USA All-Stars Clinch Place In Championship
Game; Unbeaten Canada Awaits Jacksonville Team in Final
February 03, 2005
Corky Rogers’ Jacksonville high school all-stars
will take on Canada in the NFL Global Junior Championship
IX final at The Bolles School on Saturday at 4pm. It is
the fifth straight year the tournament showpiece will
feature the two North American rivals.
Team USA (3-1) overcame a resilient Mexico 21-0 in the
last of the first round games on Wednesday evening to
qualify. Canada (4-0) hopes to banish memories of four
straight championship game losses to the Americans and
recapture the title it won in 2000.
The USA victory was enough to drop Mexico to 2-2 overall
and they will now play both France (1-3) and Japan (0-4)
from 11:00 a.m. on Saturday for third place.
Canada inflicted USA’s only first round defeat having
recovered from a 7-6 deficit inside the final minute to
triumph 14-7. Canada capitalized on a fumble by West Nassau’s
Brandon Higginbotham when Jerome Messam scored from seven
yards out, adding to a first half Samuel Fournier rushing
touchdown.
Playing in his home stadium, USA quarterback Riley Skinner
of host The Bolles School appeared to have pulled USA
to within a conversion of tying the game, but his 48-yard
bomb to Wolfson’s Rod Owens as time expired was
ruled down inches from the end zone.
Team USA had opened the day with a 19-0 win over France,
scoring on its first play as Wolfson wide receiver Rod
Owens scored on a 35-yard end around. A Nick Daniels (Robert
E. Lee) rushing touchdown and Skinner to Travis Prince
(Raines) 32-yard pass completed the scoring.
Japan was dispatched 31-0 by USA as Skinner threw a 33-yard
touchdown pass to Owens, who also went in on the ground.
Daniels and Higginbotham added rushing touchdowns and
Fleming Island kicker Aaron Locke tagged on a 30-yard
field goal.
Results: USA 21 Mexico 0; USA 31 Japan 0; Canada 14 USA
7; France 0 USA 19; France 12 Mexico 0; Japan 0 Canada
35; Mexico 3 Japan 0; Japan 6 France 7; Mexico 0 Canada
6; Canada 27 France 0. Game recaps are available at www.NFLHS.com/GJC/. |
