CANTON, OHIO – Nearly eight months ago, Chuck Kyle ’69 walked off the field in legendary Fawcett Stadium having guided his Saint Ignatius Wildcats to an Ohio-record 10th Division I state football championship.
Sunday afternoon, Kyle brought his winning ways back to the legendary Stark County facility, which sits adjacent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Only this time it was on an international level in which the man they call “Chico’’ added to his already rich coaching legacy.
The United States, wrapping up a successful debut in the eight-nation IFAF Junior World Championship, wore down Canada, 41-3, in the Gold Medal Game.
In outscoring its three tournament opponents – France, Mexico and Canada – 174-3, Team USA, in the words of standout quarterback Bryce Petty, showed everyone that football is America’s sport.
“Coming into this, I think that was everybody’s motivation,’’ said Petty, who put together a near flawless performance against top-seeded Canada. “That meant everything to me, ever since they pulled out the bracket and I saw we were (seeded) No. 2. This is our sport, always has been. And I think we showed them today.’’
Petty and Co. wasted little time in showing the 15,473 in attendance just how well they play their sport, as an interception by Ohio State recruit Storm Klein set up a 17-yard touchdown pass from Petty to wide receiver Jamal Davis with less than a minute gone in the opening quarter.
Two minutes later, the United States extended its lead to 8-0 when Canada, forced to punt from the back of its end zone, elected to take a safety. The Canadians were pinned deep in their territory thanks to the defensive penetration of Team USA’s Jordan Lynch, Chris Payne and Robert Bell.
After Canada got on the scoreboard on a 38-yard field goal by Lirim Hajrullahu, the United States answered with a perfectly executed 33-yard option play by Petty and Virginia Tech recruit David Wilson.
Petty, who will further his education and football career at Baylor, took the snap and ran over the right side for 4 yards before delivering a text-book pitch to Wilson. Wilson, the tournament’s most dominant performer, accounted for the final 29 yards with a powerful burst down the sideline and kicker Mike Loftus, who missed his first extra-point attempt, delivered this time for a 15-3 lead with eight seconds left in the first quarter.
Wilson, a graduate of Danville (VA) George Washington High School, racked up three-game totals of 425 yards rushing and eight touchdowns on 33 carries. He will be reporting to Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer this week for what should be the start of a memorable college career.
Loftus, an SMU recruit out of Servite High School in Anaheim (CA), extended Team USA’s lead to 18-3 by kicking a 27-yard field goal with three seconds to go in the first half.
Then it was Petty time again.
With Petty, the pride of Midlothian (TX) High School, holding the hot hand, Coach Kyle’s squad took command on two more TD strikes by Petty in the third quarter. Petty, the game's MVP, was 14-for-14 passing for 190 yards and three touchdowns.
However, as impressive as the good-natured Petty was, he preferred to turn the attention to his receivers
“Negative, not even close,’’ said Petty, when reporters asked him if he ever had a “perfect’’ game before. “I mean I’ve had good practices here and there, but nothing like that.
“The thing about the 14-for-14 that goes unnoticed is that about 12 of those were a 5-yard hitch in which (the receivers) just turned and went up the field. Basically what I’m saying is we have athletes. I’m just so blessed to have been a part of this and to have the athletes around me that can do this.’’
Team USA would leave no doubt in the fourth quarter, as Coach Kyle’s team, comprised of several standouts from the high school graduating class of 2009, simply had too much skill and savvy for its neighbors up North.
As he did throughout the historic event, Kyle pointed to the relentless effort of his big, athletic and pad-rattling 3-5 defense, a scheme employed successfully by his teams at Saint Ignatius and the teams under Coach Steve Specht at Cincinnati St. Xavier. Specht was Team USA's defensive coordinator.
While there is no questioning how dominant and physically gifted the United States was, Coach Kyle, as he always seems to do, put the past month in perspective before joining his team on the field for the Gold Medal ceremony.
“You know, they take medals and trophies and where do they put them? They put trophies in a case or you take a medal and hang it up somewhere. What stays are the memories and the friendships. These guys will be friends the rest of their lives, they will be. This was a team!’’
And now, Coach Kyle will be focusing on the team that has been a part of his life since those fall days in the 1960s, when he was an All-City running back for the late John J. Wirtz.
Yes, it’s that time again when Kyle refuels his passion for the job he wouldn’t trade for any other position – guiding the fortunes of the 10-time state champion and three-time national champion Saint Ignatius Wildcats.
A LASTING MEMORY: “This was a special part of my life, I mean I never thought I would be playing for my country and playing for Coach Kyle one more time,’’ said Saint Ignatius All-Ohio safety and Miami (Ohio) recruit Pat Hinkel, as he was making his way to the field for the closing ceremonies. “All of the coaches were great guys. They brought different coaching styles to the table and everybody kind of adapted to that.
“We didn’t want to have any regrets when we look back on it 10 years from now,'' Hinkel continued. "We’re the first United States team to make this history, so we wanted to set an example for all of the other teams. In 2012 (the next Junior World Championship), they can say, ‘Hey, this first team did it right. They got the gold.’
“Yeah, we wanted to set the bar high.’’
THE MOTIVATION: For those who are of the opinion that today's youth lack patriotism, Coach Kyle begs to differ.
"This is what it was all about,'' Kyle said. "These young men wanted to play for their country.''
OUTSTANDING JOB ALL AROUND: A huge congratulations goes out to Steve Alic and the entire IFAF Junior World Championship staff, the city of Canton, the gracious press box staff at Fawcett Stadium and Walsh University for an outstanding job hosting this historical event.
The word is that Canton is being seriously considered as the site for the next Junior World Championship in 2012. The four-day attraction drew 40,043 fans to Fawcett Stadium.
To the football-savvy fans from Stark County, this corner tips its cap, or should we say helmet?
STORM WARNING: Former Newark Licking Valley standout Storm Klein said he has benefited greatly from enrolling at Ohio State early and taking part in the Buckeyes’ spring practice. The gifted linebacker emphasized how much faster the game is at the major-college level and how much bumping heads with the Buckeyes helped his play throughout the Junior World Championship.