ECJ2000: State Secretary lends support to championships

Category: - published 2000-07-27 by EFAF

Berlin State Secretary for Youth, School and Sport FRANK EBEL has given his support to the EFAF Wilson European Junior Championships 2000, which kick off on Sunday, July 30 in the German capital.

Six nations will contest the fifth championships as Germany defends the title it won in 1998 with group games against Great Britain and Finland, while beaten finalist France takes on Austria and Russia in the other group. The group winners will meet at the Jahnstadion in Berlin on Saturday, August 5.

Speaking at a press conference Mr Ebel said: "The city of Berlin is proud and happy to host this tournament. We want the players from all over Europe to feel at home here in Berlin. Football is an exciting sport which hopefully will continue to attract more and more fans."

EFAF President REIJO AILASMAA added: "I am happy to be back in Berlin. I have good memories of the city. When I was president of the Finnish Football Federation we won the title here in 1994. 

"This year Finland lost one of their best players, but for good reasons as he earned a scholarship to the University of Nebraska. This weakens the team, so in Group One I think Germany is the favourite. Group Two should be a very close decision."

Leading Germany as he did when victorious two years ago, quarterback DENNIS ZIMMERMANN returns to centre stage with retaining the trophy naturally his priority. "We are ready to defend our title," he announced. "But it will be much tougher than in 1998. From what I have heard all the teams are strong. We added some speed to our defense so we will be prepared."

One of Zimmermann's targets will be wide receiver TIM FRIEDRICH, who recently attended Florida State University's summer football camp as part of the NFL Futures initiative.

"There still is a big difference between the Americans and us," he said. "The game over there is much faster and intense and it was a great experience for me. Now I'm looking forward to representing my country again bringing back some of the things I leaned in Florida."

Director of Football Development for NFL Europe MARSHALL HAPPER looked forward to events in Germany, adding: "We have more than 350 people from players to staff members coming to Berlin. 

"I expect a lot of exciting games. The level of playing improves from year to year and I am sure that during this championship you will see future stars of NFL Europe."

ECJ2000: Finland finds top form

Category: - published 2000-07-30 by EFAF

Finland made an impressive entry into the Wilson 2000 European Junior Championships with a 31-point shutout of Great Britain, who suffered their second straight loss of the tournament.

Great Britain started more promisingly than in their opening loss to Germany, but were again beaten on the ground early on where Finnish running back Risto Nassi found the end zone from five yards out, but the extra point sailed wide.

Great Britain moved the ball through running back Brett Rosenbaum, but when they went to the air quarterback Luke Smith was twice intercepted, the second returned 41 yards for a touchdown by Finland defensive back Tom Casey. Defensive lineman Mark Taylor blocked the extra point, leaving Finland with a 12-0 lead.

Wide receiver, Henri Myohanen pulled in a 27-yard catch for the third Finnish touchdown and Arto Simila added the extra point for a 19-0 advantage. Myohanen was again the target of quarterback Amtti Hurme with a four-yard touchdown reception as time ran out in the first half.

Great Britain blocked the extra point and linebacker Russell Goodall returned the ball the length of the field for what the Lions thought was two points in their favor until the officials ruled the ball had crossed the line of scrimmage and could not be advanced.

Following a scoreless third quarter that saw backup quarterback Matt McCusker at the helm in relief of Smith, the Scot threw an interception that Antti Penttinen returned 40 yards for a touchdown and the game's last points as a two-point conversion failed.

Finnish rusher Nassi ended the day with 74 yards on the ground, while Rosenbaum collected 70 for Great Britain. There were sacks for Mikko Hanski and Pertti Lautala of Finland and Great Britain's Chris Burton, who also had 6 tackles. Scottish Claymores development squad player Andrew MacIntosh posted a game-high 7 tackles.

Article by : Michael Preston

ECJ2000: Germany ready to defend title

Category: - published 2000-08-03 by EFAF

GERMANY will meet Russia in the final of the Wilson 2000 European Junior Championships after taking care of bussiness against Finland, for a 48 to 6 win.

Germany made the perfect start with a purposeful drive that ended with a 7-0 lead as running back Sebastian Moller charged into the end zone from five yards out and Michael Klemme added the extra point. 

Finland was forced to punt away possession in reply, then Mikko Hanski sacked German quarterback Dennis Zimmermann, which proved a minor setback as a pass interference call moved Germany forward and Zimmermann scored on a sneak. A bad snap ruled out the extra point attempt, though Germany still held a 13-point first quarter advantage. 

Finnish defensive back Esko Myllymaki streaked down the sidelines to return the resulting kickoff for a touchdown, but his celebrations were cut short as a penalty ruled out the score. 

Things worsened for Finland when quarterback Antti Hurme had the ball stripped from his grasp by defensive end Milan Misic and Nathan Arileshere recovered at the Finland 30-yard mark. 

Germany capitalised to open the second quarter with a third touchdown to move 19 points ahead as on the first play from scrimmage running back Moller raced down the left sideline to score. 

Finland quickly fumbled away possession at their own 18, and a quick 15-yard pass to wideout Sebastian Wulff led to running back Martin Senz darting in untouched from close range before Moller danced in for two more points and a 27-0 lead. 

Finland regained their composure and put six points on the board with four minutes remaining in the half when quarterback Hurme lofted a perfect 44-yard pass into the path of wide receiver Henri Myohanen, though his two-point pass attempts was intercepted by Wulff. 

Finland also got to Zimmermann when Pertti Lautala came up with a sack, but on second and long the quarterback picked himself up and fired a 26-yard pass to Sebastian Jurdis and a screen pass to Moller, who found the endzone untouched. Klemme added the extra point for a 34-6 halftime lead. 

With backup quarterback Mathias Kramer at the helm Janosch Schilling reeled in a touchdown pass, and after the luxury of a field goal miss Germany made it 48-6 when Senz scored his second rushing touchdown of the evening.
Article by : Michael Preston

Qualifiers

15th April – France 60-0 Spain, Beziers
16th April – Italy 0-22 Austria, Via Arona
6th May – Great Britain 40-0 Netherlands, Leicester
Austria 56-0 Switzerland

Pool matches in Berlin

30th July – France 21-17 Austria
30th July – Germany 53-7 Great Britain
1st August – Great Britain 0-31 Finland
1st August – Austria 27-16 Russia
3rd August – Russia 32-0 France
3rd August – Finland 6-48 Germany

5th place playoff

5th August – France 32-27 Great Britain

3rd place playoff

5th August – Austria 10-0 Finland

Gold Medal Game

5th August – Germany 19-0 Russia