Canada wins a thriller vs. Japan: Meet USA in gold medal game Saturday (stats, roster) HILITES

CANADA WINS A THRILLER AGAINST JAPAN BY FOUR POINTS TO MEET UNITED STATES FOR IFAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GOLD MEDAL

Canada will mark its debut at the IFAF Senior World Championship with a Gold Medal Game clash against traditional sporting rival the United States having held off the challenge of Japan to win 31-27 and top Group B.

A classic clash at the UPC Arena in Graz saw the teams match each other drive for drive until virtually the last play of the first half and while Canada led 17-14 at the interval, Japan did not put their noses in front until the third quarter.

“This was an amazing football game and we got the glory today,” said Canada head coach Larry Haylor.

Running back and Canada MVP David Stevens, who rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, added: “We were lucky to come out with a victory. We’re tired after three games in only a few days, but we have good depth and we’re confident right now.”

Japan missed out on a berth in the Gold Medal Game for the first time since the competition began, having been crowned champions in 1999 and 2003 and lost to USA in the final in 2007. They will now take on Mexico for Bronze in Vienna on Friday.

“I am very proud of my players and they did a good job,” said Japan head coach Kiyoyuki Mori. “But at the same time we are very disappointed not to be in the final.”

Both teams scored on their opening possession. Running back Matt Walter had three attempts to score on the ground repelled as the Japanese defense held. Canada then Canada gambled on fourth down and a two-yard pass from Mike Faulds eventually landed in the hands of a diving Michel-Pierre Pontbriand in the end zone after a deflection and Canada led with 5.38 remaining in the first quarter.

Japan was more economical with the end zone at their mercy and on second and goal Yasuhiro Maruta took a side step to the left and raced in to score from a yard out and tie the game after a successful extra point. Japan tried to catch Canada off-guard with an onside kick but failed to recover. Canada was unable to capitalize on good field position and both teams twice traded punts.

MVP Stevens ran off tackle on a four-yard run to the right side for six more points and a 14-7 lead with 1.22 left to play in the half, but again Japan replied. A Tetsuo Takata pass to Michihiro Ogawa opened up the field and the quarterback then went to Takuya Furutani with a 15-yard toss to again level the scores.

Canada worked the clock well to set up Lirim Hajrullahu for a 32-yard field goal to close the half and lead 17-14 at the interval.

Japan methodically moved downfield to open the second half. A superb diving catch by Ken Shimizu moved the ball to the Canada 26 and Japan then lined up in the wildcat formation and ran a reverse to put the ball back in the hands of Takata and his pass found Furutani at the 11.

Two runs and an incompletion failed to beak down Canadian defenses and Japan settled for a 23-yard Daisuki Aoki field goal to tie the game for the third time at 17-17.

Japan defensive back Koki Kato produced his third interception of the tournament and that led to another Aoki field goal, this time from 29 yards, and Japan’s first lead at 20-17. But Matt Walter responded with a three-yard rushing touchdown as Canada reclaimed the lead 24-20.

Japan was backed up near the end zone, but rallied to drive and score to again move ahead, this time by 27-24. Yasuhiro Maruta found a hole and a first down at the 25 then passes to Nori Kinoshita and Ogawa drove the ball to the Canada 30 with six minutes to play. Kinoshita was pushed out at the two by Troy Adams and from there on first and goal, Tomokazu Sueyoshi punched in for a touchdown.

Canada replied immediately as Faulds was forced out of pocket but hit Stevens on a stunning 72-yard connection and then from their own first and goal at the one, Canada scored what proved to be the winning touchdown as Walter broke the plain with 3.31 remaining.

“I just tried to get open down the sideline and the quarterback did a good job of looking up and seeing me,” explained Stevens. “And I was lucky enough to catch the ball and then instinct just kicked in and I ran hard almost getting to the endzone. But looking at it now it’s probably a good thing I didn’t make it in, because we used more of the clock.”

The Canadian defense held firm as Japan went for glory on fourth down but a pass bounced off the hands of Ogawa, then on the game’s final play, Julien Hamel intercepted to close the victory.

Box Score

Canada (3-0) vs. Japan (2-1)
Date: Jul 13, 2011
Site: Graz
Stadium: UPC Arena
Attendance: 2000

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
—————– — — — — —–
Canada……… 7 10 0 14 – 31
Japan………. 7 7 6 7 – 27

Scoring Summary:

1st
05:38 CAN – Michel-P.Pontbriand 2 yd pass from Michael Faulds (Lirim Hajrullahu kick)
12 plays, 41 yards, TOP 6:22, CAN 7 – JPN 0

02:14 JPN – Yasuhiro Maruta 1 yd run (Daisuke Aoki kick)
7 plays, 60 yards, TOP 3:17, CAN 7 – JPN 7

2nd
01:29 CAN – David Stevens 4 yd run (Lirim Hajrullahu kick)
9 plays, 78 yards, TOP 4:15, CAN 14 – JPN 7

00:32 JPN – Takuya Furutani 15 yd pass from Tetsuo Takata (Daisuke Aoki kick)
6 plays, 63 yards, TOP 0:50, CAN 14 – JPN 14

00:01 CAN – Lirim Hajrullahu 32 yd field goal
3 plays, 38 yards, TOP 0:21, CAN 17 – JPN 14

3rd
05:29 JPN – Daisuke Aoki 23 yd field goal
12 plays, 70 yards, TOP 6:23, CAN 17 – JPN 17

01:30 JPN – Daisuke Aoki 29 yd field goal
5 plays, 20 yards, TOP 2:34, CAN 17 – JPN 20

4th
10:02 CAN – Matt Walters 3 yd run (Lirim Hajrullahu kick)
8 plays, 73 yards, TOP 3:19, CAN 24 – JPN 20

05:38 JPN – Tomokazu Sueyoshi 2 yd run (Daisuke Aoki kick)
6 plays, 89 yards, TOP 2:32, CAN 24 – JPN 27

03:31 CAN – Matt Walters 1 yd run (Lirim Hajrullahu kick)
4 plays, 73 yards, TOP 2:02, CAN 31 – JPN 27

Rushing

No Gain Loss Net TD Lg Avg
————————————————-
David Stevens 10 65 2 63 1 20 6.3
Matt Walters 17 62 0 62 2 13 3.6
Jahmeek Murray 2 16 0 16 0 9 8.0
Michael Faulds 5 1 11 -10 0 1 -2.0
Totals… 34 144 13 131 3 20 3.9

Passing

Att-Cmp-Int Yds TD Long Sack
————————————————-
Michael Faulds 21-14-1 204 1 72 1
Team Canada 0-0-0 -7 0 0 0
Totals… 21-14-1 197 1 72 1

Receiving

No. Yds TD Long
—————————————-
Shamawd Chambers 5 42 0 15
Scott Valberg 3 37 0 17
Michel-P.Pontbriand 3 34 1 28
David Stevens 1 72 0 72
Jahmeek Murray 1 18 0 18
Alexandre Poirier 1 1 0 1
Totals… 14 204 1 72

Punting

No. Yds Avg Long In20 TB
—————————————————
Lirim Hajrullahu 3 132 44.0 55 2 1
Totals… 3 132 44.0 55 2 1

Punts Kickoffs Intercept
All Returns No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg
————————————————–
David Stevens 0 0 0 4 124 54 0 0 0
Julien Hamel 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 -1 0
Jedd Gardiner 0 0 0 1 28 28 0 0 0
Troy Adams 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals… 1 0 0 5 152 54 1 -1 0

Field goal attempts
—————————————-
Lirim Hajrullahu 2nd 00:01 32 yds – Good

Kickoffs
No. Yds TB OB Avg
—————————————
L.Hajrullahu 6 354 0 0 59.0

No. Pos Name Last Name Ht. Wt. DoB Team
1 R Ricky Clarke 6’0 185 1984-10-06 University of Manitoba
3 QB Michael Faulds 6’2 210 1983-11-11 University of Western Ontario
5 K Lirim Hajrullahu 5’11 180 1990-04-24 University of Western Ontario
10 QB Donnie Marshall 5’9 185 1989-08-25 University of Western Ontario
11 R Alexandre Poirier 5’10 180 1987-07-02 Université de Sherbrooke
15 QB Josh Sacobie 6’4 225 1983-11-22 University of Ottawa
18 R Dante Luciani 6’0 180 1985-09-01 Wilfrid Laurier University
20 DB Sammy Okpro 6’0 180 1984-05-02 Edmonton Eskimos
21 DB Troy Adams 5’10 175 1987-11-01 Northeastern State University
22 DB Alexander Hoad 5’10 180 1984-04-10 University of Ottawa
23 DB Bryce McCall 5’10 185 1988-08-14 University of Saskatchewan
24 DB Matt Carapella 5’11 185 1986-09-05 University of Western Ontario
25 DB Joel Lipinski 5’10 188 1985-07-29 St. Mary’s Univesity
28 DB Maxime Bérubé 6’0 195 1986-01-07 Université Laval
29 DB Shane Hall 6’0 200 1980-04-11 New Hampshire University
33 RB Matt Walters 5’10 200 1989-07-20 University of Calgary
34 RB Nick FitzGibbon 5’10 204 1987-04-25 University of Guelph
35 RB David Stevens 6’0 202 1993-06-08 University of Saskatchewan
39 RB Michel-Pierre Pontbriand 6’2 227 1983-03-04 Université Laval
49 DB Julien Hamel 5’10 180 1986-07-14 Université de Montréal
50 LB Steve Faoro 6’1 225 1982-02-04 Acadia University
51 LB Alex Daprato 6’4 230 1987-03-26 Queen’s University
52 LB Thaine Carter 6’0 220 1987-05-19 Queen’s University
53 LB Tom Labenski 6’1 220 1988-12-21 Acadia University
54 LB Anthony Maggiacomo 5’10 205 1984-04-25 Wilfrid Laurier University
55 LB Peter Carrière 6’1 218 1985-08-15 Université de Montréal
59 LB Christian Houle 6’4 225 1985-12-28 Université de Montréal
60 OL Sherko Haji-Rasouli 6’5 325 1980-09-01 B.C Lions
61 OL Matt Norman 6’3 334 1988-06-20 University of Western Ontario
62 OL Dan Bederman 6’4 315 1987-09-03 Queen’s University
64 OL Justin Glover 6’3 310 1987-10-28 McMaster University
65 OL Josh Buttrill 6’7 295 1987-02-11 University of Western Ontario
66 OL Zachary Pollari 6’7 285 1986-10-02 University of Western Ontario
68 OL Reed Alexander 6’3 285 1987-09-30 University of Calgary
77 OL Jason Meideros 6’4 300 McMaster University
80 R Jahmeek Murray 5’11 185 1989-12-23 Saint Mary’s University
82 R Jedd Gardiner 6’0 200 1988-07-02 University of Guelph
84 R Shamawd Chambers 6’3 200 1989-03-10 Wilfrid Laurier University
86 R Scott Valberg 6’2 190 1985-04-19 Queen’s University
90 DL Adriano Belli 6’5 295 1977-08-25 Toronto Argonauts
93 DL Brian Guebert 5’11 255 1981-12-19 Winnipeg Blue Bombers
95 DL Jake Thomas 6’1 253 1990-12-06 Acadia University
96 DL Josh Symons 6’1 265 1988-06-29 University of Calgary
98 DL David Rybinski 6’4 285 1988-03-10 University of Saskatchewan
99 DL Michael Jean-Louis 6’3 270 1982-03-14 Université Laval
Coaching Staff: Larry Haylor, Head Coach (Former University of Western Ontario HC); Blake Nill, Defensive
Coordinator (Calgary); Greg Marshall, Offensive Coordinator (Western Ontario); Brian Towriss, Special Teams &
Running Backs (Saskatchewan); Jeff Cummins, Defensive Line (Acadia); Steve Sumarah, Quarterbacks & Wide
Receivers (Saint Mary’s); Pat Tracey, Defensive Backs (Queen’s Gaels)