Click here for the box score.
The U.S. led, 17-13, in the third quarter before its neighbors from the north rolled off the final 21 points of the game.
U.S. head coach Tom Verbanic felt his team should take positives away from the event.
“If you learn something, learn this,” he told his team. “Being in the right spot at the right time goes a long way toward winning football games. If you will just keep working to be the best person you can be, you’ve got a shot at being something special.”
Verbanic said his players got better through the week. They showed the effort needed to take back to their programs and help their high schools succeed this fall.
“I thought we got a lot better from Day 1 technique-wise,” he said. “I think overall we improved a great deal.”
Canadian receiver Joshua Palmer finished with five receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns to earn his team’s MVP honors.
The U.S. MVP was receiver David Shannon, who led his team with 86 receiving yards and one touchdown.
Shannon was disappointed with the loss but echoed the words of his head coach.
“I learned a lot of different techniques like getting off the line and aligning properly,” Shannon said. “It helps a lot to learn new techniques and perspectives at wide receiver.”
The U.S. put the first points on the board when kicker Nicola Sciba (Clover, S.C.) connected on a 26-yard field goal.
Canada’s Hunter Brown returned the following kickoff 48 yards to set up a seven-play, 32-yard scoring drive. Quarterback Zach Beno completed a 5-yard touchdown to receiver Palmer to give Canada a 7-3 lead.
The U.S. soon countered as QB Jalen Mayden (Rowlett, Texas) brought the offense to the 1-yard line, finding Shannon for a 28-yard reception. Running back Ryan Ellis (Corona, Calif.) closed out the drive with a 1-yard rushing touchdown to put the U.S. back on top, 10-3.
Canada responded with another touchdown pass. Brown and Palmer hooked up to cover 81 yards as the two players linked up on a deep post.
Brown completed all six of his passes in the first half for 103 yards, 98 of which went to Palmer. Palmer also caught both of Brown’s touchdown passes.
The Canadian squad had an opportunity to add to its lead near the end of the first half, but three sacks by the U.S. defense pushed Canada out of its field-goal kicker’s range and the score stayed 13-10.
In the third quarter, Mayden saw an open middle of the field and delivered an accurate throw to Shannon. Shannon, who was caught at the one-yard line earlier, outran the remaining Ontario defenders for a 53-yard touchdown to put the U.S. up, 17-13.
But Ontario’s Spencer Smyth soon put his team back on top, blocking a U.S. punt then scoring on a 27-yard touchdown pass to retake the scoreboard advantage, 20-17, with 10:52 left to play.
Palmer continued to make play after play for Ontario, outjumping two U.S. defenders on a 25-yard catch to put his team inside the 5-yard line. Running back Jacob Savoni scored from four yards out to put Ontario up, 27-17, points. Soon after, Savoni ran in another score with 2:20 to play to set the final score.
The International Bowl is a collaboration of the sport’s national governing bodies in each country – USA Football and Football Canada – along with the International Federation of American Football, the sport’s international governing body as recognized by the International Olympic Committee.
Photos from the Under-16 game and practices throughout the week are available here.
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