Anthony named captain for Team World
Team USA edges Team World 17-0
Freshman Alex Anthony will go down in the Laurier history books after this weekend.
The first year wide receiver has been the only member of athletics to represent an international World team, and what’s more, to be given the prestigious honors of wearing a captain’s C.
Saturday January 30th, the first ever Team World versus Team USA match-up took place in Fort Lauderdale, FLA and saw the traditional powerhouse U.S. team fight a hard fought battle to ensure their 17-0 victory.
The majority of the 19 and under 45-man roster have already committed to some of the top schools in the nation, but the World team including players from Canada, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Japan, American Samoa, France, and Mexico ensured it was a close contest.
“Given the circumstances they played a heck of a game,” commented head coach Jan Jenmert. “We prepared for an offensive strategy, but we had to change our plan with the loss of several key players.”
Injury, penalties and turnovers proved to be critical factors in Team World’s loss. Defensive line Jesse Williams of Australia went down early during only the third play of the game, while fullback James Sifakis from Canada was lost later on in the second quarter.
“The [USA] thought it was going to be a big blow out,” said Anthony. “But we competed on all levels: offense, defense, and specials team.”
Anthony was one of four captains – Dillion Guy (Canada), Byron Perez Archambault (Canada), and Beck Coulter (American Samoa) served as the remaining three to make their way on field for the coin toss ceremony.
Hosting the toss were NFL commissioner Roger Goodall, and honorary players Mosi Tatupu, Jonathan Fanene, and Dwight Stephenson.
“He’s been a tremendous receiver for us,” said Jenmert on Anthony. “He’s been an important part of the team, and is one of the hardest working guys out there.”
The international squad started the game off strong, moving the ball around confidently the majority of the first quarter.
However, quarterbacks Jeremi Doyon-Roch (Canada) and Brandon Bridge (Canada) soon began to struggle. Bridge had two interceptions that hurt the team’s offensive strategy, while Doyon-Roch had difficulty finding his target, including four incomplete passes to Anthony.
U.S. quarterbacks Mark Myers and Tyler Smith on the other hand, both had strong performances. Myers completed seven of ten pass attempts for 79 yards overall, with Smith completing five of ten for 105 yards.
In the first half of the game, Team USA closed in on field goal range, but kicker Ben Hopfinger’s attempt was denied by a huge block from German defensive end Bjoern Werner.
Smith went on to make a 50-yard pass to Josh Reese that would have scored had World tackle Dylan Hollohan not taken him down at the one-yard. After a fumble, Reese went on to recover the ball and scored with only nine seconds left in the first half, putting Team USA up 7-0.
Team USA used speed and athleticism to their advantage in the second half of the game.
Running back Dontae Williams rushed in to score the second touchdown for his team, with Hopfinger kicking for the extra point. Linebacker Mike Hull intercepted on a play by Doyon-Roch, maintaining possession and Hopfinger went on to complete a 40-yard field goal.
“I was pretty disappointed with how it turned out,” said Anthony. “But we defiantly came out to play.”
MVP for Team World was running back Hampus Hellermark, while Hull took the honors for the Team USA.
