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.
