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“This was an incredible evening and a wonderful celebration of American football,” said Global Football President and GIFT organizer Patrick Steenberge. “We had enthusiastic crowds, Donnybrook Stadium was rocking, the people of Navan embraced everything we did in their town and the traveling bands and cheerleaders illuminated Parnell Park. We could not have asked for more from our visit to Ireland.”
Oak Park High School (Manitoba) 18 Villanova College (Ontario) 9
Pairc Tailteann, Navan
An ability to limit penalty concession and force their opponents into errors provided Oak Park High School with the perfect platform as they beat Villanova College in an entertaining clash at Pairc Tailteann, Navan.
Oak Park, who suffered only one defeat in 2011, continued their winning ways with a solid display against a Villanova outfit who had major attacking threats in Alexander Montini and Anthony Divito, but struggled to break the excellent Oak Park defensive line.
The excitement was at fever pitch for the first-ever Canadian rules game played on foreign soil and after a shaky opening, which saw them concede the first two points of the game, Oak Park settled and dominated the scoreboard. From the opening kickoff Villanova were slow to attack the ball and Oak Park instantly retrieved their own kick to surprisingly start the game on the offensive despite having lost the toss.
However, with very little gain on the first drive Villanova took possession, but they too struggled to trouble the end zone in their first couple of plays. After a couple of three and outs for either side, punter Domenic Battistella kicked through the end zone and under Canadian rules that got Villanova off the mark with a Rouge point after seven and a half minutes play.
After a couple of snaps from both centers that sailed over quarterbacks heads, Battistella doubled that lead to 2-0 with another punt that ran through the end zone to end the first quarter 2-0 to Villanova.
After going three and out in the second quarter Villanova punted to within two yards of the endzone where Austin Dupont recovered.
That set up the first touchdown of the day with Kurtis Parson finding Xavier Prime in the endzone on the second down. Adrian Frost kicked the extras to give Oak Park a 7-2 lead less than two minutes into the second quarter.
Villanova’s David Colelli dropped two interceptions from wild throws by Parsons as Oak Park were let off the hook late in the second quarter and they took advantage of those let offs when Bradley Olivara’s 25-yard run set up a series of downs on the 17-yard line for Oak Park.
After a flag on a play Oak Park were rewarded with a first and goal on the one-yard line and in the second down TJ Wright ran in unopposed. A poor snap for the extras was gathered by Tyler Irvine and he ran in for two points to make it 15-2 31 seconds before the half-time and that’s how it stayed to the break.
A dull start to the second-half was lived up when Andrew Sarnese completed a 55-yard pass to Anthony Divito, but for the second time in the game good Villanova offensive play was brought back for an offside foul on the play.
Penalties continued to be the thorn in Villanova’s side as Oak Park were able to shut them out on downs.
The slippery Irish turf also caused Villanova problems as they lost their footing under receptions and struggled to hold a toe in the ground as the third quarter ended without a score and Oak Park still 15-2 clear.
Scores were scarce in the final quarter too, but after going just four yards in two downs, Oak Park kicker Frost kicked a 28-yard field goal to stretch their lead to 18-2 with just 1.38 left on the game clock.
One of the plays of the day saw Villanova’s back up quarterback Vincent Luccisano throw a 30-yard pass to Peter Williams who was stopped on the one yard line and on their second attempt Luccisano handed off to Alexander Montini who capped a fine effort by running in Villanona’s only touchdown. David Colelli added the extra point to close the scoring on a hugely entertaining contest.
Jesuit Prep Dallas (Texas) 30 Loyola Academy (Illinois) 29
Donnybrook Stadium, Dublin
Jesuit kicker Cody Wilker nailed a 28-yard field goal with 49 seconds remaining lifting Jesuit to a 30-29 victory over Loyola Academy in the season opener for Jesuit (1-0). What made the field goal even more dramatic was the fact that in addition to a stiff breeze, the goal posts were set at the rugby width of 18 feet instead of the standard high school width of 24 feet. Wicker had missed an extra point earlier while Loyola’s kicker missed two extra points in the game. All three misses would have been successful under normal circumstances.
The Jesuit win was sealed when Oklahoma commit Jordan Mastrogiovanni stuck Loyola quarterback Peter Pujals just short of a first down on a 4th and 2 with 15 seconds to play. Taylor Stine recovered two fumbles, the first leading to Jesuit’s first score late in the first quarter.
Jesuit All-State receiver and Texas commit Jake Oliver caught 13 passes for 163 yards including a 6-yard pass late in the first half from Jack Brezette. Making his first appearance since breaking his leg on the last play against Coppell last year, Brezette completed 25 passes for 330 yards. Will Brown added 111 yards rushing including a fourth quarter touchdown run that gave Jesuit its first lead early in the final quarter.
The teams had traded first quarter touchdowns before Loyola pulled ahead through a 77-yard connection between Pujals and Luke Ford and a Robert Reedy 23-yard field goal. Brezette hit Oliver over six yards, but Loyola remained in control as Pujals found the end zone from a yard out.
A Salters one-yard score on the ground and Will Brown one-yard dash into the end zone meant Jesuit led 27-22, but Loyola struck back with a Julius Holley eight-yard scoring run to open a slim two-point advantage. The extra point was missed and opened the door for Wilker to become the hero from 28 yards out.
Kent School (Connecticut) 26 National School of American Football (UK) 2
Parnell Park, Dublin
In the only games of the GIFT tournament not played under regular season conditions, the Kent School emerged victorious 26-2 over the National School of American Football from the UK.
Following a scoreless first quarter in the north Dublin home of Gaelic football, Kent scored three times before halftime. Running back Cesar Antonio Brathwaite, a native of Panama City, scored on a 24-yard run before Kyle McKinnon scored from a yard out.
McKinnon from New London, CT, scored again from 28-yards out as Kent controlled the second quarter and completed his hat trick with a spectacular 75-yard dash in the fourth quarter. The UK team put two points on the board when they forced a safety. McKinnon finished the contest with 183 yards and three touchdowns as Kent kept the ball on the ground and only attempted eight passes.
John Carroll University 40 St Norbert College 3
Donnybrook Stadium, Dublin
John Carroll University erased a 3-0 deficit with a 27-point second quarter and went on to defeat St. Norbert College 40-3 in the Global Ireland Football Tournament in front of a raucous crowd of 4,877 at Donnybrook Stadium. U.S. Ambassador to Ireland and Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney was in attendance.
John Carroll quarterback Mark Myers, a transfer from the University of Pittsburgh, set a school record with 457 passing yards in his first appearance with the Blue Streaks. Myers completed 30 of 43 passes with five touchdowns and one interception.
St. Norbert (0-1) held a 3-0 lead after the first quarter, following Randy Hill’s 39-yard field goal with 5 minutes 13 seconds left in the period.
John Carroll (1-0) answered with a 14-play 97-yard drive to pull ahead 6-0 on DaQuan Grobsmith’s 1-yard run. Myers hit Randy Greenwood on a swing pass out of the backfield, and Greenwood broke free for a 73-yard touchdown for a 13-3 lead with 6:35 left before halftime.
The Blue Streaks struck a huge blow in deciding the outcome with two touchdowns in the last 1:27 of the first half. Myers twice found Lane Robilotto on 20-yard touchdown passes, the last one coming with 15 seconds left before intermission after St. Norbert bobbled a punt snap and gave the ball up on downs.
John Carroll closed out the scoring with Myers finding Alex Kline twice, on a 27-yard touchdown pass with 21 seconds left in the third quarter and again on a 57-yard aerial with 12:29 remaining in the game.
St. Norbert couldn’t muster much offense, getting just 90 yards of total offense on 59 plays. Austin Williams rushed 14 times for a team-high 43 yards. James Tringali made his first collegiate start for the Green Knights, completing 12 of 25 passes for 48 yards and one interception.
John Carroll had 513 yards of total offense, with 483 coming through the air. Robilotto caught nine passes for 116 yards, while Kline added eight receptions for 143 yards.
Notre Dame Prep 20 Father Judge 6
Pairc Tailteann, Navan’
Notre Dame honored the memory of their former head coach Scot Bemis who passed away from cancer in January by opening their regular season with a convincing victory over Philadelphia’s Fr Judge High School at Pairc Tailteann, Navan this evening.
Running Back / Line Backer Luke Taffuri was the star of the show for Saints as he ran in two touchdowns, made five tackles and was the inspiration behind the victory.
After driving so close in one of their early series of plays Notre Dame went for it on fourth down and threw 25 yards to move to first and goal after just four minutes.In the first play of the series Taffuri found a gap and ploughed through for the opening touchdown. Sean O’Brien’s point after try was blocked, but Notre Dame still burst into a 6-0 lead.
After a series of three and outs Notre Dame quarterback Nick Duckworth fumbled when sacked by Father Judge’s Kyle Douglas, and that turned over possession to the Philly school on the Notre Dame 33 yard line.On fourth and one, Conor Foley kicked the 29-yard field goal attempt to close the gap to 3-6 with 1.11 left on the clock in the opening quarter and with no more scores in the opening 12 minutes, Fr Judge took a 6-3 lead into the second quarter.
After taking three series of first downs to move to 52 yard line, Samir Bullock broke for a 25 yard burst to move Father Judge to the 22-yard line and after a face mask penalty, Judge moved to first and goal with eight minutes remaining in the half.
However, Father Judge failed to take advantage of the drive that saw them move from their own 15 yard line to first and goal as the went to field goal and Foley’s effort sailed wide.Both sides traded interceptions with Jordan Sclueter’s proving decisive as a big 39 yard catch by Grant Martinez was followed by a big carry by Sclueter to move play to a first down on the 26 yard line.
Patience was the name of the game from Notre Dame as they benefitted from a couple of penalty calls including a face mask call and a pass interference judgement. A massive pass to Bailey Jones brought play to first and goal where the outstanding Taffuri ran in for his second touchdown and O’Brien added the extra point to hand Notre Dame a 13-3 lead at the break.
Three minutes in the second half Taffuri showed his electric pace and a clean pair of heals to break from his own 40 yard line and set up first and goal on the six yard line for Notre Dame.
In the red zone Notre Dame again punished Fr Judge with Duckworth finding Martinez uncovered in the endzone. O’Brien added the PAT as Notre dame stretched their lead to 20-3.On the next play Fr Judge went on the offensive with Ryan Mackiewicz picking out Max Pascavitch with a 45 yard pass. Pascavitch was collared late and from the penalty Fr Judge set up on the 12-yard line to try for their first touchdown.
However that was as far as they got as Taffuri picked off a brilliant interception on the one-yard line to turn the ball back over in Notre Dame’s favour and effectively break the spirit of Fr Judge High school. Father Judge had to settle for a Foley field goal to close the gap to 6-20 with 8.22 remaining.
Notre Dame High School 27 Hamilton High School 15
Parnell Park, Dublin
Notre Dame High School from Sherman Oaks, CA, capitalized on four turnovers as its ruthless offense took advantage of field position earned by a dominating defense and cruised to a 27-15 win over Arizona powerhouse Hamilton.
Having opened its regular season last week with a loss, Hamilton suffered consecutive defeats in a season for the first time in school history. Hamilton struck first when quarterback AJ Thigpen breached the end zone from three yards out on the Huskies’ opening drive. But the 7-0 lead was wiped away after a sustained Notre Dame drive that led to Kelly Hilinski threading a 20-yard pass to Kyle Barrett for the equalizing touchdown with 27 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Notre Dame’s Max Leon came up with an interception and was stopped only yards short of the end zone after a long return, paving the way for a 36-yard field goal by Lucas Alfonso, although the Knights would have led by more than three had a pass to a wide open Michael Little in the end zone not been ruled out for an infraction. The Notre Dame defense forced a fumble on the next Hamilton drive in reply and after Hilinski was sacked, three more points looked out of range until Daniel Khan stepped up to split the uprights from 45 yards.
The lead grew to 13 points by halftime as a third turnover, this time 35 yards from paydirt, allowed a grateful Saints offense to drive and Chris Colarossi punched his way through the middle for a 20-7 advantage.
Sam Sasso came out under center for Hamilton after the break and began to move the ball steadily, but made a poor decision to pass and the impressive Nick Holland came up with an interception and won the foot race with Sasso for a 60-yard scoring return. At 27-7 the outcome rarely looked in doubt, although Hamilton did dent the deficit as Thigpen hit Israel Simpson from four yards out at the end of the third quarter and Kevin Walters’ run was successful for two more points.
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