The best 45 junior international American football players from eight countries and four continents will take on 45 of the most promising U.S. high school-aged prospects at Austin Westlake Stadium in the Texas state capital at 7.30pm CT on February 2.

The World Team hails from such relative football outposts as American Samoa, Austria and Japan, while in opposition Team USA boasts standouts heading to some of the most prestigious and successful college football programs in the country.

World Team players traveled a total of 135,800 miles to arrive in Austin, a distance equivalent to 54-1/2 trips from New York City to Los Angeles.

"I think we are ready," said World Team Head Coach GREG MARSHALL, who is head coach of the University of Western Ontario Mustangs. "The players had a great week of practices, and we got a lot of things in. System wise, it really came together in the last couple of days. We are looking forward to a good game.  I know USA has an outstanding team, but we are prepared and ready to go.

"In a very short time period, the players came together as a team.  Of course we came down here to win a football game, but we always came to have a great experience and come together as a team. I am very proud of this team, because they certainly did that."


"It’s going to be a cold game, and a lot of the American boys won’t be used to that compared to a lot of us,"
said Canadian quarterback BEN ROSSONG. "We are a family now. It started out that a lot of guys didn’t talk to people outside of their country, but we have broken down the boundaries and are close with one another.

"It’s been great to learn a different style of football, and learn from a great group of coaches. And I am really excited about playing in the game."

"The team is ready for the game," said wide receiver LAWRENCE TUIOTI-DANIELSON from American Samoa. "We have worked hard in practices.  You have to work well together to be a team and I think do and we are ready to face USA.  We are one team, one heart, one soul."

Led by Austin (Texas) Westlake High School head coach DARREN ALLMAN, the U.S. Under-19 National Team is selected by USA Football, the national governing body of the sport and the official football development partner of the NFL and NFL Players Association. The team is comprised of 45 high school seniors who will sign their national letters of intent on the morning of Feb. 2 and represent their country that night.  Team USA includes players from 20 states and Washington, D.C.

A national team exemption granted by the NCAA allows high school seniors to play for USA Football and not have their participation count as one of their two permitted all-star game appearances.

The U.S. Under-19 National Team is 4-0 in international competition.  Team USA won the gold medal – going 3-0 – in the summer of 2009 at the IFAF Junior World Championship in Canton, Ohio.  The U.S. also won the 2010 Team USA vs. The World game, 17-0, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Captains:

World Team:
#2 — Joel Seutter, DL, Canada, University of Saskatchewan
#3 — Steven Lumbala, RB, Canada, University of Calgary
#23 — Jake Harty, WR, Canada, Henry Wisewood High School
#31 — Beck Coulter, LB, American Samoa, Eastern Arizona College
#44 — Tavita Katina, DL, American Samoa, Hawaii commit
#70 – Michael Habetin, OL, Austria, Swarco Raiders

Team USA:
#7 — Stephon Tuitt, DE, Monroe Area (Ga.) H.S., Notre Dame commit
#15 — Kiehl Frazier, QB, Shiloh Christian (Ark.) H.S., Auburn commit
#24 — Wayne Lyons, CB, Dillard (Fla.) H.S., Stanford commit
#80 — Jaxon Shipley, WR, Brownwood (Texas) H.S., Texas commit

Wednesday night’s referee, BILL LeMONNIER, was the referee for last month’s BCS National Championship Game between Auburn and Oregon.  In addition to the United States, the game’s officiating crew will have members from Norway and Mexico.

Live online
Live coverage of Team USA vs. The World can be enjoyed by fans around the world by tuning into USA Today online partner http://www.highschoolsports.net. The game will be nationally televised live on Fox College Sports Central as well as on seven regional cable networks.

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