USA Football battles the world and the heat in 2012 World Championships

The summer heat and humidity in Austin, Texas can be unbearable and downright cranky-making. It often leads to pushing and shoving and sometimes worse during football practice time.

The U.S. Under-19 national team is surely getting a little feisty heading into Saturday’s 8 p.m. (local time) first-round game with American Samoa. The two squads face off as part of the eight-team, 12-game 2012 IFAF World Championships at Burger Stadium in Austin.

“It’s the heat and the guys are getting a little tired,” said Notre Dame commit Hunter Bivin, a 6-foot-7, 288-pound offensive tackle from Apollo (Owensboro, Ky.). “When someone gets a little gassed, one small thing can set somebody off. It’s football. It happens everywhere.”

The good news for Bivin, the U.S. team and locals everywhere is that cooler temperatures are coming. Of course, “cooler” is a relative term.

It was 104 degrees in Austin on Wednesday, with predicted highs of 101 (Thursday), 98 (Friday) and a downright “comfortable” 92 on Saturday. Scattered thunderstorms are expected Sunday and highs won’t even reach 90, supposedly.

That’s welcome to all those except kickers like Cameron Van Winkle, a University of Washington commit who will be a senior at Mount Si (Snoqualmie, Wash.) in the fall. He’s been booming punts with average hang-times surpassing 4 seconds. Van Winkle doesn’t experience sweltering conditions like this in the Great Northwest.

“The heat helps – it helps a lot,” he said. “It keeps me warmer, and when the ball’s up there, it floats longer.”

Bivin and Van Winkle are two of 45 standouts on the U.S. squad that is led by St. Xavier (Cincinnati) head coach Steve Specht. He is one of the most respected coaches in Ohio and now the country, having led the Bombers to a 77-19 record with two state titles since taking over at his alma mater in 2003.

His team is clearly the favorite in this global affair that is conducted by the International Federation of American Football. The IFAF is composed of 62 nations spanning six continents that possess a national federation dedicated solely to American football.

The U.S. team is comprised of prep players who represent 20 different states. Besides American Samoa, other nations represented are Austria, Canada, France, Japan, Panama and Sweden.

The U.S. won the inaugural World Championships in 2009 in Canton, Ohio, and is once again the favorite. Each team will play three games, with the title and third-place games taking place July 7.

All games will be stream live on USA Football’s YouTube channel and archived for future viewing at www.YouTube.com/usafootballeducation.

Having a week to prepare for three games in a week is no easy chore, but Specht is making the most of it and his talented but thin roster. Keeping bodies fresh and healthy will be key.

“We’re at the point where we’re identifying personnel for certain plays,” he said. “We’re not ready to play a game yet, but we will be.” Here’s a schedule of games (all times CT):

Saturday, June 30
No. 4 Panama vs. No. 5 Austria, 9 a.m.
No. 3 Japan vs. No. 6 France, 11:30 a.m.
No. 2 Canada vs. No. 7 Sweden, 5 p.m.
No. 1 United States vs. No. 8 American Samoa

Tuesday, July 3
Japan-France loser vs. Canada-Sweden loser, 5 p.m.
Panama-Austria loser vs. USA/AMS loser, 8 p.m.

Wednesday, July 4
Japan-France winner vs. Canada-Sweden winner, 5 p.m.
Panama-Austria winner vs. USA/AMS winner, 8 p.m.

Friday, July 6
Seventh-place game, 5 p.m.
Fifth-place game, 8 p.m.

Saturday, July 7
Bronze medal game, 5 p.m.
Gold medal game, 8 p.m.


USA ROSTER

Darrius Sims
Whitehaven (Memphis, Tenn.)
Height/Weight: 5-10, 170
Position: DB
College: Vanderbilt

Jesus Wilson
Columbus (Miami)
Height/Weight: 5-10, 170
Position: WR
College: Florida State

Cameron Walker
Loyola (Los Angeles)
Height/Weight: 5-10, 180
Position: DB
College: Uncommitted

Tyler Willis
Indianapolis Cathedral
Height/Weight: 5-11, 190
Position: DB
College: N/A

Rashad Kinlaw
Absegami (Galloway, N.J.)
Height/Weight: 6-2, 180
Position: WR
College: Notre Dame

Dajuan Drennon
Timber Creek Regional (Erial, N.J.)
Height/Weight: 6-3, 230
Position: DE
College: Uncommitted

Rodney Adams
Lakewood (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Height/Weight: 6-1, 170
Position: WR
College: Florida

Desmond Wyatt
Round Rock Westwood (Austin, Texas)
Height/Weight: 5-11, 170
Position: WR
College: N/A

Dashon Hunt
Westlake (Westlake Village, Calif.)
Height/Weight: 5-10, 175
Position: DB
College: Uncommitted

Tarean Folston
Cocoa (Fla.)
Height/Weight: 5-9, 185
Position: RB
College: Uncommitted

Brayden Scott
Sequoyah (Tahlequah, Okla.)
Height/Weight: 6-3, 200
Position: QB
College: Memphis

Tavares Garner
Manvel (Texas)
Height/Weight: 5-11, 165
Position: CB
College: Texas A&M

Reggie Chevis
Sharpstown (Houston)
Height/Weight: 6-2, 238
Position: LB
College: Texas A&M

Trent Hosick
Staley (Kansas City, Mo.)
Height/Weight: 6-2, 223
Position: QB
College: Missouri

Demarcus Ayers
Lancaster (Texas)
Height/Weight: 5-10, 165
Position: WR
College: Washington St.

Malique Belfort
Tottenville (Staten Island, N.Y.)
Height/Weight: 6-4, 175
Position: WR
College: Uncommitted

Isaac McDonald
Champagnat Catholic (Hialeah, Fla.)
Height/Weight: 6-5, 300
Position: LB
College: Uncommitted

Sammy Douglas
Arlington (Texas)
Height/Weight: 6-2, 180
Position: LB
College: TCU

Lorenzo Woodley
Columbus (Miami)
Height/Weight: 6-0, 300
Position: RB
College: Uncommitted

Kight Dallas
Arabia Mountain (Lithonia, Ga.)
Height/Weight: 6-2, 220
Position: DE/LB
College: South Carolina

Chase Abbington
Fort Zumwalt South (St. Peters, Mo.)
Height/Weight: 6-4, 300
Position: LB
College: Missouri

Darius Mosely
O'Fallon (Ill.)
Height/Weight: 5-11, 175
Position: DB
College: Illinois

Conor Hundley
St. Xavier (Cincinnati)
Height/Weight: 5-9, 185
Position: RB
College: Akron

Khari Harding
Edmond Santa Fe (Okla.)
Height/Weight: 6-1, 205
Position: LB
College: Arkansas

Malik Rucker
Robbinsdale Cooper (New Hope, Minn.)
Height/Weight: 6-0, 175
Position: DB
College: Iowa

Eric Beisel
Rockwood Summit (Fenton, Mo.)
Height/Weight: 6-4, 235
Position: LB
College: Uncommitted

Cameron Van Winkle
Mount Si (Snoqualmie, Wash.)
Height/Weight: 5-11, 165
Position: K/P
College: Washington

Reggie Spearman
Simeon (Chicago)
Height/Weight: 6-2, 300
Position: LB
College: Uncommitted

Daeshon Hall
Lancaster (Texas)
Height/Weight: 6-6, 235
Position: DE
College: Texas

Justin Bridges-Thompson
Spartanburg (S.C.)
Height/Weight: 6-2, 200
Position: LB
College: Uncommitted

Lance Duran
Westlake (Austin, Texas)
Height/Weight: 6-0, 215
Position: LB
College: Blinn College

Dakota Jackson
Northside (Roanoke, Va.)
Height/Weight: 6-3, 250
Position: TE
College: Virginia Tech

Cory Jasudowich
Cheshire Academy (Conn.)
Height/Weight: 6-2, 235
Position: LB
College: Boston College

Bobby Billingsley
Memphis East (Tenn.)
Height/Weight: 6-2, 273
Position: OL
College: Uncommitted

Alec Abeln
St. Louis University
Height/Weight: 6-4, 275
Position: OL
College: Missouri

Phillip Clay
Plainfield (Ind.)
Height/Weight: 6-3, 275
Position: OL
College: Uncommitted

Hunter Bivin
Apollo (Owensboro, Ky.)
Height/Weight: 6-7, 288
Position: OL
College: Notre Dame

Logan Tuley-Tillman
Manual (Peoria, Ill.)
Height/Weight: 6-7, 321
Position: OL
College: Michigan

Tyler Colbert
Southwest (Fort Worth, Texas)
Height/Weight: 6-2, 315
Position: DT
College: Uncommitted

Ethan Pocic
Lemont (Ill.)
Height/Weight: 6-7, 285
Position: OL
College: LSU

Logan Stott
Pine View (St. George, Utah)
Height/Weight: 6-3, 300
Position: OL
College: Arizona

Ziad Damanhoury
La Jolla Country Day (Calif.)
Height/Weight: 6-7, 290
Position: DT
College: Uncommitted

Durham Smythe
Belton (Texas)
Height/Weight: 6-6, 230
Position: TE
College: Texas

Jacob Hyde
Clay County (Manchester, Ky.)
Height/Weight: 6-2, 338
Position: DT
College: Kentucky

Herbert Moore
Memphis East (Tenn.)
Height/Weight: 6-1, 335
Position: DT
College: Ole Mis

Correspondent Chris Brown contributed to this report. E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com or follow him on Twitter @MitchMashMax.