Webb, Connors Help Team USA Claim Gold Medal at IFAF World Championship
VIENNA, Austria - Current Southeastern Louisiana University defensive coordinator Matt Webb and former Lion standout Tommy Connors each played a part in helping the U.S. Men's National Team defend its world title at the 2011 IFAF World Championship that concluded Saturday.
Team USA earned the gold medal after defeating Canada, 50-7, and completing a four-game sweep in which it outscored its opponents, 176-21.
"It was a great experience," Webb, who is in his seventh year at Southeastern, said. "I will never listen to the national anthem again and not feel a true sense of pride in our country. To represent American football on the world stage was an unbelievable opportunity. Winning the gold medal for our country is something that I will cherish for the rest of my life."
Team USA opened the eight-team tournament with a 61-0 win over Australia in Innsbruck before defeating Germany, 48-7, in Vienna. The Americans then faced neighboring Mexico in the semifinals, posting a 17-7 victory and setting up the final contest against its northern neighbor.
In the Gold Medal game, played in front of an estimated crowd of 20,000 at Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium, Team USA broke open a 7-0 contest in the second quarter, scoring 30 points in the final 5:54 to build a 37-7 halftime lead.
Connors, a four-time All-Southland Conference performer who played for Southeastern from 2006-10, missed the first three games of the tournament with an injury but saved his best for the final game as he led Team USA with six tackles.
The former Lion standout was part of a defensive unit that held Canada to 229 yards total offense, including 48 on the ground.
"To develop a team in such a short amount of time said a lot about the quality of our team," Webb said. "We had six (consecutive) days of two-a-days and to watch them develop from different college teams was great to see. With a small (45-man) roster, everyone had to contribute. We didn't know a lot about the other opponents, we didn't get a chance to see a lot of film or come up with game plans as far as what to expect. The team just really molded and jelled together quickly."
Three of the six players coached by Webb - Charles Bay (Dartmouth), Daniel Calvin (Kansas State) and Tyler Roach (Northwest Missouri State) - being named to the All-Tournament team. Rounding out the defensive line were Johnny Dingle (West Virginia), Daniel Catalano (Northern Michigan) and Gerard Bryant (St. Lawrence-NY).
"They all contributed and all came from different backgrounds of American football," Webb said. "They were a very, wide range of players to deal with personalities and backgrounds and were fun to coach. It was a very proud feeling to raise the gold medal and bring it home to the United States."