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.
