Feature photo: Mario Castillo/TERRA
A 48 yard field goal by Alan Paoli (48) late in the fourth quarter and a great performance by the defensive front led by Maximo Gonzalez, helped the Mexican college national team defeat Team USA All American Eagles 17-14 in the Aztec Bowl XLII.
A crowd of 20,000 looked on in delight at at the Olympic stadium Universiario in Mexico City as Team Mexico came from behind for the win. The All American Eagles scored early as wide receiver Gage Corner took off on a reverse and raced 66 yards to the end zone on the first play from scrimmage.
With Team Mexico unable to move the ball effectively on five straight offensive series the coaching staff replaced starting quarterback Jose Miguel Chavez with back up David Orozco (3) and saw an immediate change.
Orozco made a nifty move on a draw play finding the end zone to tie the game at 7-7. Then, early in the third quarter Orozco found Marcelo Gonzalez in the end zone to give the Mexicans the lead 14-7
Quarterback David Orozco. Photo: Mario Castillo / rights reserved / TERRA
All American Eagles quarterback Ayrton Scott, whose team had been struggling for much of the game after the opening drive, finally escaped pressure in the third quarter and hit wide receiver Michael Vanucci from eight yards out to even the score at 14-14.
However, with less than seven minutes remaining, the Mexican team drove to the Eagles 31 yard line and Paoli made no mistake from 48 yards out making it score 17-14.
The All American Eagles had two more chances to tie the game but Mexico’s defense did a great job and stopped the Eagles offense outside of field goal range.
Team Mexico quarterback David Orozco was named Game MVP.
About the Aztec Bowl
The Aztec Bowl is an NCAA-sanctioned college post-season bowl game and has been played intermittently since 1950 between the top college players in Mexico and the top Division II and III players from the United States.
Team USA All-American Eagles were selected by 360 Sports and Events/All-American Bowl Executive Director Terry Sullivan based on nominations by head coaches from colleges throughout the United States to participate in the 42nd Aztec Bowl.
The All-American Eagles lost this game for the first time since 2009 and in fact have only lost three times since 1997. After 2009 they won in 2011, 28-14 in Chihuahua, Mexico, in 2012 49-26 in Monterrey, Mexico, in 2013 in a 30-15 win in Mexico City and in 2014 24-21 also in Chihuahua.