Aztec Bowl In Mexico Pits ONEFA All Stars And Team All America

The 43rd Aztec Bowl between the ONEFA All Stars from Mexico and Team USA Eagles takes place Friday at Estadio Gaspar Mass Stadium in Monterrey, Mexico. The Aztec Bowl is an NCAA-sanctioned college post-season bowl game and has been played intermittently since 1950. A capacity crowd of more than 30,000 is expected to be on hand for this hugely popular game.

The “annual” event involves players from Mexico’s ONEFA –  Organización Nacional Estudiantil de Futbol Americano (National Student Organization of American Football) and the Team USA All American Eagles composed of all stars selected by 360 Sports and Events/All-American Bowl Executive Director Terry Sullivan who have been nominated by head coaches from colleges throughout the United States to participate in the 43rd Aztec Bowl.

The All-American Eagles will look to return to the win column after losing the 2015 contest 17-14 on a last minute field goal. They won previously in 2011, 28-14 in Chihuahua, Mexico, in 2012 49-26 in Monterrey, Mexico, and in 2013 a 30-15 win in Mexico City. 

The head coach for the All American Eagles is six year Augsburg College head coach and nine year professional head coach Frank Haege.  At Augsburg, Haege’s offense helped produce an  NCAA career record with receiver Scott Hvistendahl, who surpassed Jerry Rice for the NCAA career receiving record.

Haege was a professional coach in the Arena Football League with the New Jersey Gladiators  and head coached the Quad Cities Steamwheelers to a 13-0 season and 28 game win streak.  Haege will be assisted outstanding coaches from colleges around the USA and Mexico.

At quarterback for Team USA will be Reid Miller from Northwestern Oklahoma State University.  Miller is one of the NCAA Div. III top quarterbacks this season and through eight games he has thrown for 2,527 yards (7th) with 31 touchdowns (3rd) and rushed for another four touchdowns. Miller is ranked 16th in the country in total offense per game.

The ONEFA all stars will feature quarterback Francisco de Jesús Mata Charles, signal caller for the UNAL Auténticos Tigres, champions of the ONEFA league.

The ONEFA national team will be composed of 75 players  with a base of 25 players from the Tigres, including, in addition to Mata Charles, running back Marcelo González Solórzano (28), receivers Daniel Lozano Llanas (7) and Sergio Barbosa García (14), the five holders of one of the best offensive lines of the nation, and defensive elements of the renown of Adrián Martínez Armendáriz (2), Alcides Benítez Tamez (22), Uriel Martínez Zapata (96) and Pedro Guerrero Ocañas (99).

Read the Aztec Bowl History .

The All-American Eagles’s roster of 52 players, contains at least 10 players of Latin descent,.

Check out the huge crowd from the 2015 Aztec Bowl