FORMER IFAF WORLD TEAM PLAYERS CONTINUE TO IMPRESS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL ACTION IN USA AND CANADA

The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) selected the top Under-19 players from around the world to represent the World Team at the annual USA Football International Bowl, so it should be no surprise that former players have experienced plenty of success in college football in the United States and Canada.  

In the Canadian Interuniversity Sport League, 2010 starting quarterback JEREMI DOYON-ROCH is starting as a true freshman at Sherbrooke Vert & Or. Doyon-Roch has led his team to a 2-0 start, most recently defeating McGill 39-13 and finishing the game having completed 26 of 37 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns (8 yards, 21 yards).

Many other Canadian IFAF World Team alumni have also made impressive starts to the new college football season.

2011 IFAF World Team member SHAQUILLE ARMSTRONG and 2010 alum CHRISTIAN WALCOTT led Concordia University to their first victory of the season, defeating Bishop's 25-18. In the first two games of the season Walcott has recorded a total of 10 tackles including one for a loss of 2 yards.

STEVEN LUMBALA, a 2010 and 2011 IFAF World Team member, simply could not be stopped on Friday night. The third-year product of St. Francis High School racked up 204 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns, including the game-winner with just 18 seconds left, as the University of Calgary Dinos improved to 2-0 on the season with a 30-25 win against UBC.

On the defensive side of the ball, DOCTOR CASSAMA from Sweden and LINDON GAYDOSH contributed to the victory. Gaydosh made four tackles along with forcing and recovering a fumble. Cassama, who recorded four tackles and recovered a fumble, found his way to Calgary after impressing the head coach Blake Nill at the 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship where he was named to the All-Tournament Team. He was also an all-star for Sweden at the 2008 Junior European Championships.

Also on the Dinos' team is 2011 World team member, JAKE HARTY whomade an early impression in his first CIS game with the Calgary Dinos last week, returning his first touch of the football 88 yards for a touchdown on a Manitoba kickoff in the first quarter. Calgary went on to win 35-31 and Harty put up 242 all-purpose yards in the game and was named the Canada West special teams Player of the week for his efforts. In this week's game, Harty caught for 71 yards including a 19-yard touchdown and ran for 65 yards on kickoff returns.

Despite York University Lions falling to Toronto 10-8, rookie defensive back MARCUS GRANDISON had another impressive game leading the Lions in tackles for the second consecutive week with 7 and also broke up a pass.

IFAF World Team head coach GREG MARSHALL opened his season with the University of Western Ontario Mustangs a 2-0 with a 48-17 win against McMaster.

The Mustangs feature three Canadian former IFAF World Team players including 2011 starting quarterback BEN ROSSONG who ran for 18 yards and completed a pass for 6 yards. MARCUS BABIC made four tackles while DAVID LEE had six tackles including one for a loss of a yard.

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies features eight former IFAF World Team players on the roster, including JAHLANI GILBERT-KNORREN, a second-year university quarterback from Edmonton, who facing second-20 from his own 10-yard line passed to the right side of the field to Dexter Janke who made the catch, turned upfield and scorched an 100-yard pass and run touchdown. The Huskies went on to win 33-10 over Regina. Gilbert-Knorren was a huge offensive spark for the 2011 IFAF World Team that narrowly lost to USA 21-14.

Other IFAF World Team players helping in the win were LEVI STEINHAUER with four tackles including two sacks for a loss of five yards, JOEL SUETTER with two tackles, LUKE THIEL whoreturned four punts 89 yards and defensively made an interception and a tackle, and JERIT LAMBERT who ran for 21 yards and made one catch for 11 yards.

The University of Ottawa kicked off the OUA football regular season 2-0 with a 19-6 win over Queen's. TYLER SAWYER led the defense with five tackles, SOONBUM CHA, who took part in both the 2010 and 2011 USA Football International Bowl, had five tackles and ran for two yards.

Former 2009 Team Canada and 2010 IFAF World Team kicker TYLER CRAPIGNA had a busy opening game during his McMasters 26-2 win against Queen's connecting on four of six field goals, 2-2 on extra points, punted for 240 yards and totaled 185 yards on kickoffs. Crapigna made field goals from 16, 20, 29, and 35 yards.  

Alabama is currently 2-0, as the Crimson Tide totaled 359 yards of offense during a 27-11 victory against Penn State at Beaver Stadium before a crowd of 107,846. Australian JESSE WILLIAMS recorded two tackles and broke up a pass during the win. He began his football career in Australia and then played two years of junior college football at Arizona Western College where he was named #2 Player in the Rivals.com 2011 JUCO Top 50.  

Florida State University and Berlin native BJOERN WERNER continues to have a successful 2011 season, as FSU wasted little time jumping all over Charleston Southern scoring on the first three possessions of the ballgame before running away with a 62-10 victory. Starting at defensive end, the German collected one tackle.  

Werner represented Germany at the inaugural 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship held in Canton, Ohio and he was also selected to the IFAF World Team in 2010. Werner played his junior football in his homeland with the Berlin Adler before launching a standout prep school career at the Salisbury School in Connecticut as a member of the USA Football International Student Program.

AIULUA FANENE, a native of American Samoa who was also a 2010 IFAF World Team member, started for his Arizona Wildcats during the 37-14 loss to Oklahoma State. The game was a rematch of last year's Alamo Bowl.

Austrian native ALEKSANDAR MILANOVIC, who along with playing for the IFAF World Team in 2010 also represented his national team at the 2011 IFAF Senior World Championship, is now playing at Sacramento State who opened their regular season with a 29-28 overtime victory at Oregon State but then fell to Southern Utah 35-10.

Freshman Canadian defensive end, MEHDI ABDESMAD recorded two tackles in his first collegiate game as his Boston College Eagles fell to Northwestern 24-17 and played in the Eagles' 30-3 loss to Central Florida. Abdesmad played in the 2010 USA Football International Bowl and helped Canada to a silver medal at the 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship.

BRANDON BRIDGE, who split time with Doyon-Roch at quarterback in 2010 for the IFAF World Team, passed for 253 yards, threw two touchdowns and rushed for 62 yards but was not enough to secure Alcorn State a victory as his team fell 27-20 to host team Arkansas Pine-Bluff.

JACOB RUBY played in UCONN's 24-21 loss to Vanderbilt and Canadian compatriot DILLON GUY participated in Buffalo's 35-7 win against Stony Brook as the Bulls improved to 1-1.

A member of the first IFAF World development team JUSTIN TAIMATUIA is playing college football at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas. The team recorded its first victory of the season defeating Independence 35-14 as the American Samoa native made seven tackles - second highest on the team.

The recent 2011 European Junior Championship in Seville, Spain, featured multiple former IFAF World Team and development team members, including ANDREAS HOFBAUER and LAURINHO WALCH who led their Austrian National team to a gold medal. Hofbauer was named game MVP and selected for the All-Tournament team.

Sweden featured MARKUS WESTMAN and PONTUS WESTMAN and development team members ERIK RAUGE, ROBIN SVALLIN and TOM HAGSTEN as they claimed the bronze medal by defeating Germany 21-14. Germany featured MARVIN EHIMARE, MARCEL REIP and FARID JANSEN.

IFAF ANNOUNCES COACHING STAFF FOR WORLD TEAM TO FACE USA

Coaches from eight countries and four continents will lead international juniors in

Austin, Texas, in second annual Team USA vs. The World event

The International Federation of American Football today announced the coaching staff that will lead its World Team against Team USA at the annual 'Team USA vs. The World' event in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday, February 2, 2011.

The coaches represent a total of eight countries - Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Japan, Mexico and Sweden - and four continents from among the 59 countries governed by IFAF that play some form of American Football.

The annual international competition will feature a World Team of teenage football players also spanning as many as four continents playing against America's Under-19 National Team, composed of current high school seniors (class of 2011). Both teams will field a 45-player roster.

The 2011 Team USA vs. The World game will be played at Austin's Westlake High School's Ebbie Neptune Field at Chaparral Stadium. In 2010 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the World Team showed that international players are able to compete on the gridiron against their counterparts from the United States, losing only 17-0 in a game saw USA held scoreless until the final play of the first half.

World Team Coaching Staff

Coach	Country	Position
Greg Marshall	Canada	Head Coach
Warren Craney	Canada	Defensive Coordinator
Salomon Salano	Mexico	Defensive Line
Tuomas Heikkinen	Finland	Defensive Backs
Paul Manera	Australia	Offensive Coordinator
Stefan Bjorkman	Sweden	Offensive Line
Edgar Zapata	Mexico	Quarterbacks
Hiroki Uno	Japan	Running Backs
Jakob Dieplinger	Austria	Wide Receivers
Olivier Moret	France	Special Teams
Niclas Carlson	Sweden	Strength & Conditioning
Tim Enger	Canada	Development Team Coordinator

Leading the World Team will be head coach GREG MARSHALL, who took charge of the team's offensive line for the 2010 game. Marshall is the head coach of the University of Western Ontario Mustangs and was a Grey Cup winning running back and head coach in the CFL. He led his Western team to the 2008 Mitchell Bowl and the 2008 Desjardins Vanier Cup.

Another veteran of the 2010 staff WARREN CRANEY will again serve as defensive coordinator for the World Team. The Montreal, Quebec, native is the head coach of York University having joined the Lions in 2010 from Concordia University, where he spent seven seasons as the defensive coordinator and three before that as the defensive line coach. Craney was defensive coordinator of the Canada junior national team that won a silver medal at the 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship.

PAUL MANERA is the World Team offensive coordinator, a role he also holds with the Australia Outback senior national team. Manera was a three-year letterman at the University Of Hawaii from 1989 to 1991 playing at offensive tackle and was an Academic All Western Athletic Conference selection in 1991. He served as a student assistant coach at Hawaii and has also coached in the Japanese X League with the Recruit Seagulls in Tokyo and extensively in his native Australia.

Special teams coach OLIVIER MORET returns for a second stint as a member of the World Team staff. Moret coached France to seventh place at the 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship and third place at the 2008 European Junior Championship. He was the director of the French Pôle Espoir, which ensures young players can continue their academic studies while playing American Football. In 1987 Moret was a founder of the Amiens Spartiates, one of the most successful clubs in France.

Defensive line coach SALOMON SOLANO was on the staff of the Mexican team that took fourth place at the 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship and also returns in the same World Team coaching capacity he held in 2010. In 2008 he was a member of the Baltimore Ravens practice squad and has represented Mexico as a player at the junior national team level. He was the defensive coordinator of his alma mater the University of Tamaulipas in 2009.

The defensive backs will be the responsibility of TUOMAS HEIKKINEN who is currently the head coach of the Finland senior national team. Heikkinen has coached tackle, flag and women's football in his native Finland and was head coach of one of the country's most successful club teams the Helsinki Roosters. He has also been a defensive coordinator with club teams in Finland and the Czech Republic and played at the highest level of the game in Europe as a defensive lineman.

EDGAR ZAPATA, the offensive coordinator of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) Tigres will coach the World Team quarterbacks. Zapata has an extensive youth and junior coaching background and has also served as offensive coordinator with ITESM CEM in his native Mexico and has coached quarterbacks with UDLA-Puebla in Mexico.

The running back duties will rest with HIROKI UNO, the head coach of Rikkyo University in Japan. Uno has been at the helm at Rikkyo since 2009 having previously been the university's defensive coordinator for three seasons and has coached in the Ivy Samurai Bowl and three college all-star games.

Coaching the World Team offensive line will be STEFAN BJORKMAN, who has established himself as a successful OL coach with one of Sweden's top club teams the Stockholm Mean Machines, winning seven national championships. During his playing career, Bjorkman was selected as part of the Operation Discovery program as an offensive guard with the San Antonio Roughriders of the World League in 1991 under head coach Mike Riley. While the Swedish senior national team defensive line coach he won the 2003 and 2008 European championships and fourth place at the IFAF Senior World Championship in Tokyo Japan in 2007.

Completing the offensive coaching staff, JAKOB DIEPLINGER will oversee the wide receivers. The Austrian is one of Europe's prominent wide receivers, starring for the Swarco Raiders in his homeland, where he has won the coveted Eurobowl championship. He represented Austria at the 2010 European Championships and was named to the All-Star first team having scored two touchdowns as Austria won the tournament's bronze medal game. In addition to coaching with the Raiders, he is the Offensive Coordinator of the Austrian junior national team and works as a full time athletic youth director for the Raiders, Austria's most successful youth organization.

NICLAS CARLSON from Sweden will again serve as the World team strength coach having been responsible for the standards of the IFAF World Team players' weight, strength, speed and power for the 2010 game. He will work with all nominated players in the World Team program to ensure their physically prepared for Wednesday, February 2. Carlson works on strength and conditioning initiatives for the IFAF Educational Development Program and on National Development Programs for the national teams at all levels in Sweden.

The World Team will also feature an ongoing player development system for talented athletes who have the potential to represent the World Team in future years and will come under the supervision of Development Team Coordinator TIM ENGER. The Canadian has been employed at Football Alberta for the past 21 years and has developed several programs including the Senior Bowl High School All-Star Game, the Bantam Bowl, football's participation in the Alberta Summer Games, and Minor Provincials. His coaching experience has spanned all levels of the tackle game and as a head coach his teams have won eight league or Provincial Championships.

The World Team player roster selection process involves a series of nominations made by the 59 IFAF member federations. The World Team coaching staff will announce their player selections during December.