Team USA Football played in the game of it's early life in Graz before a crowd of nearly 2,000 loud and enthused fans. In the end, it was the experience of the Giants that prevailed providing a 21 - 17 win. Team USA pressed wide receiver Bobby Poeltl into the position of QB for this game as the Team's QB's Justin McKenzie and Courtney Daily failed to make the trip. He stepped into the role and played inspired and courageously for the team despite never having played the position in college or at this level. USA lead, statiscially, in nearly every category with nearly 200 yards combined rushing behind veterans Alan DeSerres, Michael Banks and newcomer Martin Johnson. The offensive line opened gapping holes in the Giants defensive front. The passing game was exciting, fast and very unexpected for the Giants. In the end, it was several missed opportunities to score that lead to the result. The half ended with a spectacular 52-yard field goal by Nick Reggio from the right hashmark. The goal posts at Asko Stadium in Graz are set back nearly two full yards, so the actual distance was nearly 54 yards. The field goal resulted in a half-time score of 14 - 9 in favor of Graz. The USA Offense took the first possession of the second half and drove methodically to the Graz red zone. A penalty backed the team up and Reggio missed a 42 yarder when the ball hit the upright and bounced out. The Graz offense took over and, under the direction of American Quarterback Les Cortemanche (College of the Siskous) move the ball into scoring position with great runs by Harold Egger and Martin Grasseger. The drive resulted in a beautiful touchdown pass in the endzone from Cortemanche to Egger and the Giants lead extended to 21 - 9. That would be all the scoring by Graaz Giants for the game. Team USA came back with well placed passes by Poeltl to WR's James Martin and Don Stradling. Tight End Rob Licopolli had two catches on the drive and was capped by a run by Michael Banks into the endzone making the game 21 - 15. Head Coach, Rudy Wyland, elected to go for two and Poeltl found Licopoli in the end zone on a perfectly timed pass for the score giving the final score of 21 - 17. Next up for Team USA Football is a 2 game event in the first ever TRI-Nations Tournament to be held in Birmingham England. The participants in the tournament, by invitation, are Team USA Football, the Great Britain Bulldogs and Team Canada from Northern Ontario.