental schools directly after high school, and undergo a six year education. This, of course means that in addition to never worrying about injuries receiving enough attention at their football games, athletes are a whole given 6 years of eligibility, and play in special leagues.

In the morning game (10 AM Kickoff!), the the Nihon U. Monster Squad were stung for the 3rd time this season, this time by the Tokyo U. Sorpions, 14-0. [OK there's one mascot pun; but at least i promise not to make any cheap doctor jokes[.

Next, in a contest between last year's Medical School A Block co-champions the Teikyo U. Rascals and the Showa University Mad Dogs. The two teams tussled their way to a 3-0 upset victory for the Mad Dogs. Both teams are now 1-2, with two more games to play.

Meanwhile the players and staff of the Jikkei Crickets were looking on, quietly cheering the Mad Dogs as they warmed up for their math against the Roadrunners. The Crickets came out on top of their game 15-7, so they lead the now consolidated Division I with a perfect 3-0 record, with their last two games remaining against those Rascals and Mad Dogs.

The 4th game was an "Area League" (below Division III) contest between the Shibaura Fighting Engineers , and Tokyo Keizi University Falcons. Both teams were unbeaten coming into this game (it was only their second game), and this game was for the top of the division, as the top-seeded Dokkyo Green Monsters have already lost twice.

I was very impressed by how well-coached each time seems to be, and they are undoubtedly on the rise.

The Falcons struck first with a field goal, and the Fighting Engineers tied the game on a FG just before halftime to make it 3-3. The Engineers went ahead late in the 3rd Quarter, 10-3. But the Falcons answered that with a TD of their own early in the 4th Quarter to tie it at 10-10. The Fighting Engineers, dressed in their all white uniforms- just think of Penn State, but rather in green, with a block 'S' on the side of their helmets- then started a sustained drive, and scored with just a few minutes left. Without hesitation, they lined up but faked the extra point conversion, throwing to the flat for two points to make it 18-10. That gamble seemed to put extra pressure on the Falcons, who after moving the ball to midfield, threw an interception, thus sealing the win for Shibaura. The Fighting Engineers are now at the top of their division, which is quite an accomplishment for a team that only started up playing football again last year.

11/1 report: Edogawa Action

2009-11-01T18:30:00.000-08:00

While the KCFA (universities) and X-League (for shakaijin) draw the most attention, in the Kanto area of Japan, let's not forget that there are other teams and leagues in the area as well that offer some excitement and opportunities for players and fan as well. These include the Kanto College Football-Club Federation a at the college level; and the Japan Private Football Federation and the Edogawa-ku sponsored Urban Football League now in its 16th season.

I made it a point to catch several UFL games at Oi Stadium (#2!) on a balmy Sunday afternoon that was perfect weather for football.

I especially enjoyed the hard-fought middle game between the Jets and the Razorbacks. The Jets seem to have a small, but loyal following, and they provide a nice 4- page newsletter for the taking which is updated for each game.

The kicking game was the biggest difference- the Razorbacks converted a long FG; while the Jets missed an extra point and had several problems with snaps and getting kicks away in the punting game. Yet they were still in the ball game, trailing only 10-6 after scoring with a few minutes left.

The ensuing onside kick spun violently like a top (or a dreidel if that helps)...but traveled less than two yards. The Razorbacks took over. Surprisingly, they did not sit on the ball, but rather moved into position to try a FG on the final play (something to do with point differential affecting league standing or tie-breakers perhaps?)...which of course was blocked. The Jets picked it up and ran with it, but the ball was tackled before reaching midfield to end the game.

The late game was blowout, but in the first game, the Roebucks came from behind to defeat the Broncos, 14-9.

10/25 notes Kawasaki

2009-10-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

Made it to Kawasaki for a thrilling Fujitsu Frontiers 22-20 victory over the Kajima Deers for the X-League Central division title. The Frontiers won it on a field goal as time expired, the last of several lead changes in the final minutes.

As WR Brad Brennan commented after the game, "we haven't had a good win like this in quite a while. It feels great to have the monkey off our backs".

9/26,27 notes Kawasaki

2009-09-28T23:23:00.000-07:00

Made it to Kawasaki for triple-headers on Saturday and Sunday- mostly KCFA games, but the night game on Sunday was the Unisys Bulls playing the Asahi Silver Stars on their home turf. Unisys started the game with a nice drive or two, but hampered themselves with fumbles, giving the ball away as they neared the goal line. Asahi finally got moving, and took command. Unisys had hoped that its speed could help negate the Silver Stars' superior size, but seemed to wear down.

In the early game on Sunday, Keio was well out in front of Yohohama Kokuritsu before the Mastiffs rallied late for three scores. It didn't change the result, but I was impressed by the Yokohama QB's handling of the hurry-up offense. I think they are the first Japanese team I have seen this year that doesn't spike the ball on first down, a procedure that seems ridiculous to me- most teams trailing run out of downs before they run out of seconds.

Indeed, at the end of the middle game, Tokyo University spiked the ball on 1st and 3rd down with the ball at the Hosei goal line, effectively giving them only two chances to score instead of four. The Warriors gave the Tomahawks some problems with their option. But good pursuit generally contained the damage. Hosei looked alternatively sharp and sloppy, but most of the time I got the feeling they were just toying with their opponent.

I was looking forward to seeing Saturday's games after Kokushukan's upset of Waseda. The Rhiniceros did not fail to impress- they simply are not afraid, and gave Senshu all they could handle before losing 27-21 in overtime. Waseda seems to shaken off their previous loss, and Nichidai looked dominant.

It was really great hearing the student bands out there- it couldn't have been easy especially sitting on the visitors sideline facing the sun directly, but they really added something positive to the atmosphere!

post Silver Week

2009-09-24T20:53:00.000-07:00

Was away for part of Silver Week, but made it to several games, and six more this past weekend.

One of the ugliest things I had the misfortune to look at was the Sagamihara Rise pummeling the Itochu Wings, in a a clear mismatch. I am not really sure what bothered me more: the Rise running their no-huddle and calling time outs late in the 4th quarter when ahead by more than a dozen touchdowns; or the some of the Wings who seemed to give up almost as soon as the game began. I don't like calling anyone out here, but on some plays I counted four offensive lineman standing and watching their defensive counterparts in the offensive backfield, tackling the QB or ball carrier for a loss. Above all, football is about never, ever quitting. Ever.

The Rise are, of course, the rebirth of Onward, who suddenly lost their corporate sponsorship late last year. They reformed as a municipal team, and are enjoying great support from (and involvement with) Sagamihara. Unfortunately, technically as a brand new team, they had to begin again in Division 3. They have a 60-man roster of Division 1 talent, playing against mostly teams that are lucky to get 20-25 suited up for a game.

According to Coach Dan Lynds, the hardest thing is keeping the players motivated and focused against the over-matched competition. Seems that their scrimmages are more of a challenge than the regular season games right now. At the end of the season, they are hoping to play a charity bowl game against a team from Kansai in a similar condition. Anyway, unless something changes, the Rise will be wearing white for two more years- which is about when they will be finally back to pickin' on someone their own size.

The nightcap at Oi on Wednesday was somewhat more interesting and competitive, with the Mitusi Seagulls coming from behind with 22 points in the 4th quarter to beat the Steelers.

Both teams are able to suit up around two dozen players, so they are obviously in need of players.

random 2009 September notes

2009-09-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

notes:
The odd summer weather in Japan this year- a bit cooler than normal- has made it great for watching football. While the rain came down on Saturday, there really hasn't been any nasty typhoon weather. Sunday was warm, sunny, and beautiful. Hope we get more of the same for upcoming 'Silver Week' and can see some more fans out at the stadiums.

* Was a bit bleary eyed from (internet) watching NCAA games (Michigan-Notre Dame...wow!), but there was some exciting early season football played in Japan, too.

* Perhaps the most stunning event of the weekend and perhaps the early season so far was Kokushukan's upset of Waseda in college division 1 at Amino Vital. A goal line stand with 10 seconds remaining gave the Rhinos a 7-3 (!) victory over the Big Bears.

Kokushukan is new to Division 1 this year.

* The Rhinos occasionally share their practice field (and scrimmage) with the Unisys Bulls.
The Bulls also enjoyed their first win in (X-League) Division 1 after moving up this year, defeating the All-Mitsubishi Lions 17-14 at Kawasaki on Sunday. The Bulls and Fuji Xerox (3rd year in the top division) are both 1-1.

* While there is nothing like parity yet, but things are improving in the X-League somewhat. While definitely stronger than others lower in their division, the Asahi Silver Stars look vulnerable- they only led the Gas Creators by a mere 14-7 at the start of the 4th quarter.

* Kawasaki Stadium: I have to say, it keeps evolving as a better and better place for football. This year they have extended the stands further towards the end zone which was the former home of, well, home plate. Now the cheerleaders have a bit more room to...[come on] Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake, a-Shake It. [Yeah, I know- shame on me]

There is consequently slightly less of it, but there is still a grassy "picnic area" behind home plate, which I would like to see families and fans and teams make more use made of.

* Other improvements at Kawasaki have included raising the scoreboard. Much more prominent and easier to see now. Just one problem: unfortunately the lights are just not powerful enough, so with the sun shining directly upon it it during much of the second half of the second game, it was impossible to see anything from the "Visitor" sideline.

When such times come (of course, exactly when depends on the time of year), perhaps it would help if the referee reminded the PA announcer to call out the time remaining each time the clock stopped, particularly say, in the last 3 minutes or so of each quarter. Fortunately it didn't turn out to be a factor in yesterday's 17-14 Bulls-Lions game- but it easily could have been.

* BTW seems like every time i see him officiate a game, Bill Passwaters is the umpire. Can't help wondering: is that because he likes it there, or do they put the gaijin in the officiating spot most likely to get caught up in the fray, or to get run over? [insert Yakety Sax footage here]

* I also think I have been seeing better officiating than in the past. Still some missed calls and bogus PI calls; and I have yet to witness a call for helmet-to-helmet contact in Japan. But it seems to be better informed, more decisive. There seem to be fewer of those confounded confabulations- all around, the zebras seem more sure of themselves in the midst of all those roaming Lions and Tigers and Bears.

Pushing throught the Dog Days

2009-07-31T19:18:00.000-07:00

In the US, the football season actually begins in earnest in August. Very earnest. With two-a-days and summer practice in the mad race to prepare for the season in the hottest months of the year, it can be very grueling. Saw a letter/posting from a HS football player in America to which I am sure many of us can relate:

"Should I quit my high school football team?"
"This is my first year ever playing football, so I'm not really that good. I mainly joined because my parents wanted me to play a sport or join something. Practices are pretty hard, and it's not fun. I'm always too sore or tired to hang out with my friends, and it takes up a lot of my summer. I really don't wanna quit or be a quitter, but I don't know how much longer I can motivate myself to get through it."

I felt compelled to respond:
Football is not just a game. It is a test of personal courage and toughness and will. That is way more important than any awards or results on the scoreboard.

Over time, you will inevitably bond and make friends with other players on the team- 'war buddies'- in a way that only people who have gone through common hardships can.

It is difficult to get perspective sometimes- football entails a lot of practice and drilling and stress and pain and discomfort that could not be described as fun. And yes, August is the worst. The payoff comes much later.

But be aware that all the drilling and practice really is necessary, so that you won't need to think about all the things that go on in a game situation- you'll be able to just react, so things flow almost instinctively.

You have to look any for ways you can to see improvement- by measurement, or on video. This can help to motivate you. Ask your coach to give you something specific to work on, and ask for periodic evaluations and look to see improvement in that specific aspect.

Keep a journal of your experience- committing thoughts and experiences and resolutions to paper and looking back over it later can also help inspire you.

Pay more attention and be more vocal- when on the sidelines, when watching others in drills. This gets your 'mind in the game', and prepares you better for when you are in there.

Generally in life, the more you invest and commit to something, the more you'll get out of it.

Just take my word for it and know that you have a great opportunity you may not fully appreciate until later- unlike many other things, when you are older you won't have a chance to play and learn from the experience. Later in life, the things we usually regret are the things we had a chance to do, but didn't.

Good luck!

Any other comments or suggestions for players when they are feeling this way?

ND Japan Bowl

2009-07-27T04:57:00.000-07:00

It was a surprising game in many ways. The great receivers for the Japan team never got loose for a long one. The much feared Noriaki Kinoshita ended up with only 3 catches, the longest for 14 yards on Curl route for a first down- and that was the extent of the damage he did to Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish did their fighting on the ground- they completed a grand total of one (1!) pass in the air that went for 7 yards (and was marked back 10 yards for holding on the play). The second half ofthe game, the Irish took control with their ground game, running the ball 49 times for 271 yards; breaking tackles numerous times. Jay Vickers was the MVP for the game, carrying 'the rock' 16 times for 139 yards and 1 TD, the longest a 77 yard run on an Inside Zone that he cut back and took nearly to the goal line, setting up a Tony Rice TD that made it 10-3.

Besides the problems handling a more physical Irish team, Japan's QB's (Takata and Sugawara) had significant trouble with the Notre Dame pass rush- they were unable to deliver the ball deep; suffered hurried and errant throws, and several dropped balls as well. As Notre Dame DC told me after the game- "that was our game plan; to really our DL loose. we told them they would have a lot of fun this week." Japan was 20-45 and 179 yards, with 3 interceptions and several sacks, including one safety early in the 3rd that seemed to take the wind out of their sails. Frankly speaking, intensity and emotion seemed to be missing from the Japan sideline for most of the game.

The crowd on the other hand, seemed to enjoy the game. The Notre Dame 'tailgate' BBQ party with free-flowing beer out in front of the Dome put many in a good mood, and the marching bands and various camera gimmicks- including the Kiss Cam- created a fun atmosphere; though the animated scoreboard shorts interrupted the replays way too often.

Thursday

2009-07-23T16:52:00.000-07:00

With two days to go in game week, Thursday combined an ND press practice; a press conference with coaches and players from each team; and a clinic outside for younger Japanese players.

Members of the press received white ND Japan Bowl caps in lieu of badges today- a nice touch. Practice (in helmets and shorts) went more smoothly, with the defense looking pretty good working through calls and assignments. Ambrose Wooden took all the snaps on offense, as Tony Rice had an ice pack on his leg and #2 QB Gary Godsey was still limping. Things have improved, but to me honestly still seemed a bit too slow- going through pass progressions for example- to handle the Japanese defense come Saturday. We shall see...

Team speed was also an issue at the press conference- Holtz, Tim Brown, and Tony Rice mentioning Japan's team speed, and Japan Coach Kiyoyuki Mori mentioning how they went with younger players and (even) more speed than the World Cup team in 2007. The age of the Notre Dame roster worried them- former ND and NFL receiver Tim Brown begged off on playing, saying he is "over forty", although Kris Haines is on the roster as a WR, and celebrated his 52nd birthday(!) on Thursday.

Holtz repeatedly mentioned his concerns about the skill positions- problems about age and condition of the skill players for Notre Dame; and the ability of the Japanese squad. There were eyebrows raised and looks exchanged on the ND side when they heard WR Noriaki Kinoshita speak of his status on the Atlanta Falcons practice squad. Kinoshita reminded me of Ichiro Suzuki speaking of the first World Baseball Classic in 2006, that in spite of playing abroad, identifying himself as Japanese, and the importance of such games in terms of national pride. Many were also surprised to learn that Kinoshita has been playing twenty years now- since the age of five in the Chestnut League in Kansai.

However Holtz- quite notorious for his tendency to play up the strength of the opposition and his fears for his own squad- may have strained credulity just a bit when asked to evaluate the quality of Japan's football. Reasoning that the 2007 US World Cup team was made up of Division IAA players, and that Japan nearly won the World Cup game , losing on a blocked field goal in double overtime, Coach Holtz told the press conference it was the Japanese team was the equivalent of a Division I [mid-major] football team, such as East Carolina (coached by his son Skip). While the quality of Japanese football is is surprisingly good and continues to steadily improve, the reality is the US World Cup team in 2007 was comprised of post-graduate players of a geographical mix from all college divisions, including NAIA and even three or four Division I players, who had used up their eligibility, and were not drafted or signed as free agents with the NFL.

I had a chance to ask the final question at the press conference, which was for Coach Mori of the Japan team: to prepare for this game, what video did you look at? Mori, who is another one who can be wily, but also be effusive, replied that they looked at numerous things, including the various coordinator's most recent coaching jobs; but he made it a point to mention he got somewhat side-tracked watching the classic 1988 matchup between ND and the Miami Hurricanes during that national championship season for the Irish, a a thrilling 31-30 battle. Holtz and Tony Rice both beamed. Tim Brown had graduated a year earlier.

Coach Holtz greeted me at the bottom of the stairs on the way out, saying "thank you"- not really sure if that was for just being there, or asking the question...

Irish Invasion

2009-07-22T17:34:00.000-07:00

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish "Legends" alumni team is here, preparing for their Saturday matchup versus the Japanese national team in Tokyo Dome.

A light rain fell on the practice field Tuesday, at Nihon U. The Irish defense appeared to be well ahead of the offense- not surprising early in the week of a game like this. Injuries also affected proceedings quite a bit, and toward the end of practice there were several players going both ways- including Ambrose Wooden (who normally lines up at Safety)- taking many snaps at QB.

At age 72, Coach Lou Holtz may have started slowly, but by the end of practice, he had taken off his sweater and jacket, and was really 'getting after it'. QB Tony Rice was having a bit of trouble throwing the ball, and received a large dose of Holtz's scorn. But it didn't seem to trouble Rice, who in comments to the press afterward was understanding to the point of magnanimity. "It started coming back last week when we started practicing. I am just proud that he's given me the opportunity to come over here...He said some things I haven't heard in a long time...some of this is like de ja vous!"

"I am going to be him on the football field: just know my plays; know what I have to do; make sure I go through my progressions and just enjoy myself"

Practice continues this week (including a clinic for players and coaches on Thursday). Kickoff is at 4 PM on Saturday.

Warming Up

2009-07-12T15:33:00.000-07:00

It was a muggy day in Kawasaki on Sunday, though by later in the day things cooled off a bit and a nice breeze picked up.

After a rather sluggish first half, Team Japan sharpened up after halftime, and dominated a clearly outmatched All-Nihon Phoenix squad in a tune-up game for the Notre Dame Japan Bowl coming up on July 25th.

The Phoenix suffered from a harassed and erratic passing attack- 3 interceptions and 25-52 in the air for 220 yards passing, and gained 57 yen yards rushing. They were only able to manage three drives of more than six plays.

Team Japan had even less on the ground- 45 yards on 25 carries, yet amassed 572 yards in total offense, 527 yards in the air. Panasonic Impulse QB Tetsuo Takata threw for 324 yards including 3 TDs and no interceptions, and was 21-29 on the day. They struck immediately on the first play from scrimmage- a 70 yard TD pass from Takata to Noriaki Kinoshita. Kinoshita had five catches for 118 yards and two TDs, and Takata's Impulse teammate Shouei Hasegawa had four catches for 75 yards and two TDs. Shun Sugawara was 7-9 for 162 yards and a TD. Koushi Moriya (now playing with the Fujitsu Fronteirs) had four catches for 51 yards and 1 TD for the Phoenix.

Kinoshita, the former NFL Europe standout, is currently training at Ritsumeikan, his alma mater. He will be working out with the New York franchise of the incipient UFL come September.

The Phoenix squad included many Nichidai alumni as well as current players. The Japan Team consisted of 84 members, most of them from the usual suspects: Impulse, Fujitsu, Kajima Deers, Obic Seagulls, Asahi Beer Silver Stars, and the Sagamihara Rise (now X-3, but formerly the X-1 Onward Skylarks); with a sprinkling of some other X-League and top university teams. All but a dozen of the players are in their twenties, but Impulse DL Yasuo Wakisaka turned forty in May. Waseda U. RB Tomokazu Sueyoshi is 19. The squad will be cut down to 60 players for the Notre Dame Japan Bowl game on 7/25.

My sympathy for those hardworking Team Japan cheerleaders, who were dressed in black training clothes in the hot sun, though that didn't seem to stop them from putting out their usual fine effort.

I must confess I really enjoyed hearing the sound of live music at a football game, as the Phoenix fortunately brought their school band and cheerleaders.

Also evident was continued construction on Kawasaki Stadium to expand seating (though unfortunately this cuts further into the grass area I would like to see used as a picnic area). This is indicative of Kawasaki's commitment to football.

Seeing through the Iris

2009-07-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I attended the Iris Bowl- the championship game of the Urban Football League spring tournament at the 江戸川区陸上競技場. Because of the running track around the field, the stands are rather far from the field, but it is a nice facility, and the lack of rain, and the nice breeze off the water made it a pleasant afternoon.

The game offered some excitement, but the BattleHawks were handily defeated by the Roebucks. Both teams have a rather long history for Japanese teams (the Roebucks were formed in 1974, the Battlehawks in 1981).

While ball handling mistakes no doubt played a part, depth was certainly also a factor in the one-sided nature of the game. This is all too often the case with football games here. Unfortunately game and season results directly proportional to roster size: the team with the larger roster usually wins. Size definitely does matter. Of course quality is also certainly important- particularly as we rise to the highest levels. But without a certain critical mass- quite literally- it becomes difficult to establish much of anything. Many teams are simply in need of warm bodies.

The nature of football- with its requirements of specialization, the possibilities of injury, and the need for numbers to properly prepare and practice, means that accumulating greater numbers is important to the health and survival of most teams, save perhaps a few elite Division 1 teams.

This is essential to help grow the game of football across a broader base. So to help with this issue, I will use some of the resources of this website and help players and teams to find each other. I invite you to submit information to accomplish this.

At the game, I met a fascinating team called the U59ers (technically under 59, but in fact anyone over 40 is welcome). More on them later...

HS Football Japan style

2009-06-14T06:14:00.000-07:00

On a nice day for football, the Kanto High School Tournament Semi-Finals were held at Komazawa Dai-ni Stadium. While the first game was not close, in spite of some nice throws and catches for Waseda late in the game. In the second game St. Paul's Rushers managed a hard fought 16-10 victory over Komaba Fighting Gorillas.

The Rushers scored on their first play from scrimmage on a well-thrown deep crossing route to the TE for a 69 yard TD. The Fighting Gorillas responded a few plays later in their first offensive series with a 63 yard run that made it 7-all.

In the second quarter, the Rushers were turned away at the Gorilla goal line. But on the very next play, the Gorilla RB was tackled in the end zone to make it 9-7. St. Paul's subsequent drive resulted in a TD to make it 16-7. Both teams moved the ball, but interceptions and key mistakes kept the score down. Several Fighting Gorilla "Wish Passes" were thrown into double coverage. Komaba also had problems in the kicking game, including a muffed punt near the goal line.

That said, I was often impressed by the quality of play and overall effort by the high school gridders. I had an opportunity to sped a bit of time in the stands, and I must say I was really impressed by the passion of the fans present- especially the mothers, who were sometimes quite astute in their appraisals of what was taking place on the field, and quite vocal about what they thought about it.

promoting american football

2009-05-12T23:23:00.000-07:00

I was at Amino Vital over the weekend and saw several spring college games including Ritsumeikan's and Keio's blowouts of Tokai and Tokyo Gakudai, and a game between Teikyo and Hitotsubashi that was much closer, at least until later in the 4th quarter.

Meanwhile, there was a large family event going on at Ajinomoto Stadium, and the "Big Flea Market" going on just outside the gates.

This of course, was a good chance to expose and promote football to families attending. Indeed, inside the gates of Amino Vital, there was a popular attraction with mini footballs for kids to try to throw through a hole and volunteers instructing them- that was fun; and a table with information on American football, and helmets for kids to try on a get Polaroid pictures taking. A nice start. I'd like to see more of this, and perhaps a bit more aggressive promotion (e.g. sending volunteers (perhaps in Teams Japan jerseys and helmets) through the flea market, and outside Tobitakyu Station and Ajinomoto Stadium. Perhaps there are other attractions for the kids and families as well. One of the things that makes football special in the US is the tail gate picnic atmosphere that I think would be fantastic to adopt here. I hope to post more about this subject of promoting football in Japan in the near future, and welcome any comments and suggestions you may have.

More needs to be done to draw families into becoming fans, so let's applaud that effort, and really hope to see more, and more often.

times are changing

2009-05-12T03:29:00.001-07:00

Football in Japan have finally updated the clock procedures to match the NCAA rules- the so called 40/25 clock. Normally 40 seconds to run a play; 25 second when the clock is stopped. When the ball goes out of bounds (in all but the last two minutes of each half), the clock stops only until the ball is set and the official gives the "Ready For Play" signal. This was done to speed up games in the NCAA, which have been exceeding 3 hours.

The actual results of the rule? For one, it will make it easier for a team with a lead to run out the clock, as they have 40 seconds to snap the ball now, rather than 25 seconds plus whatever time it took officials to set the ball. Which points to one of the reasons why it is probably a good rule, as previously the officials were often quite inconsistent in the time it took to setting the ball.

Some may argue that 40 seconds is a bit longer than teams need- while 30 seconds may be too fast, perhaps it should be 35 or 36 seconds. I don't know.

What I would like to see rather than- or in addition to- stopping the clock when the ball goes out of bounds would be stopping the clock temporarily on incomplete passes. As it currently stands, the game clock stops on all incomplete passes. I think this has resulted in a large variation in the length of football games in recent years. Running plays stop the clock far less often, especially now with the out of bounds clock rules. In NCAA games where some teams pass 50 or 60 times each, that can possibly mean stopping the clock fifty to a hundred times for incomplete passes. Some (60 minute) games now approach four hours in length. Making the timing consistent run or pass, would result in games of more uniform time length.

Irregular lengths of games certainly creates problems for television, as it throws off programming and paid advertising schedules. Scheduling for facilities, teams, and fans can be improved when games are of more uniform length. Just as importantly (though I am not aware of any statistics yet), one may surmise that longer games quite probably lead to more health and safety issues. Longer time on the field- particularly in hot or poor weather conditions- increases the exposure to injury or other medical issues.

Spring Fever

2009-04-17T00:24:00.000-07:00

Spring always brings new dreams and new hopes. For football it brings new people, new teams, a new season.

While I have been a way from the blog, I have been doing some research and writing on the book. I decided that in order to make the work complete, visit or two to Kansai is in order.
So please, any contacts and suggestions there are welcome.

I also hope to get an opportunity to coach football again on some basis or another...really miss it.

once again

2008-12-11T15:22:00.000-08:00

Once again this year, we had a tremendously exciting "Clash Bowl", the Kanto collegiate championship. On a crisp, sunny day in December Hosei defeated Nichiday 21-20 in double over-time, when Takahito Maruto converted the extra point after a 2-yard TD run by Takuto Hara, his second 2-yard TD run and third of the afternoon.

Nichidai had scored on a 25 yard pass from Keiya Hiramoto to Kotaro Okano on the first play of the second overtime period. But Nichidai missed the extra point. It was obvious to me from watching pregame warm-ups that kicking might become a problem for Nichidai, and they were 0-3 on FGs due to a missed kick and couple of blocked kicks.

For many of their drives during the game, Nichidai seemed to move the ball at midfield at will- indeed the Phoenix outgained the Tomahawks 427 to 301 ; but several drives bogged down in the Red Zone, turning the ball over the ball there three times and missing 3 FGs.

Hosei scored near the end of the 1st half, when Hara scrambled twice- the first for 49 yards, the second for a 4 yard TD- on plays designed for him to throw back to the QB. It was 7-0 at the half.

Nichidai scored two TDs on the second half on runs by Hiramoto. He was 17-30 for 200 yards with 2 INTs on the day. He also gained 107 yeards on 18 carries. Senior Takuya Yamashiro started and was 1-5 with one interception.

Hara gained 117 yards on 16 carries for the Tomahawks. Keiji Yamashiro was 16-22 and 138 yards passing.

Hosei advances to the Koshien Bowl to meet the Kansai champion on December 21st at the Kyocera Dome.

nervous?

2008-12-05T21:51:00.000-08:00

I visited the Hosei University football practice this week, as the Tomahawks prepare for their Clash Bowl rematch against Nippon University on Sunday. The Phoenix won last year 38-34.

I must say, I don't know if I have ever seen a practice where the team seemed so relaxed before a big game. It is probably a testament to their confidence- Hosei has been to this game 14 of the last 16 years (and won it thirteen times) . Last year was also the first time Nichi-dai beat Hosei in twelve tries, going back to 1992. The Phoenix dominated the series in the 1980's.

2008 season

2008-11-30T18:42:00.000-08:00

The regular season for 2008 in Japan has just concluded.
Hope to have a chance to go over some notes and post more here in the near future.

This weekend I attended KCFA Division 2 and Area League games. Last week, (the three day weekend in Japan), I attended quite a few games, including college, the high school championship (won by Waseda High School with a 10 point 4th Q), and x2 League final games, where I had a chance to talk a bit with Bill Passwaters, an American who officiates games for both the military bases and the Japanese leagues. I hope to have a chance to talk to him in more depth in the near future.

On to the playoffs!

Back on the field

2008-10-24T03:00:00.000-07:00

I am very glad to get back to attending football games and practices on a regular basis now, after some health issues (including chemotherapy) and recovery have taken much of last year and this. Didn't want to make a big deal about it by mentioning it, but it has slowed things down. So now that I am mostly recovered, I hope to continue interviewing and writing about football in Japan, and to finish the book by next season. I'd love to get back to coaching as well.

There is no better time of year than autumn, and football is a big reason why.

We'll miss you, coach!

2008-07-05T02:10:00.000-07:00

We were all sad to hear of the passing of John Pont to cancer on July 1st at his home in Oxford, Ohio.

He was indeed an inspiration to so many on both sides of the Pacific.

His coaching career at his alma mater Miami of Ohio (where he set career rushing records inhis playing days); at Yale; Indiana; Northwestern; and Mt. Saint Joseph's was impressive in the way that he loved to embrace the challenge of taking downtrodden teams to new heights. He took Indiana's to the Rose Bowl at the end of the magical 1967 season, its first bowl game ever. He guided Mt. Saint Joesph's (Ohio) through its first few years. In Japan, he took a Rokbull team all the way from the bottom into the top division.

Coach Pont did much to advance the game in Japan, not only as head coach of Rokbull, but with his John Pont coaching clinics as well. He would always take time to talk football with me, and encouraged me to get more involved. I had plans to interview him this summer for this writing project on football in Japan, as he was one of the inspirations for it.

Those of us who were blessed to know him will miss him greatly.

Gamesmanship vs. Sportmanship

2008-03-20T11:27:00.000-07:00

This Saturday (3/22) in Kawasaki there will be a US representative team meeting a Japanese team for the "" Under-19 Global Challenge Bowl game at Kawasaki Stadium (2:00 PM) Kickoff. The game will also be telecast in Japan on Sky A. But will it be a trap?

Unfortunately, the approaches to this game seem to be quite different. The US team has come with the assumption that this was about cultural exchange. Their players are seen as "ambassadors"- generally honors students (the overall team GPA is something like 3.6), all in high school, all under 19. Many are from smaller schools around the country that don't get much attention. They have been enjoying cultural exchange throughout the Kanto area- martial arts demonstrations, visits to schools, a Toshiba factory, etc. 35 host families have volunteered to house and feed them breakfasts and dinners. The players and their host families received tickets to the Red Sox and Oakland A's game on Easter Sunday. By all accounts, Kawasaki has done a marvelous job, and it has been a terrific experience for all sides. There was a banquet for both teams on Tuesday night, where players got to meet each other, talked, even arm-wrestled each other in fun. It was an example of the sporting experience at its best.

At the banquet however, the head coach of this year's Japanese squad Mr Uchida (Nihon University), seemed to set a far more grave tone, invoking "national pride" several times in his address. This alarmed the Americans, who thought they were coming over for a friendly game and cultural exchange for young people (principally sponsored by GE).

Whereas the US team is made up of some good players (all under 19), they are not necessarily the top football talent from the US; rather they're good kids who are good citizens and very good students. They are representatives. Young men who love football, but also hope to have a great cultural and educational experience, and make some new friends. On the contrary, most of the Japanese team seems to be stocked with the top athletes only from the top Japanese university school teams, and only a few high school players. What is more, most of the Japanese players are 19 (some allegedly more).

As the US head coach expressed to me, "I feel like we've been set up". Apparently he has not received proper exchanges of video tapes, etc. either.

This antagonistic, hyper-competitive approach by the Japanese side is a mistake for two reasons. First, it could be seen as a serious slap in the face to the concept of friendly sportsmanship. This could trigger a very negative reaction on the other side. Not good for international football relations. Perhaps the answer is simply the concept of 'sportsmanship' is somehow lacking in Japan.

While the hyper-competitiveness on the Japanese side is somewhat understandable, and it admirable to strive to win, winning should never come at the expense of the integrity of the game of football or the broader experience in society.

Secondly, the approach by the Japanese staff seems to be missing a fantastic opportunity to grow the game of football in Japan. It is sacrificing the growth of the game for the short-term interests (a win in a "trap game", an artificial boost for the ego, etc.).

A team selecting only the top athletes from only the top universities may serve the interests of a single game win (or someone's political or recruiting interests), and may drum up some false pride, but it is certainly NOT good for the game of football in Japan. These attitudes might win a battle, but will certainly lose the real war in the long-term.

It continues to be a problem within the football community in Japan- too much power (greed) and wealth concentrated with only a few. Not enough thought and effort to growing the game over-all, which in the long run would be to everyone's benefit- including those bigger fishes in the pond.

The rules also allow up to six players from a single school (no more than three allowed on the field at one time). Six players from one school? Any more than two from a single school is probably too many- especially on a 35 man roster. Especially for the host country, one where there are quite a few more schools that play football. (The US team represents 25 schools from at least a dozen States). Here was a golden opportunity for Japanese young men at smaller, less well-known schools (for football) in Japan- which don't get the same opportunities for publicity or excitement- to send representatives, and all the benefits it would bring. A chance to broaden the opportunities and appeal to as wide a network of players and fans as possible in Japan.

The USA team in last year's World Cup games was better example of how it was meant to be done: the USA selection rules insisted that the team was truly representative. Players came from all divisions of the NCAA (college and university) and NAIA schools, not just the top division. Sure, the exciting final game was much closer than it otherwise would have been, but more important objectives were also met. Japan would do much better to follow this example.

I can only hope that corrections will be made in the future with more of the interests of young people and the game of football foremost in mind.

new rules?

2008-02-23T00:42:00.000-08:00

The NCAA (presumably to appease the television networks), are at it again:
another attempt to shorten the length of games.

After the rule changes (such as the poorly thought out one to start the clock on the kickoff) were tried and failed, this time they have two proposals:
1. To start the play clock immediately upon the conclusion of the previous play (a 40 second clock just like the NFL, rather than the current 25 seconds from the Ready For Play signal).
2. To stop the game clock on plays out of bounds only until the ball is re-spotted, rather than until the next snap.

They claim that the former rule will make the procedure more consistent (and take away the incentive for pileups, etc.).

I read that they also claim latter (out-of-bounds rule) would only affect 12 plays a game (which sounds low to me).

The only statistic I have seen previously (care of Homer Smith) is that it takes officials an average of 12 seconds to spot the ball and to start the play clock. So this will give Offensive Coordinators a slightly longer (and a slightly more consistent) time frame in which to send in plays. I can imagine that we will see more changing of personnel packages; with the offense waiting, and then sending in the play call based on the corresponding changes in defensive personnel.

At any rate, these rules will make it a little more difficult for teams to come from behind; and a little easier for teams ahead to run out the clock. Where previously the team trying to run out the clock attempted to stay in bounds at all costs, they will now have a reason to take long, slow convoy sweeps to the sideline (remember the old USC Trojan Student Body Right?), stepping out of bounds at the last minute to avoid being stripped of the ball, as the clock will be restarted even on an out-of-bounds play.

This will make the out routes less effective as part of the hurry-up offense.

While a good argument could be made for the first rule, I suspect the second rule will prove to be unwise and unwelcome.

Besides the implementation of overtime, the real reasons that recent regulation games are taking much longer are:
a. more TV commercials in televised games
b. occasional stoppages for replay of calls
c. the increased amount of passing in the game today- more passes equals more incomplete passes, and each of these stop to the clock.

While commercial television (a) or the replay rule (b) may not affect other divisions (including Japan), I would like to urge that TV be encouraged/obliged to take short automatic commercial breaks (say one minute) on each replay stoppage (or injury timeout), rather than showing countless angles while the officials decide, and then lengthy commercial breaks after a score or at the quarter or for a 'TV timeout'. After one minute, the TV crew could have chosen the best angle to show the result, except for the most controversial of plays. This quick commercial break would be good for TV too- viewers would be unlikely to change channels while still in suspense as to the outcome of the call.

As far as the increased amount of passing in the game today (c), the longest games generally involve those teams that throw 50-60 times a game, with consequently many more incomplete passes. When teams run the ball (for no gain, for example) the clock continues to run, as long as the ball remains inbounds. This probably causes the greatest inconsistency in the length of playing times of games. So I would propose that after incomplete passes landing within the field of play, the game clock is restarted after the ball is set. I have no way of field testing this at the moment, but I would imagine that this would do much to even out the running length of games.

Super Bowl XLII

2008-02-05T01:30:00.000-08:00

Should probably make a quick comment.

A low scoring game, great defensive play. Clutch drives by both teams. A thoroughly entertaining game.

I was personally glad to see the result (with the Red Sox already winning the baseball World Series last fall my highly vocal and opinionated brother-in-law from Boston would be absolutely insufferable to his dying day if the Patriots had win and finished with a perfect season).

It is always exciting to see the underdog win. Satisfying to, as long as the favorite being upset was not our team.

AFCA Convention

2008-01-09T19:00:00.000-08:00

Loads of interesting stuff! Seminars, etc.

One of the most interesting obsrvations was by a USA Today reporter, but repeated by many other coaches in speeches and seminars after that:

The University of Michigan Wolverines began the 2007 season by losing to the reigning champion in FCS (formerly 1-AA) in a shocking, humiliating upset loss to Appalachian State; and concluded the season with a win over reigning Bowl Subdivision (formerly 1-A) champion Florida on New Year's day....

Football...what a great game!

'tis the season

2007-12-31T04:07:00.000-08:00

...in the States with family. LOTS of college bowl games on TV. Some people think it's too much, but I LOVE it. Much better than playoffs (more on this later).

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Happy New Year!

Next week: American Football Coaches Convention (Anaheim, CA).

December

2007-12-06T01:12:00.000-08:00

Another first weekend in December with beautiful weather (why does the season for most teams end before the best football weather?).

Two exciting semi-final games: on Saturday, Fujitsu was in control most of the way versus On-Sky 31-21. On Sunday, a come from behind victory for Nichidai over Hosei that didn't end until a fourth down pass fell incomplete in the end zone inside the last minute, 38-34.

More later

"It doesn't mean anything"

2007-11-05T11:45:00.000-08:00

Very true words were spoken by all-pro QB Tom Brady on Sunday, after his New England Patriots beat the NFL (World) Champion Indianapolis Colts in a big clash of the unbeatens:
"We're 9-0 and it really doesn't matter," Brady said. "None of this matters. What matters is January - 9-0, hey, I'm as happy as anybody. But it doesn't mean anything. "

This points out a great truth- in most sports today- especially professional sports, the long regular season seems like little more than a warm-up for the playoff season. I find it nearly impossible to get excited about pro sports like basketball or hockey, which have already been underway for a month now, and will continue with playoffs until long after I and most people have ceased caring, sometime close to the beginning of next summer. Any regular season win or a loss now hardly matters in the long run.

By comparison, football games, especially those played at so-called 'lower levels' really mean something- they irrevecobaly impact standings, championship chances, and bragging rights. Teams- even great rivals- play each other but once a year. The regular season really means something to everyone involved.

Let's Not be too Hasty

2007-10-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

Another somewhat bizarre ending to a game I attended this weekend. On a truly gorgeous autumn afternoon, in an X-2 League Central Division battle at Kawasaki Stadium, the Unisys Bulls led Bullseyes Tokyo 21-13 in the final minute of the game. The Bulleyes had already used all of their timeouts earlier to stop the clock. So when the Unisys came up short on 3rd down, I was quite surprised to see the Bulls call their second timeout, stopping the clock with exactly 25 seconds remaining- before the officials had even given the ready-for-play signal and thus started the play clock (which gives the offense 25 seconds to snap the ball). So that meant that rather than simply letting time expire, they would be forced to punt, thus giving the Bullseyes at least a chance to get the ball back and try to score. Then the Bulls called another timeout- their last- instead of keeping it for any emergencies on defense.

The Bulls finally punted the ball a short distance, downing it immediately, rather than letting it roll, so only a few seconds ticked off the clock. As it turned out, the Bullseyes' QB (for lack of a better word, as the Bullseyes have no actual QBs on their roster this year) was sacked on first down. They were unable to get another play off, so the game ended 21-13.

The Bulls had scored on their opening drive of the game in part due to several missed tackles, but the Bullseyes defense held them scoreless the rest of the afternoon. The Bullseyes offense- and running a version of the Nevada-style shotgun- perhaps better described as single wing offense, with a back in the trigger position- were able to move the ball on the ground despite the 4-4 front the Bulls threw at them, managing to score a touchdown in each half. But breakdowns in the kicking game- misplaying an onside kick, protections, bad snaps, and blocked kicks- ultimately resulted in two second half returns for touchdowns for Unisys to get the win.

Both teams are now 3-1 on the season, with their final game coming in mid-November.

sometimes, "fans" suck

2007-10-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

I was looking at on an open thread running commentary on mblog during the Minnesota-Michigan (Little Brown Jug game). The majority of the posters are very down on the coaching staff- with some going as far as to hope that Michigan loses to ensure that Lloyd Carr and the rest of the Wolverine coaching staff will be sacked at the end of this season.

Though I am occasionally inclined to agree with them from time to time on certain specific play calls or use of timeout here or there, for example; but for the most part, I believe they are fallen under the delusion which besets most North American males at this time of year- that belief that they are smarter and could coach at least as well, if not better, than the coach of their team. It happens in all sports, but I would imagine that football fans- with all that pent up aggression and its decidedly cerebral aspects- are the worst. They seem to think that you can still draw up plays in the dirt and put 'em in like that; on the other hand, the seem to think that the coaches have 168 hours a week of meeting and practice with the players to cover and install everything under the sun. Of course these guys usually fail to grasp or take into account all the aspects involved in coaching, but that's what you get when your exposure to big time football is talk radio, ESPN and X-Box. With these guys, even the most obvious mistake by players- a fumble here, a penalty there- will somehow be blamed on the coaching staff. Of course, people will only see what they really want to see.

One irksome guy in particular claimed that he had had lunch with Scott Loeffler (Michigan's rather young QB coach) when they were freshman. "I was thoroughly unimpressed with this guy. Zero personality and low IQ. He's the guy developing our QB's these days right? Carr's offensive disciples suck." As a freshman? Gimme a break. And I would tend to think that the zero personality Loeffler displayed probably had more to with his lunch companion, than Loeffler himself. I say this because I recall meeting Loeffler at the AFCA convention in Atlanta in 2000(?). We were in a room talking QB fundamentals and reads after a presentation with just four of us- Scott, myself, a Flordia State GA, and...Norm Chow. They were all nice, friendly, and very bright. In fact I recall noticing that Chow seemed quite impressed by Loeffler.

So this guy's word doesn't count for much. But when it comes to sports, especially football, I guess everybody's a know-it-all

Mercy , mercy?

2007-10-19T07:44:00.000-07:00

One thing that seems to improve later in the season in Japan is the quality of the games. The schedules seem to be seeded with top of the division teams playing at the end of the season, so the games are matched a little more evenly.

As usual, the early season this year has featured quite a few blowouts-one by a 105-0 score. (And remember, regulation games in Japan are only 48 minutes). But honestly, these sort of one-sided games do little good for the game of football in Japan. Soundly defeating an opponent is one thing; humiliating the opponent is quite another. They are not very exciting to watch, and they discourage the losers from going on. The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. Ultimately, football for everyone suffers.

Of course, mismatches in talent and squad size are largely to blame; but so are the league rules, which use point differentials as a tie-breaker in division standings and determining playoff positions. This sometimes results in strange situations where a team way ahead near the end of a game will be going into hurry-up mode and calling timeouts trying to score again, at a point when their opponent has been thoroughly exhausted and demoralized. This is bad sport, and bad sportsmanship. In Western countries, those who do so are seen as poor sportsmen, but somehow this concept has not yet made its way to Japan.
[In fact the Swedish coach mentioned this after his team's World Cup loss, when late in the game and with a huge lead, Japan faked the extra point kick and ran in a two point conversion].

I believe a Mercy Rule of some sort should be imposed- stopping a game when the differential reached, say, 40 or 50 points.

There are slightly more radical measures that could be tried- I recall the Hula Bowl All-Star game used to allow the team that is trailing by more than (10?) points the option to receive or kick-off after any score. But as this is not in line with current NCAA rules, I have little hope to see such a rule adopted.

Eliminating the point differential factor from standings and tie-breakers would certainly help. What is needed to accomplish that is some way of rating the quality of the opponent one has lost to and defeated, by won/lost records; records against common opponents; and if necessary, perhaps considering defeated opponent's total points scored or allowed.

For my part, I will focus on drawing attention to close games, and not glorifying blowouts.

Of course the best way is to raise the level of talent and numbers for the have-nots in football in Japan to help make them more competitive. Hopefully the X-League, the KCFA and the other organizations and teams involved with american football in Japan will see the light sooner, rather than later.

Wild Weekend!

2007-10-14T04:53:00.000-07:00

More here later. Check back periodically.