On Saturday night Team USA, the defending gold medalists take on a hungry Canadian squad in a 2009 finals rematch.
“Our goal from the start of training camp was for us to get to the gold medal game,” explained head coach, Noel Thorpe.
“Now we have an opportunity to square off against the US in Austin, Texas. You couldn’t ask for a better opportunity than this. The US team is very skilled, athletic and has the ability to put points on the board hurry, something they demonstrated against Austria in Wednesday night’s semi-final game.”
The Canadian 45-man roster boasts four World Team alumni — Tanner Doll, Will Finch, Adam Melanson, and John Rush who return to Burger Stadium on Saturday after defeating Team USA 35-29 at the 2012 International Bowl on February 1.
“I’m excited to face Team USA once again — they are always a strong team and good competitor,” said Rush who earned Canada’s MVP honours vs. Japan after leading the team with 11 tackles on Wednesday.
“You can see it in all the [Canadian] players faces that we want this gold medal, we want revenge. It will be a hard fought battle and I think everyone in both countries is anxious to see the outcome.”
Saturday’s final will be both teams’ 3rd game in 7 days as Canada opened the tournament last Saturday with a dominant 43-0 shutout against Sweden. On Wednesday, Canada defeated Japan 33-24 in a rematch of their 2009 semi-final game in which Canada sealed a 38-35 victory with 17 seconds remaining on a Jérémi Roch touchdown pass caught by Alex Anthony.
Games will air on a live webcast on CanadaFootballChat.com at (http://www.canadafoo…/live_games.php).
Schedule (all times CST)
Saturday, June 30
Panama 0 vs. Austria 40
Japan 27 vs. France 6
Canada 43 vs. Sweden 0
USA 27 vs. American Samoa 6
Tuesday, July 3
France 41 vs. Sweden 0
Panama 0 vs. American Samoa 51
Wednesday, July 4
Japan 24 vs. Canada 33
Austria 7 vs. USA 70
Friday, July 6
5 PM
Seventh-Place Game
Sweden 54 vs. Panama 20
8 PM
Fifth-Place Game
France 14 vs. America Samoa 27
Saturday, July 7
5 PM
Bronze Medal Game
Japan vs. Austria
8 PM
Gold Medal Game
Canada vs. USA
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
Photo credit: Pat Kuprowski
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