McDaniels leads U.S. football team to victory

Matt McDaniels prior to Bowl of the Stars game in Baja, Mexico.

Courtesy: United States Merchant Marine Academy

USMMA senior Matt McDaniels visited with a local orphanage prior to his participation in the Bowl of the Stars football game in Baja, Mexico on Dec. 20.

Courtesy: United States Merchant Marine Academy

Team Stars and Stripes quarterback Brady Huber catches McDaniels’s pass in the end zone, winning the game for the team.

Courtesy: Jim McDaniels

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Malverne resident Matt McDaniels, 21, a quarterback for the United States Merchant Marine Academy’s football team, has had quite an exciting holiday season.

McDaniels was recently selected to play in the Tazón de Estrellas — Bowl of the Stars — in Baja, Mexico, representing United States’ Team Stars & Stripes – a 41-man roster of seniors from 27 Division III institutions. McDaniels was also chosen as team captain.

This past Sunday, McDaniels and his squad squared-off against the Mexican Collegiate All-Stars, a team made up of the best football players among Mexico’s private universities.

The game was a nail-biter for the American team, which was trailing 14-0 going into the fourth quarter, and a win looked improbable. It ended quite differently, however.

During a trick play, McDaniels, whose previous pass had fallen incomplete, swept right and threw the ball back across to his wide-open quarterback, Brady Huber, who was ready in the end zone. The winning points of the game were scored.

What made the victory even sweeter? It was a play the two men had perfected earlier in the week during their first day of practice in Mexico. Team Stars & Stripes defeated the Mexican Collegiate All-Stars 15-14.

In addition to the game, McDaniels also had the opportunity to meet with local Mexicans during the week he spent there, and learned more about the culture, his father, Jim McDaniels said. “They met with 40 children from one of the local orphanages – that’s a big problem down there because the parents cross the border to come to the U.S. and leave the kids behind,” said McDaniels. Another day, they went to Mexicali, where they met with some impoverished youngsters, played with them, and taught them football. ”That’s the whole thing about global football —they want to make it a cultural experience. They want to get these kids from the U.S. to learn about the culture and what’s going on down in Mexico.”

Matt McDaniels is a senior majoring in Logistics and Intermodal Transportation at USMMA. Congratulations, Matt!