Ten Years Ago, David Wilson Led Team USA to Glory

By: eHOKIEt on June 27, 2019, 10:57 AM | 11 comments

For those of you who love Virginia Tech Football and AMERICA, the summer of 2009 was a wonderful time to be alive. For that was the summer that the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) held their inaugural Junior World Championship (JWC) in Canton, OH. The idea was to bring together the world's eight best high school-aged (19 and under) national teams to determine the first Under-19 World Champion of American football. The United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Germany, Sweden, France and New Zealand competed for eight days at Fawcett Stadium, home of the NFL's annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.

Two Hokies suited up for Team USA that summer: Tariq Edwards and David Wilson. Edwards was a 6-3, 215-pound linebacker from Marlboro High School in South Carolina. Wilson, a 5-11, 192-pound running back from George Washington High School in Danville, quickly established himself as the star of the team. Before he ever tasted Chick Fil-A on Sundays, our favorite rabbit-catching, Cassell Coliseum-climbing tailback was named a team captain for the red, white and blue. He also had the honor of carrying the American Flag during the tournament's opening ceremony on June 27, 2009.

QUARTERFINAL: USA VS. FRANCE (JUNE 27, 2009)

Since there were only eight teams in the tournament, the IFAF said "to hell with the preliminary rounds" and skipped straight to the Quarterfinals. Oddly enough, the United States was the #2 seed in the tournament behind Canada...but more on that later. Team USA's first opponent was ~~LOLUVA~~ France. If you're thinking "Hey, I didn't know France had an American Football Team"...THEY DON'T! The game was actually pretty close until it started.

David Wilson took the opening handoff and raced 60 yards to the HOUSE!

He added three more touchdown runs as the USA won 78-0!

Wilson finished the game with 12 carries for 181 yards (15.1 YPC) and 4 touchdowns.

To the surprise of no one, David Wilson was named the game's MVP.

Tariq Edwards (#24) also had a great game against France.

Edwards was second on the team with six tackles, including a sack for a loss of 12 yards. He helped lead a defense that allowed just seven yards of total offense.

SEMI-FINAL: USA VS. MEXICO (JULY 1, 2009)

In the Semi-Final against Mexico, David Wilson continued to look like he was playing NCAA Football 2009 on Rookie Level. On the first play from scrimmage, Wilson took a simple handoff and ran 50 yards for a touchdown.

He soon added a 36-yard TD run. He wasn't done, though. On third-and-1 early in the second quarter, he took a handoff, broke two tackles near the line, bowled over a third Mexican defender then outran everyone else for a 25-yard TD. In his first four carries, Wilson had 111 yards and three TDs! Aye caramba!

Quarterback Bryce Petty couldn't believe what he was seeing. "I come off the field going, 'I can't explain it,'" said the future Baylor QB. "I've never seen anybody like him before in my life and I've been around football for a while. It's freakish."

Team USA would go on to win 55-0.

David Wilson was once again named MVP of the game after rushing for 146 yards on 11 carries (13.3 YPC) with 3 touchdowns.

After the game, David Wilson spoke about how special this opportunity was for him. His older brother Ronald was serving in the US Navy at that time, and he opened up about it after the game:

"Being able to represent my country, I'm a very patriotic person," Wilson said following the win over Mexico. "I would've followed my brother in the Navy if I hadn't been as successful in football.

"Being able to play the game you love for your country is a big deal. Instead of competing inside your country, you're competing for your country. I couldn't let the opportunity pass."

GOLD MEDAL GAME: USA VS. CANADA (JULY 5, 2009)

Team USA faced off against their neighbors to the north in the Gold Medal Game. Canada was the #1 overall seed, making them the "home" team for the final game. That meant that Team USA would have to dress in the visitor's locker room. This did not sit well with David Wilson, and he delivered a pre-game speech worthy of a Hollywood film.

"They can take our locker room, but they will never take our FREEDOM!" – David Wilson (probably)

David Wilson had a 33-yard TD run late in the first quarter that gave him eight touchdowns in the tournament, tops among all players. He finished the day with 87 yards on 10 carries (8.7 YPC) and one touchdown, to go along with 29 receiving yards.

Bryce Petty threw three touchdown passes without throwing an incompletion as the US easily won the gold medal against Canada 41-3.

Tariq Edwards had two tackles against Canada, including an 18-yard sack. After the game, he had that gold medal feeling.

"Football is America's sport," said Wilson after the victory over Canada. "We just wanted to set a standard for the players that come up behind us. This was just wonderful. We did exactly what we expected to do."

David Wilson finished the tournament with 414 yards on 33 carries (12.5 YPC) and 8 touchdowns. That's an average of 11 carries for 138 yards and 2.7 TDs per game. It was only fitting that Wilson was named MVP of the 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship.

Team USA outscored its opponents 174-3 in three games at the 2009 JWC. Based on their success, most people assumed that the US would continue to dominate all future tournaments; but those future teams didn't have David Wilson. In the 2012 tournament, Canada upset top-seeded USA in the Gold Medal Game 23-17. The Americans reclaimed the gold medal at the 2014 tournament, but Canada won the next two world championships in 2016 and 2018. It seems clear to me that Team USA needs to add more Hokies to their future rosters.

The summer of 2009 was an exciting time for Tech football fans. The Hokies were coming off an ACC Championship season that ended with a surprising victory over Cincinnati in the Orange Bowl. We were bringing back QB Tyrod Taylor, the MVP of the 2008 ACC Championship Game, along with his top two WR targets: Jarrett Boykin and Danny Coale. Despite a season-ending injury to tailback Darren Evans (the MVP of the Orange Bowl), everyone was ecstatic about the potential of redshirt freshman Ryan Williams, who was already turning heads in the preseason. Our defense was stacked with studs like Jason Worilds, Cody Grimm and Kam Chancellor. On top of that, we were bringing in a tailback by the name of David Wilson who had just completely destroyed the rest of the world. I wish I could bottle up my Summer 2009 excitement and inject it into my veins.