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IFAF U19 World Championship: U.S. National Team dominates Sweden, wins bronze medal

By Scott Goldman | Posted 7/22/2018

The U.S. National Team roared out of the locker room Sunday — and never looked back.

From the opening kickoff, the United States U19 team overwhelmed Sweden, scoring five touchdowns in a little more than a quarter en route to a 61-9 victory in the Bronze Medal game Sunday in Mexico City.

Quarterback Alek Jacobs threw three first-half touchdown strikes — two of them to Harrington Greer. Running back Treshaun Ward added two touchdown runs, including a 65-yarder midway through the second quarter.

"I was proud of them," said U.S. coach Matt Hennesy. "They came up big with their intensity and focus. We're still representing the United States. We executed well. We played well, we did it with class. I couldn't have been more proud of them."

The U.S. defense was outstanding, shutting down Sweden throughout the first half — including Stone Snyder's interception midway through the first quarter, which set the U.S. up for Greer's 14-yard catch from Jacobs for a 14-0 lead with 2:42 left in the first.

Jacobs was masterful in running the U.S. offense in the first quarter, and drove the U.S. to the 1-yard line as the quarter ended. Ward snuck in on the first play of the second quarter for a 20-0 U.S. lead.

The ensuing kickoff, though, led to the U.S. breaking the game wide open. Dorian Davis recovered the live ball after a pop-up onside kickoff, setting the U.S. up on Sweden's 25. Jacobs needed only one play to hit Randy Rivera for the score.

After forcing another three-and-out for Sweden, it took the U.S. two plays to go 47 yards for another score, a gorgeous Jacobs strike to Greer.

The big plays just kept coming for the U.S., including Ward bursting through the line, breaking a tackle and rumbling 65 yards for a 41-2 U.S. lead with 5:12 to play in the half. Ali Jennings added a 22-yard touchdown run just before halftime for the 47-2 score.

Sweden started the second half attempting an onside kick, but the U.S. was prepared and recovered — and on the next play, Alec Meza raced 47 yards for the score, and a 54-2 lead for the United States.

RELATED CONTENT: Full recap of the IFAF U-19 World Championships

Canada defended its 2016 title late Sunday, defeating host Mexico 13-7 in the gold medal game. Japan defeated Australia 51-14 in the fifth-place game.

"International football is no joke," Hennesy said. "When you have a team of college-age kids, who practice together for 3 months, they're going to be tough to beat. And they play hard and it means a lot to them. I think the players got their eyes opened to how the sport of football is growing."

SCORING SUMMARY
US — Chaise Ellis 39 run (pass failed)
US — Harrington Greer 14 pass Alek Jacobs ( Jacobs run)
US — Treshaun Ward 1 run (pass failed)
US — Randy Rivera 25 pass from Jacobs (Ali Jennings from Jacobs)
US — Greer 16 pass from Jacobs (Defensive PAT score — fumble returned by Sweden)
US — Ward 65 run (Grant Becker kick)
US — Jennings 22 run (kick failed)
US — Alec Meza 47 run (Becker kick)
Sweden — Jonathan Gustafsson 2 run (PAT good)
US — Ezekiel Ennis 38 pass from Jake O’Donnell (Becker kick)

US vs Sweden in the bronze medal game

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TagsBlog National Team IFAF U-19 World Championship Fan/enthusiast Tackle football
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