2011 IFAF World Cup: USA Destroy Canada 50-7, Win Gold Medal

Football—the gridiron variety, that is—has always been America's Game. On Saturday, at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna, Austria, Mel Tjeerdsma's United States men's national team proved why it is the mother country of this code. 

Led by the offensive tandem of quarterback Cody Hawkins and tailback Henry Harris, the United States ran Canada out of the pitch to the tune of 50-7, completed a successful IFAF World Cup defense.

Hawkins passed for 161 yards and two touchdowns, while Harris ran for 105 yards and a score. The receiving corps was led by Ricardo Lenhart, who caught three passes for 63 yards and a touchdown. 

Offensively, it was a night to forget for Team Canada, whose only shining star was quarterback Michael Faulds, who passed for 161 yards and a touchdown but also threw two interceptions. 

Tommy Connors led the USA's ferocious defense with five tackles. Also contributing to the cause were Jordan Lake and Diezeas Calbert, who registered four tackles against the Canucks. As a team, the States recorded four sacks to go with their picks. 

Sammy Okrpo led Canada's defense with a game-high eight tackles. 

The USA recorded 440 yards of total offense, while Canada managed just 229. 

In the third-place match, Japan outslugged Mexico 17-14. QB Tetsuo Takata led Team Japan with 167 yards passing and a touchdown. Mexico was led by QB Rodrigo Perez, who passed for 154 yards and a score. 

Shoichiro Suzuki registered a game-high 8.5 tackles, while Takashi Miuchi added another six. Team Mexico's defense was anchored by Manuel Padilla and Jorge Valdez. Padilla led the Aztecs with 7.5 tackles, while Valdez recorded seven tackles on Friday night. 

Germany defeated France 21-17 to secure fifth place. QB Joachim Ullrich was a workhorse under center for Team Germany, passing for 246 yards and two touchdowns to WR Niklas Roemer. 

Roemer ended his IFAF World Cup run catching seven passes for 180 yards. 

QB Max Spraul and RB Laurent Marceline led the French attack. Sprauel passed for 117 yards, while Marceline rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns. 

Jasson Scott was like a bowling ball on the German defense, recording a game-high 11 tackles. Arnaud Vidalier paced France's defense with 5.5 tackles. 

In the seventh-place match, Austria ended their IFAF World Cup journey on a winning note, destroying Australia 48-10. 

Dual-threat QB Thomas Haider exercised his will on the proud Australian defense with 184 yards passing and 124 yards rushing to go with a score. Kiernan Dorney passed for 118 yards to lead Australia. 

Alexander Cucek recorded a game-high 6.5 tackles for Austria, while Australia's Bradley Bennett recorded six tackles to lead the green and gold defense. 

The USA"s victory in the 2011 IFAF World Cup ties them with Japan for most championships won with two.