U.S. Under-15 National Team opens International Bowl with victory

U.S. Under-15 National Team opens International Bowl with victory

By Joe Frollo | Posted 2/7/2014

A quick-hitting offense and a smothering defense fueled the U.S. Under-15 National Team to a 48-0 win over Team Canada on Friday at the University of Texas-Arlington’s Maverick Stadium.

The International Bowl opener was out of reach early as the U.S. jumped out to a 21-0 lead after the first quarter.

Brandon Baeza (Las Cruces, N.M.) opened the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Benjamin Lynch (Claremont, Calif.). Ryan Wheaton (Hillsborough, N.J.) soon added a 36-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown, and Caleb Pruitt (Conyers, Ga.) punched a score in from 2-yards out.

Four first-half Canadian turnovers led to opportunities and short fields for the U.S. team.

Ny'quee Hawkins (Newark, N.J.) made it 28-0 just before halftime with a 6-yard TD catch from Marcus Aponte (Salidas, Calif.).

In the second half, John Bailey Gullatt (West Monroe, La.) returned an interception 41 yards for a score, and Aponte found Lynch for a 36-yard TD. Baeza capped the scoring with a 42-yard run on a scramble.

Gullatt was named the U.S. Most Valuable Player, adding two forced fumbles to the pick-six. Canada’s Kian Williams earned his team’s MVP, running eight times for 63 yards.

“The kids and coaches worked really well together,” U.S. head coach Tom Verbanick of Oakton, Va., said. “I told the kids, ‘Winning the game is great, but they had a great week of practice with some very good coaches and learned some techniques that they didn’t bring in, so it will help them going forward.’”

Verbanick said improvement was evident as the week went on. The team only had four days of practice before Friday’s game.

“When we practiced Monday night, I wasn’t sure what would happen,” Verbanick said. “As the week went on, they got better and better, and the kids were able to do what we wanted them to do.”

The 2014 International Bowl is a collaboration of the sport’s national governing bodies in each country – USA Football and Football Canada – featuring top student-athletes in football’s greatest annual international competition.

All six games will be delivered live Friday and Saturday throughout the United States on ESPN3. The games will be archived at www.youtube.com/usafootballtv for future viewing.

SEE ALSO: A photo gallery from the Under-15 game. (Photos are being uploaded throughout the night.)

WATCH THE GAME: A video replay of the game will be available at http://www.youtube.com/usafootballtv.

***

U.S. Under-15 National Team roster

No.	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	School	Hometown
2	J.D. Head	QB	5-7	105	Home School	Oklahoma City, Okla.
4	Benjamin Lynch	WR	5-10	161	El Roble	Claremont, Calif.
7	Vincent Antoniello	P-K	5-7	135	Eisenhower M.S.	Ledgewood, N.J.
10	Brandon Baeza	QB	5-6	130	Zia M.S.	Las Cruces, N.M.
12	Damiano Parra	LB	5-2	120	Cotton Boll	Surprise, Ariz.
16	Devin Hart	LB	5-10	155	Lovett School	Smyrna, Ga.
17	Marcus Aponte	QB	5-11	165	Salida M.S.	Salida, Calif.
18	Caleb Pruitt	QB	5-10	135	St. Pius X	Conyers, Ga.
20	Jordan Gallegos	DB	5-6	142	Lake Mead Christian	Henderson, Nev.
21	Aiden Rudolph	RB	5-0	90	Hadley Junior High	Glen Ellyn, Ill.
22	Jalen Mayden	WR	5-11	177	Schrade M.S.	Rowlett, Texas
23	Shea Rudolph	RB	5-0	85	Hadley Junior High	Glen Ellyn, Ill.
24	Xavier Trujillo	RB	5-2	101	Academy of Charter Schools	Federal Heights, Colo
25	Jaren Stevenson	RB	5-5	145	Tolt M.S.	Carnation, Wash.
26	Eric Williams	DB	5-1	110	Mother Of Good Counsel	Milwaukee, Wis.
28	Tyler Hodges	DB	5-7	130	Immanuel	Kingsburg, Calif.
29	Noah Lopez	DB	5-6	125	Kipp La Prep	Downey, Calif.
30	Taiyon Palmer	DB	5-8	130	Dacula M.S.	Lawrenceville, Ga.
31	Alain Darge	DB	5-4	125	Trinity Christian	Sanford, Fla.
32	Ernest Woods	LB	5-8	160	Morgantown M.S.	Natchez, Miss.
33	Joseph Casarez	LB	5-9	183	Rice Junior High	Eagle Lake, Texas
46	Isreal Araiza	LB	5-8	162	Phoenix Christian	Peoria, Ariz.
49	Zac Smith	TE	6-1	185	First Academy	Windermere, Fla.
50	Mark Cirelli	LB	5-6	120	Sts. Philip & James	St. James, N.Y.
51	Jack Collins	LB	5-4	132	Christian Brothers Academy	East Syracuse, N.Y.
52	Aidan Gillis	OL	6-0	175	Marblehead Veteran’s M.S.	Marblehead, Mass.
53	Jack Keenan	OL	6-2	188	Williamsburg M.S.	Arlington, Va.
54	William West	OL	6-0	180	Florida Virtual	Orlando, Fla.
55	Andrew Tarabokija	OL	5-2	145	JFK M.S.	Bethpage, N.Y.
56	Holton Zoss	OL	5-10	204	Thompkins M.S.	Evansville, Ind.
57	Ryan Wheaton	DL	6-0	200	Hillsborough M.S.	Hillsborough, N.J.
58	John Bailey Gullatt	LB	6-0	205	Good Hope Middle School	West Monroe, La.
71	Jack Topping	DL	6-1	210	Arbor Creek M.S.	Carrollton, Texas
72	Jabari Bennett	DL	5-9	250	Argyle Magnet M.S.	Silver Spring, Md.
73	Sebastian Delasoudas	OL	6-1	260	Lewis F Cole M.S.	Fort Lee, N.J.
74	Zion Hughes	OL	5-11	250	St. Peter-s	East Orange, N.J.
75	Chilton Tolliver	OL	5-10	230	Richard Hull M.S.	Duluth, Ga.
80	David Shannon	WR	5-8	127	Lake Mary	Lake Mary, Fla.
82	Daniel Talbert	TE	5-8	175	J.P. Burley M.S.	Charlottesville, Va.
83	Kyle Bilodeau	TE	6-1	165	Chickahominy M.S.	Mechanicsville, Va.
84	Jonathan Rae	WR	5-8	140	Dixon M.S.	Dixon, Mo.
85	Zachary Dixon	WR	6-0	135	Roberto Clemente M.S.	Germantown, Md.
86	Nyquee Hawkins	WR	5-9	145	Pride Academy	Newark, N.J.
87	D.J. Bolger	WR	6-0	150	West Ridge M.S.	Austin, Texas
88	Bryson Richardson	WR	5-11	147	Home School	Lawrenceville, Ga.
90	Avery Zoss	DL	5-10	202	Thompkins M.S.	Evansville, Ind.
91	Ethan Garrity	DL	5-5	190	Union Hill School	Grass Valley, Calif.
96	Connor Dickenson	LB	5-11	150	Glenwood M.S.	Chatham, Ill.
99	Cameron Flowers	DL	5-8	162	Schrade M.S.	Rowlett, Texas

Coaching staff

Name	Position	School	Hometown
Tom Verbanick	Head coach	Flint Hill H.S.	Oakton, Va.
Brian Day	Offensive coordinator	Herndon H.S.	Herndon, Va.
Bryan Gilbert	Receivers	Episcopal School of Dallas	Dallas, Texas
John Furin	Running backs	Colleyville Heritage H.S.	Colleyville, Texas
Rich Thomas	Defensive line	Flint Hill H.S.	Oakton, Va.
Fabian Bownes	Defensive backs	Former NFL player	Beecher, Ill.

TagsAthlete Youth Tackle football

U.S. Under-15 National Team opens International Bowl with victory

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