THIRD ANNUAL TAZÓN DE ESTRELLAS KICKS OFF AT 1.30PM
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CENTRAL TIME IN PUEBLA AS TEAM STARS & STRIPES TAKE ON CONADEIP ALL-STARS FROM MEXICO GAME PREVIEW AND NOTES... THE GAME Team Stars & Stripes, selected from 28 NCAA Division III colleges in the United States, takes on the CONADEIP All-Stars from ten Mexican institutions of higher learning at 1.30pm CDT at the 5,000-seat El Tempo del Dolor (The Temple of Pain) in Puebla on Saturday, December 17. LIVE BROADCAST Television: TVC Deportes Channel 503 Cablevision (Mexico City) Channel 307 Cablevision (Monterrey) Channel 307 Megacable Webcast - www.GlobalFootball.com - link will be live on Saturday, December 17 Viewers should use Windows Media Player 9 for the best results. THE HEAD COACHES For the first time in the history of the Tazón de Estrellas, two American head coaches will pace opposite sidelines. Former La Salle, Delaware Valley College and Widener head coach Bill Manlove will again coach team Stars & Stripes and will select a 50-man roster from players nominated by head coaches at NCAA D-III colleges. Universidad de las Americas Puebla (UDLAP) head coach Eric Fisher, who led theAztecas to their first national championship in 13 years in 2010, will lead the CONADEIP challenge. Team Stars & Stripes Bill Manlove Bill Manlove presided over the Aztec Bowl U.S. team in 2006 and 2007, having compiled a 212-110-1 record, in 32 years of coaching, including an impressive 182-53-1 record at Widener. In 2011 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He led the Pioneers to two NCAA Division III championships, seven playoff berths and 10 Middle Atlantic Conference titles and earned AFCA National Coach of the Year honors in 1977 when he led Widener to its first Division III title. In 1969, Bill started his coaching career at Widener and endured a 2-7 season. For the next 21 years, Widener never had a losing season, which included 10 Middle Atlantic Conference championships and two NCAA D-II National Championships. He was honored as MAC Coach of the Year nine times. He was named AFCA-Kodak Division II-III National Coach of the Year in 1977 and Regional/District Coach of the Year in 1977 and 1980. CONADEIP All-Stars Eric Fisher In April 2009, Eric Fisher was named head coach and athletic director of the UDLAP Aztecs and was named coach of the year in 2010 with the Aztecs after winning the championship. Since then the Aztecs have compiled a 23-8 record. Eric joined the University of the Americas Puebla after a five-year stint as Athletic Director and Head Football Coach at the American School Foundation in Mexico City. Eric took over a moribund team steeped in tradition and quickly created a program that competed at a championship level year in and year out. After starting out 3-4 in his first year as Head Coach, ASF went 23-3 over the next three years playing for three championships and winning one. Prior to ASF, Eric served as the running backs coach for the Barcelona Dragons of NFL Europe where he competed against and coached former Azteca greats Marco Martos and Carlos Rosado. While in Europe, Eric had the opportunity to work for legendary Head coaches Sam Rutigliano (Cleveland Browns) and Jack Bicknell (Boston College). Eric started his coaching career at Sunnyslope High School in Phoenix, Arizona where he coached for seven years serving as defensive back coach and defensive coordinator. PLAYERS TO WATCH Team Stars & Stripes QB (7) Dan Stiefel, Wartburg College Was a 2011 Honorable mention All-IIAC and was named his team's Offensive Player of the Year. In 2010 led the Knight's to a play-off birth in his first year as a starter. Completed 320 of 571 pass attempts for 4,857 yards, 27 touchdowns and 18 interceptions during his college career. RB (8) Kendall Owens, Thomas More Rushed for 1,307 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior including scores rushing, receiving and returning kickoffs and punts. Was a 2011 All-PCA first team selection. WR (10) Matt White, Capital University Named to the OhioCollegeFootball.com All-Ohio NCAA Division III first team, his third all-league selection, to go along with second team all-region merits. Completed one of the best single seasons for a receiver in program history with 84 receptions for 1,068 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also finished first in the conference and tied for fifth in the nation with 8.40 catches per contest. He holds the Capital record for career yards (2,663) and is second all-time in receptions (203). QB (14) David Lee, Augustana Was one of just 127 senior football players from across the nation, in all divisions, to be named as a semifinalist for the 2011 William V. Campbell Trophy by the National Football Foundation. Lee set Augustana records in single season passing yards (2,411), single game passing yardage (429), and single game completions (28). LB (40) Anthony Bizzotto, Fitchburg State Enjoyed a successful senior season with a league best 106 tackles with 63 solo stops and 43 assists. The senior leader averaged 11.8 tackles per game, which was 1.8 more tackles per game than any other player in the conference.
LB (9) Anthony Johnson, Saint Vincent Is the school's all-time leading tackler in modern-program history and led the team and PAC with 102 tackles (61 solo). His play helped SVC earn its first postseason berth since the 1949 season. CONADEIP All-Stars QB (17) Gustavo García, UDLAP Was considered the best quarterback in the Premier Conference
with 178 completed passes from 288 pass attempts for a 62%
completion rate and a total of 2,233 yards gained with 16 TD passes
and 8 interceptions. Was the leading rusher in the Premier Conference with 128 carries for 1113 yards gained and 17 touchdowns and an average of 8.70 yards per carry. RB (3) Alexis Magallanes, Tec Monterrey Was the second leading rusher in the Premier Conference with 103 carries for 703 yards gained with 8 touchdowns scored and an average of 6.83 yards per carry. He was named the MVP fn the Championship Game after rushing on 13 carries for 134 yards with 2 TDs scored and an average of 10.31 yards per carry. WR (81) Fernando Andrade, Tec Puebla Was the leading receiver in the Premier Conference with 38 receptions for 833 yards gained with 13 touchdowns scored and an average of 21.92 yards per reception. LB (24) José Luis Granados, Tec Toluca Was the leading tackler in the Premier Conference with 59 tackles, 8 sacks, 1 fumble recovered. DE (56) Eugenio López, Tec Monterrey Was tied in first place in sacks in the Premier Conference with 8 sacks, 1 fumble recovered and 14 tackles. THEY COME FROM ACROSS THE CONTINENT Players from the following 28 colleges will be represented on the Team Stars & Stripes roster: Amherst College (2), Augustana (4), California Lutheran University (1), Capital University (1) Castleton State (1), Central (6), Centre College (1), Claremont-Mudd-Scripts Colleges (2), Cornell College (1), Dickinson College (1), Fitchburg State University (1), Grinnell (2), Grove City College (1), Hanover College (2), John Carroll University (2), Loras (2), Ohio Northern University (2), Rockford College (1), Rose-Hulman Institute (1), Simpson College (5), St. Vincent College (4), Susquehanna University (1), Thomas More College (2), Trinity University (1), UW/Stevens Point (2), Wartburg College (2), Willamette University (1) and Wooster (1). The CONADEIP All-Stars are selected from: UDLAP (20 players), ITESM Monterrey (19), ITESM Estado de México (11), ITESM Toluca (5), ITESM CCM (2), ITESM CSF (2), UR (2), ITESM Puebla (1), ITP (1) and UAMN (1). HISTORY The Tazón de Estrellas and its forerunner the Aztec Bowl have produced a series of exciting games and established a fierce but friendly rivalry between the American team drawn from D-III all-stars and their counterparts selected from the CONADEIP national conference of private schools in Mexico. Last year Team Stars and Stripes triumphed 48-7 in Toluca, having suffered a 24-12 loss to the Tec Monterrey All-Stars in the first Tazón de Estrellas in 2009. ROSTERS PHOTOS Media may download photos at the following links: Final day of practices / event press conference Player head shots - Team Stars & Stripes Media note: Please contact Global Football media representatives Preston Consulting for more information and to request credentials and interviews. Michael Preston, Media Relations: 781-363-0305 MP@MPrestonSports.com Patrick Steenberge, Event Producer (USA): (001) 817-219-7274 Patrick@GlobalFootball.com |
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