Team Stars & Stripes has finalized the 45-man all-star roster of high school football seniors that will travel to Kawasaki, Japan to take part in the second annual Global Challenge Bowl on Saturday, March 21, 2009.  The team will be led by Santa Rita High School (Tucson, AZ) head coach and three-time Arizona state champion JEFF SCURRAN.

The roster features seniors from 30 US high schools covering 12 states as well as a school in Japan.   Team Stars & Stripes will play against the Japanese junior national team in the Tokyo suburb of Kawasaki.  Players were selected not only for football ability, but also as all-round student-athletes.  Texas-based Global Football assisted Coach Scurran in identifying suitable players and organized the unique visit to Japan.

“I know from the wonderful experience we had in Japan last year that selecting young men who will be a credit to themselves, their school and their country is as important as picking them for their football abilities,” explained Scurran.  “We will visit a military facility, the Kawasaki Mayor’s office and some very special historical sites, so this is much more than simply an overseas football game.”

Team Stars & Stripes will feature two American-born students studying in Japan and a female player on the all-star roster.  Stephen Hayman moved to Japan in the second grade and currently attends American School in Japan (ASIJ) in Tokyo, Japan.  Hayman started playing football his freshman year of high school, and has received Most Valuable Lineman honors.  He also has won numerous awards for wrestling. 

Another AISJ student, Nick Wells has been selected for Team Stars & Stripes. He has spent the majority of his life in Japan and only has been playing football for two short years.  His first year, Wells was named Rookie of the Year and this 2008 season he received Most Valuable Linebacker honors. He also plays basketball and baseball.

Maile Labor (Santa Rita High School, AZ) will be the kicker for the US team.  She was a member of head coach Jeff Scurran’s Santa Rita football team that reached the 4A Arizona State Championship game this 2008 season.  Maile also plays soccer and boxes.     

Coach Scurran will have his pick of quarterbacks for the 2009 Global Challenge Bowl including Beau Benner (Brodhead High School, Wisconsin), Trent DeBraga (Churchill Co., Nevada) and Brandon Cluff (Cesar Chavez High School, Arizona).  Benner was named First-Team All Conference this 2008 season.  DeBraga, a three-sport athlete, received All-League and Sierra League Player of the Year honors.  Arizona native Cluff led his high school team to a 7-4 record with 19 touchdown passes and accumulated 2,063 total yards on the season averaging 206.3 yards per game.

Running back Jason Simpson, who will play football at San Jose State in the fall, should play a key role in Team Stars & Stripes offensive game plan.  His senior year at Woodside High School, CA, Simpson rushed for 1,336 yards and led the county in scoring with 122 points on 20 touchdowns and one two-point conversion. 

Other offensive threats include Christian Ramirez and Andre Wells.  Ramirez was the top scorer for his Salpointe High School team in Arizona with a total of 126 points on 21 rushing touchdowns.  He finished the season with 1,307 total yards averaging 108.9 yards per game.  Wells was a versatile player for his Villa Saint Angela Joseph, Cleveland, Ohio, team as he played quarterback, running back and defensive back in the 2008 season.  In one game, he accounted for 440 of his team’s total yards – running for 257 yards and throwing for 183 yards.

Four-year varsity strong safety, Cade Warren should make his defensive presence known during the game in Kawasaki.  Warren has helped the Bolles School football team in Jacksonville, Florida, to four district championship titles and two undefeated state championships with a career 200 tackles and 61 tackles his senior season. 

Along with Warren, highly recruited linebacker Travis Freeman should also play a big part for Team Stars & Stripes.  Freeman, who was ranked number three linebacker in the state of Ohio in the 2008 season, has committed to Ball State University and posted 97 tackles, six sacks, and two interceptions his senior year at Cleveland Grenville High School in Ohio.

The Japanese under-19 team that the US all stars will face in the 2009 Global Challenge Bowl will be led by Osaka Sangyo University Junior & Senior High School head coach Takao Yamazaki, who was appointed by the Japan American Football Association (JAFA) in February. 

Yamazaki and his coaching staff held a tryout on Sunday, February 22, at Nihon University. The players selected will attend a training camp at Ritsumeikan University from February 27 to March 4 before competing in the second annual Global Challenge Bowl.

While Team Stars & Stripes will focus on the value of being positive ambassadors of their country, the Japanese under-19 team will use the game as preparation for the 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship to be played in Canton, Ohio from June 27 to July 5.  Yamazaki will also lead Japan in the inaugural event, which will feature an eight team, four-continent field that includes Canada, USA, Mexico, Germany, Sweden, France and New Zealand.