IFAF U19: Canada survives slow start to defeat Sweden

A first-half inability to finish drives was rectified at halftime as No. 2 seed Canada scored five second half touchdowns on its way to dominating 43-0 win over Sweden in Game 3 of the 2012 IFAF U19 World Championship.

Canada finished with 538 yards in total offense, the second highest single-game total in IFAF U19 Championship history and will now face a familiar foe, Japan in the semi-final on July 4 for a place in the Gold medal Game.

The 2012 semi-final is a rematch of Canada’s 2009 semi-final in which they edged Japan in double over-time. Japan will no doubt be looking for revenge in 2012, as Canada has advanced to the finals after wins against Japan at both the 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship as well as the 2011 Senior World Championship.

“I think we started out slow but we regrouped,” said Canada head coach Noel Thorpe. “That’s not how we wanted to start the game. The players realized this is team football and that it takes 11 on the field and 45 on the team to make this thing happen. We regrouped at halftime and I think you saw the results when we came out.

“We’ve got three guys back there who all bring a little something different to the table. We’re going to use them every couple of series to keep the defense off-balance. Once they settled down in the second half and the run game got established everything opened up from there.

“We didn’t get a chance to watch (Japan) play so we’re going to go watch the film tonight, added Thorpe. “We’ll make some evaluations and go back to the drawing board.”

International Bowl star Will Finch completed four of five passes for 59 yards in Canada’s opening two series. Despite a total offensive advantage of 140-7 at the end of the opening quarter, Canada found themselves in a scoreless tie entering the second quarter. Four penalties, including a holding call that nullified a 96-yard touchdown return by Keegan Arnyek (Moose Jaw, SK) on the opening kickoff, a lost fumble and a Sweden defensive stop on fourth down inside the five-yard line have kept the Sweden in the game.

Taking over for Finch, Hugo Richard led an 80-yard drive, capitalized with a 3-yard end zone plunge to open the scoring 7-0 in favour of Canada with 11:03 left in the second quarter.

Sweden looked to have held Canada to a single touchdown heading into halftime but Canada made use of all three of its timeouts on Sweden’s final drive to force a punt. A low snap forced Sweden punter Linus Carlbom to a knee as he corralled the ball, ending the play and giving Canada a first down at Sweden’s 11-yard line with seven seconds left in the half.

Canada capitalized with a 27-yard field goal by F-X Garneau’s Louis-Philippe Simoneau to make the score 10-0 at the end of the first half.

Canada’s offense came alive on their opening drive of the third quarter when running back, Mercer Timmis (Burlington, ON) extended Canada’s lead 17-0 on a 63-yard touchdown run.

Sweden put together its first sustained drive of the game that reached Canada’s 14-yard line but a sack and a penalty forced Sweden into a 34-yard field goal attempt that was pushed wide.

Following the miss, Canada took over at their own 20 and three plays later Finch found ex Nelson Lords teammate Doug Corby for a 78-yard scoring strike that stretched the lead to 23-0 after the extra point was blocked. The touchdown pass is the longest in IFAF U19 Championship history.

Later in the quarter, pivot Hugo Richard (St-Bruno-de-Montarville, QC) led Canada on an impressive drive, marked with his second touchdown run of the game to make the score 30-0 with 8:33 remaining in the game.

Canada added another score with 7:02 to go when A’dre Frazer (Lawrencetown, NS) blocked a Carlbom punt which Kevin McGee (Sherbrooke, QC) returned four yards for a touchdown, widening Canada’s lead 37-0.

Receiver, Doug Corby (Burlington, ON) was named Canada’s MVP of the game after tallying 141 yards on 4 receptions including one touchdown.

All 12 games of the 2012 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Under-19 World Championship will be streamed live online from Burger Stadium in Austin, Texas.

Games will air on a live webcast on CanadaFootballChat.com at (http://www.canadafoo…/live_games.php).

Schedule (all times CST)

Saturday, June 30

9 AM
Panama vs. Austria

11:30 AM
Japan vs. France

5 PM
Canada vs. Sweden

8 PM
USA vs. American Samoa

Tuesday, July 3

5 PM
Loser JPN/FRA vs. Loser CAN/SWE

8 PM
Loser PAN/ AUT vs. Loser USA/ AMS

Wednesday, July 4

5 PM
Winner JPN/FRA vs. Winner CAN/SWE

8 PM
Winner PAN/ AUT vs. Winner USA/ AMS

Friday, July 6

5 PM
Seventh-Place Game

8 PM
Fifth-Place Game

Saturday, July 7

5 PM
Bronze Medal Game

8 PM
Gold Medal Game

FINAL 2012 Junior National Team roster

Quarterbacks
Will Finch / Burlington, ON
Dallon Kuprowski / Kanata, ON
Hugo Richard / St-Bruno-de-Montarville, QC

Running Backs
Christopher Amoah / Lachine, QC
Andreas Robinson / Dartmouth, NS
Mercer Timmis / Burlington, ON

Receivers
Regis Cibasu / Montréal, QC
Doug Corby / Burlington, ON
A’dre Fraser / Lawrencetown, NS
Tylor Henry / Camrose, AB
Alexandre Huard / Laval, QC
Alexandre Savard / Lorraine, QC
Ryan Smith / Sherwood Park, AB

Offensive Line
Kadeem Adams / Halifax, NS
Louis-Gabriel Beaudet / Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, QC
Andrew Boisvert / Sherwood Park, AB
Lloyd Constant / Montréal, QC
Emilio Frometa / Sudbury, ON
Nathan Heide / Warman, SK
Erick Lessard / Sudbury, ON
David Knevel / Brantford, ON
Jean-Simon Roy / Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, QC

Defensive Line
Edward Godin Gosselin / Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, QC
Quinn Horton / Winnipeg, MB
Jacob Leblanc / Halifax, NS
Clement Lebreux / Candiac, QC
Glen Joorisity / Deer Valley, SK
Adam Melanson / Kentville, NS
Charles Rémy-Sarrazin / Montréal, QC
Brett Wade / Regina, SK

Linebackers
Pierre-Luc Caron / Laval, QC
Tanner Doll / St. Albert, AB
Maxime Drolet / Québec, QC
Nicholas Easterbrook / Laval, QC
Jean-Gabriel Poulin / St-Nicolas, QC
John Rush / Port Robinson, ON
Marc-Antoine Varin / St-Hippolyte, QC

Defensive Backs
Keldyn Ahlstedt / Whitby, ON
Keegan Arnyek / Moose Jaw, SK
Tomy Duperron / Sherbrooke, QC
Khadim Mbaye / Laval, QC
Kevin McGee / Sherbrooke, QC
Rees Paterson / Sherwood Park, AB
Michael Schmidt / Calgary, AB

Kicker, Punter
Louis-Philippe Simoneau / Saint-Hyachinthe, QC

Coaching and Support Staff

Noel Thorpe / Head Coach

Warren Craney / Defensive Coordinator – Linebackers
Pat Boies / Offensive Coordinator
Gilles Lezi / Special Teams Coordinator- Running Backs
Michael Faulds / Quarterbacks
Alain Mainguy / Offensive Line
Kamau Peterson / Receivers
Brian Guebert / Defensive Line
Devin Murphy / Defensive Backs

Patrick Gendron / Athletic Therapist
Jean-Baptiste Laporte / Athletic Therapist
Jeremy Clouthier / Video Coordinator
Jacques Guilbault / Equipment manager
Elliott Richardson / Strength and Conditioning Coach

Players by Province:
Quebec – 20
Ontario – 9
Alberta – 6
Nova Scotia – 5
Saskatchewan – 4
Manitoba – 1

Photos courtesy of Pat Kuprowski