The U.S. Under-18 team dominated in the North American Championship, defeating Canada 26-0 at  the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Fla.

The U.S. amassed 295 yards of total offense, and its dominant defense limited Canada to just 18 yards of offense in the shutout.

“(The credit) all goes to those players and those coaches,” U.S. head coach Matt Hennesy said. “Everybody just went and competed.”

“The guys did well,” U.S. wide receiver Ezekiel Ennis said. “We preached it throughout the week: Stay focused, give your best effort on every single play, win every play, win every down, go 1-0 on every play. And that’s exactly what these guys did.”

SEE MORE: Full box score

On the game’s first play from scrimmage, Ennis (Millville, N.J.) caught a short pass from quarterback Zachary Green (Chesapeake, Va.), then took off running. He sprinted 57 yards for a touchdown, giving the U.S. a quick 6-0 lead.

A 35-yard field goal by Hayden Rome (Houston, Texas) on the team’s next possession increased the U.S. lead to 9-0.

The next time the U.S. got the ball, they drove 79 yards in 12 plays for another score.

Quarterback Jalen Mayden (Rowlett, Texas) hit Andrew Bostic (Bowie, Md.) for 11 yards, Jelani Foster (Laurel, Md.) for 16 yards and Alec Austin (Colleyville, Texas) for 19 yards, which helped the U.S. move the ball down to Canada’s 6-yard line. Three plays later, on third-and-goal from the 2, Mayden faked a handoff, went left on a bootleg and ran the ball into the end zone to give the U.S. a 15-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The score remained 15-0 at halftime.

On Canada’s first possession of the second half, sacks by Andrew Johnson (Tifton, Ga.), Mohamed Sanogo (Plano, Texas) and Demetrice Lofton (Atlanta) drove the Canadians back to their own 2. Then on fourth down, Canada punter Antoine Couture stepped out of the end zone, conceding a safety that increased the U.S. lead to 17-0.

Anfernee Gurley (Everett, Wash.) returned the ensuing free kick to the Canada 42. The U.S. put together a 10-play drive, and moved the ball down to the 10-yard line, before Rome kicked a 27-yard field goal to make it 20-0 with 3:09 left in the third quarter.

The U.S. added one more touchdown late in the fourth quarter, driving 79 yards in 13 plays. Mayden had an 18-yard pass to Dillon Spalding (Lorton, Va.) and a 21-yard pass to Rashod Bateman (Tifton, Ga.), as well as a 17-yard run. On third-and-goal from the Canada 11 with just over a minute left to play, Green found Ennis in the end zone to extend the Americans’ lead to 26-0.

Sanogo, a linebacker, was chosen as Most Valuable Player. He compiled a team-high seven tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in the victory.

“It was great to come out this year and make an impact, and lead the team to a victory,” Sanogo said.

Canada’s MVP was linebacker Brody Williams, who made 10 tackles.

Ennis caught six passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns for the Americans.

“It was a great experience for me, coming down here and putting on a show for my hometown, for my family and for the United States of America,” Ennis said.

Mayden completed 16 of 23 passes for 166 yards, and also ran for 60 yards and a touchdown. Green completed 8 of 11 passes for 68 yards and two scores.

Spalding caught six passes for 51 yards.

Adam Bennett led Canada with 19 yards rushing.

In addition to shutting out Canada and limiting it to 18 yards of total offense, the U.S. defense also forced three turnovers and recorded three sacks in the win.

“The defense was on point,” Sanogo said. “Everybody just bought in, and like Coach said, gave 100 percent 100 percent of the time.”

The win marked the first U.S. Under-18 National Team victory over Canada. It also helped avenge a loss to Canada in the IFAF Under-19 World Championships in Harbin, China over the summer.

“We talked about that all week. The 18s had never beaten Canada,” Hennesy said. “That was the first time. … It was personal to us. Getting that redemption tasted sweet.”

The U.S. coaches and players were honored to represent their country.

“There’s no feeling like doing this,” Hennesy said. “USA Football went above and beyond putting this on. … The whole experience is unbelievable.”

“It’s an amazing experience,” Sanogo added.

“The United States of America is something you want to represent,” Ennis said. “It’s the greatest nation on the face of the earth. We want to represent that in the best way possible, and I’m glad I was able to do that.”