Canada 45, France 10 at the 2011 Senior World Championship

Since they have yet to be featured here, let's give a little love to our first-ever (and so far, only) senior team from 2011.

The recap below is lifted from the Football Canada website and it describes the first game of the tournament (and therefore the first game played by the senior team).  Lame of me, I know, since anyone looking for information about the club would logically find their way there first, but it was the only one that I found and I want to have quick access to it.  So here we go:

...France shocked Canada by taking a 10-7 lead as the Canadians suffered first night nerves on their world stage debut, but a second quarter comeback put the newcomers in the driving seat at the interval and they added insurance points after the break.  Three Canadian quarterbacks - Mike Faulds, Josh Sacobie and Donnie Marshall - threw touchdown passes, with Faulds taking the team MVP award.

Faulds provided Canada with the perfect start with a 57-yard touchdown run on play that fooled everyone, but France were soon level at 7-7 when receiver Anthony Dable snared a 27-yard catch from Maxime Sprauel.

Canada punted away their next possession and then France used the running game to move the ball to midfield.  A 15-yard penalty took the ball to the Canada red zone at the end of the first quarter and a 37-yard Bruno Nekili field goal edged France in front 10-7 with 11.41 to play in the half.

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France had secured six first downs to Canada's three and had twice as many passing yards, but Matt Walters put Canada back in front at 14-10 with a 10-yard rushing touchdown.  Receiver Shamawd Chambers had looked on his way to the end zone on an earlier play on a big pass from Faulds, but stepped out of bounds at the 10.

France again went three and out and their frustration was compounded when Canada put seven more points on the board when France could have limited them to three.  Running back David Stevens rushed to the French 30, Faulds in shotgun hit Scott Valberg for a first down and with his confidence growing passed underneath on a key third down to Chambers for another first down.

That play might have been a fourth down field goal, but for France enforcing a penalty that could have been declined.  With a new set of downs and on first and goal, Faulds targeted Michel-Pirre Pontbriand for a nine-yard touchdown with 3.20 remaining.

Sprauel was again unable to find receivers as France struggled to reply and Canada were quick to respond.  Valberg caught a tipped pass at the France 40, a personal foul moved the ball ever closer to paydirt and then Lirim Hajrullahu nailed a 36-yard field goal with six seconds remaining for a 14-point halftime advantage.

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Faulds added six more points on a quarterback sneak from the one-yard mark and the kick after pushed Canada 31-10 ahead in the third quarter.

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With Josh Sacobie in at quarterback, Jedd Gardiner was brought down within reaching distance of the end zone then on first and goal Sacobie fired a quick pass to Walters for his second touchdown of the game.

Leading 38-10 Donnie Marshall came in under center as the third quarterback used by Canada and went to work in French territory following an impressive punt return by Troy Adams.

Marshall might have been prepared to hand off and run down the clock with the two-minute warning approaching, but having been plowed into the advertising hoardings on a late hit, he went to the air.  Marshall hit Chambers for a deserved six points and a 45-10 final score.

Canada went on to defeat the host Austria team, then won a very entertaining contest against an on-the-rise Japanese club, but were skunked 50-7 against the Americans.  More on all that later.