Team Stars & Stripes fall 24-12 to Tec Monterrey All-Stars

Posted on December 19, 2009 by poiplylok

Team Stars and Stripes suffered a 24-12 loss to the Tec Monterrey All-Stars despite a rousing fourth quarter comeback attempt to overturn a 17-point deficit in the Tazon de Estrellas at the Tec de Monterrey Campus Estado de Mexico

A delayed webcast of the game will be available at GlobalFootball.com from 8pm ET on Saturday, December 19.

Trailing 17-0 in the final quarter and starting with the ball at their own 29-yard line, Team Stars & Stripes went to the air to move the ball downfield and the passing game paid dividends as quarterback Mike Isgro (Delaware Valley College) moved the chains steadily.

First Isgro hit wideout Riley Curry (Trinity University) for a 22-yard gain and then went long to Patrick O’Connor (Dickinson College) to eat up 45 yards, taking the ball to the six-yard mark.

Another flag backed the Americans up 15 yards, but Isgro reclaimed ten yards with a pass to Orlando Webb (North Carolina Wesleyan College) before hitting O’Connor for a touchdown.Â A missed extra point attempt by running back and stand in kicker Jake Parke (Augustana College) left coach Manlove’s team trailing by 11 points with 8.26 to play.

Defensive back Corry Stewart (Hanover College) then recovered a fumble at the Tec 20 to continue the revival.Â Â Quarterback Aaron Fanthorpe (North Central) rushed for five yards, found O’Connor for ten more and then hit Steve Austin (Fitchburg State College) for a five-yard touchdown on third down with the clock down to 5.48 to play.Â The two-point pass attempt failed, leaving Team Stars & Stripes down 17-12.

Tec added another score with 1.22 remaining to go 24-12 ahead and then Rodrigo Esbobar intercepted quarterback Fanthorpe with a second on the clock and the Americans only inches from pay dirt.

The first quarter ended scoreless with Team Stars & Stripes forced three and out on both possessions, while amassing 35 yards in penalties before the Tec Monterrey All-Stars took a 3-0 lead.

Defensively and on special teams the visitors impressed early on, producing a blocked field goal and interception to shut out the more productive home team offense.

The Mexicans’ first drive ended with a 29-yard Adolfo Medellin field goal attempt blocked by Kendall Wade (Univ. Wisconsin-Sout) and when Tec was within scoring range, the Stars & Stripes defense came to the rescue

Receiver Duane Michel Mejia and running back Carlos Guillermo both made sizeable gains on the ground as the hosts’ rushing game proved effective.Â But when Jorge Martinez Salazar looked for a receiver in the end zone, defensive back Tim Cornish (Bethel University) produced a timely interception at the goal line.

Tec’s third drive began at the 50-yard line and a 45-yard connection between Salazar and Manuel Garza Arias led to a chip shot field goal attempt.Â Monterrey was denied a first quarter lead when Medellin’s kick sailed wide of the uprights.

Starting its fourth possession from the home 20-yard mark, Tec moved the ball quickly downfield as Dwein Juarez Gracia stepped in under center and twice connected with Enrique Novelo.Â The Stars & Stripes defense held, forcing Medellin to attempt a 40-yard field goal, which this time split the uprights for a 3-0 lead with 6.54 remaining in the first half.

The Americans put together their most productive drive of the first half leading into the break.Â Quarterback Kyle Paulson (Univ. Wisconsin-Au Claire) hit receiver Curry for a 23-yard gain and with head coach Bill Manlove regularly switching his signal callers, Isgro produced a 23-yard pass to tight end Brett Schreiner (Lebanon Valley College) to take the ball down to the Tec six-yard line.

The officials threw a flag at the conclusion of the play to move the ball back 15 yards for an apparent unnecessary roughness infringement.Â With the clock ticking down on the half, Tec Monterrey defensive back Javier Gonzalez produced a timely third down sack to back Stars & Stripes up 10 further yards from the end zone.Â An attempted fourth down conversion came up empty, leaving the visitors shut out at the halftime break.

Team Stars & Stripes again faltered, going three and out on three third quarter possessions and Tec took advantage by opening the gap to 17 unanswered points.

The Mexicans drew three flags to face a first and 25 situation at one point in the scoring drive, but quarterback Salazar twice hit receiver Alejandro Yanez for first downs and gains of eight yards and 20 yards to keep the chains moving.Â With the ball on the Americans’ 31-yard line, running back Jose Raul Reyes lined up in a wildcat formation and took a direct snap 31 yards for a touchdown and a 10-point advantage with 4.46 remaining in the third quarter.

Reyes continued to torment the visiting defense as he rushed for gains of 8, 10 and 20 yards before punching the ball into the end zone for his second touchdown from five yards out on third down with 10.59 remaining in the contest.Â A second Medellin extra point increased the lead to 17-0.

After the visitors reduced the deficit to five points, Salazar found Jorge Balli for 52 yards in the air on a time-consuming drive that ended with Reyes breaching the end zone on first and inches with only 1.22 available for Team Stars & Stripes to make up 12 points.

Their chances looked good as Fanthorpe sought out Austin and O’Connor, each for 15-yard gains.Â He then went to Austin again to take the ball to the one-yard mark with a second to play after a 17-yard catch before an interception ended the contest.

Team Stars & Stripes Mount A Fourth Quarter Comeback Attempt

Posted on December 19, 2009 by poiplylok

Team Stars & Stripes have mounted a fourth quarter comeback in the Tazon de Estrellas and now trail 17-12.

Starting with the ball at their own 29-yard line, Team Stars & Stripes went to the air to move the ball downfield and the passing game paid dividends as quarterback Mike Isgro moved the chains steadily.

First the Delaware Valley College passer hit wideout Riley Curry (Trinity University) for a 22-yard gain and then went long to Patrick O’Connor (Dickinson College) to eat up 45 yards, taking the ball to the six-yard mark.

The two-point pass attempt failed, leaving Team Stars & Stripes down 17-12.

Sideline Guy: Gagliardi, the matchup, snow

Posted on December 19, 2009 by Frank Rossi

Time for a catch-all blog entry, as the weather has caused things to be a little erratic around your broadcast crew. I’ll update the weather situation, among other things, throughout this entry.

GAGLIARDI TROPHY

For the first time in any of the Divisions’ highest college football awards (the Heisman, Walter Payton, Harlon Hill and Gagliardi Trophies), we finally have an offensive lineman as a winner in Blaine Westemeyer. I know the arguments will be forthcoming concerning whether the Gagliardi is akin to a “player of the year” award, but that’s not what Gagliardi night is about. It’s about showcasing the epitome of Division III Football — great student-athletes playing the game simply for the love of it. We met Blaine Westemeyer earlier in the day during the initial interview pool for the Stagg Bowl teams, and it was obvious right away that Westemeyer was a confident, smart and poised individual who does not embody the unfortunate stereotype many people bestow on linemen. It was a whirlwind week for Westemeyer, with a trip to Mexico City, a flight from there to Roanoke, Va., and then a return flight to Mexico City for the Tazon de Estrellas all-star game. If he was tired, you couldn’t tell it throughout the day.

Westemeyer’s speech was classy and a tribute to offensive linemen who have played and currently play football at any level. Keith Jackson used to call linemen the “Big Uglies” in the trenches, but there was nothing ugly about the setting nor the situation Thursday night. I think the interview Pat Coleman did with Westemeyer that we’ve linked below speaks to Westemeyer’s handling of the moment and the fact that the soon-to-be medical school attendee was a great recipient of this tremendous award.

THE GAME

I sensed a lot of frustration from fans concerning the idea that Mount Union and Whitewater are back for the fifth consecutive year. Sure, there have been plenty of tongue-in-cheek jokes about the teams’ familiarity with the area and the game. In reality, though, how true is that?

I think we often forget that a 52-man roster means that only about 30-35 underclassmen on average will have the chance to participate in the events of the week. How many of those 30-35 players were sophomores or freshmen? Not that many. With our fifth consecutive year of the matchup, we’re essentially guaranteed a complete turnover of players on both teams that have had Stagg Bowl experience (and likely a second turnover if you consider the shrunken rosters). Whitewater experienced a coaching change a couple years ago, meaning that, in essence, the only real high-profile stalwart in this fifth rendition of the matchup is Mount Union Head Coach Larry Kehres — and he always provides a certain level of unpredictability and wisdom to everyone that knows or meets him.

So is Division III football stuck in a rut? No. Two things make me answer that way. First, looking at the semi-finals, we had some real good competition for both teams, meaning that the “gap” may be closing between the rest of the Division and these two teams. Second, as I’ve said above, for as much as we hate to admit it, there are plenty of new faces every year appearing on the field at Salem Stadium for the Stagg Bowl. The mascots may be the same, but the game is different every year.

That’s why I’m still energized by this game for a third year on the sidelines.

THE WEATHER

As of this writing (1:15am EST Saturday morning), Roanoke, VA has seen about seven inches of snow fall — with some slowing over the last few hours. However, The National Weather Service has advised that there may be up to 12 to 15 more inches of snow overnight and into Saturday afternoon. There could be white-out conditions during the game, assuming the game kicks off at 11:03am EST. However, that is still an “if” — it is highly unlikely that the game will be pushed to Sunday since both teams and the officials are in place in Salem. The only possibility that seems possible is pushing the start time of the game to a later point Saturday if the weather appears to allow for improved conditions past the 11:03am kickoff. Could ESPN2 still broadcast the game? There is no other live event scheduled for the network until around 4:00pm, so there is some chance for a push of the kickoff. ESPN also has other networks, including ESPN Classic and ESPNU that could potentially broadcast the game in the event of a major problem. The answer to this question will not come until an early morning meeting of the key players of the NCAA and grounds crew. When we know more, we’ll fill you in.

For now, plan to join us live on the D3football.com Pregame Show, being videocast live starting at 9:00am EST. We’ll have a lot more on the weather story and will release the D3football.com 2009 All-American Team live.