Braxton Pierce passed for over 1,000 yards and ran for over 500 yards during his senior season as the quarterback of the Malibu High football team.
The signal caller hopes to churn up some additional yardage and a big win when he travels more than 6,000 miles next week to throw passes as a member of the American Football Worldwide USA ELITE team.
Pierce, 18, is one of 29 high school football players from across the U.S. who will be wearing the star-spangled colors of Uncle Sam as they take on the Italian Federation of American Football national 19U team in an April 22 football game in Milan, Italy.
The 12th grader said he is honored to line up under center for a gridiron group representing America.
“I’m one of the two quarterbacks on this high school Team USA that gets to go play in a country that wants to start playing football,” Pierce said. “It’s so cool.”
Pierce is one of four Californians on a roster composed of players from 14 states. The squad was put together from recommendations and nominations made directly from high school coaches and from the Next College Student Athlete recruiting service.
American Football Worldwide USA ELITE team organizer and head coach Jim Barnes said Piece is a good football player. The former college football coach said he saw game footage of Malibu’s quarterback and was impressed.
“I liked a lot of things,” said Barnes. “His footwork, ability to throw a lot of different balls with great skill. We are really excited about him.”
Pierce, a quarterback for several years, said he is looking forward to taking snaps and calling plays in the Italian capitol. He has extra motivation to do well in the game because his dad, David, who will be at the game, will be turning a year older that day.
“Scoring a touchdown or doing really well in a game in another country could be a birthday gift of a lifetime for him,” Pierce said. “That would be awesome, saying to people, ‘Yea, I scored a touchdown in Italy.’”
The graduating Shark added that being an ambassador for American football in the European football (or calico) hotbed that is Italy — soccer is the country’s most popular sport — is an intriguing experience.
“Coming from a guy who loves football, to me football is the best sport,” Pierce said. He is set to play football at Colorado State University-Pueblo next season. “I have always expected football to grow. I think it is really cool that football is getting bigger in other countries.”
The American team and their families will fly to Rome on April 15 from various cities in the U.S. Once they arrive in Italy, the group will practice each morning and spend the rest of their days before the game touring. The squad will visit the Colosseum and Forum in Rome and St. Peter’s Basilica and museums in Vatican City. The ELITE team will visit Tuscany, Siena and Florence as well.
The tour concludes with a stay at the tip of famous Lake Como north of Milan.
Their first day there they will scrimmage the Italian team.
“I’m super excited about meeting my teammates and making some new friends,” Pierce said, “especially the Italian team; talking to them is going to be really cool.”
Along with his dad, Pierce’s mother, Ilysia, and sister, Madison, are joining him on the international football trip.
The ELITE team has been in constant contact with each other since the roster was set. The team recently received their playbooks. Last Sunday, Pierce met JSerra Catholic High wide receiver Michael Richardson, also Italy-bound, in Irvine for a workout.
“We went over the playbook,” Pierce said. “We worked on some routes. I got to know his speed and he got to know my arm strength.”
Barnes said putting together an effective and well-coordinated game plan in less than a week will be a formidable challenge.
“However, from the research we have done, conversations we have had and video we have viewed, we are excited about the potential for this team,” he said. “It is clear the young men are committed and I believe their focus to excel will be there.”
Pierce, a football player since age six, said he had never envisioned himself playing football on an international gridiron.
“As soon as I heard about this Italy trip, I jumped on it so fast,” he said. “I never really gave playing football overseas a thought, but as soon as I heard about it I thought, ‘Wow this will be awesome.’”
Malibu’s quarterback said one thing he wants to impart on the Italy players is football is a team sport.
“You can’t play football by yourself,” Pierce said. “You have to be loyal to your teammates. You have to work together to win.”
The USA team’s jerseys will have a mix of the patriotic red, white and blue, but each player will wear his high school helmet during the game. So, of course, Malibu High’s teal-colored Shark amid a black surrounding will protect Pierce’s head.
“It’s going to be awesome representing the Sharks in a different country,” said Pierce.
