A pair of defensive backs who will enroll at Yale in a couple of months will be in action this weekend.

Ryan Falbo of Moon Area (Pa.) High will play for Pennsylvania in the 30th annual Penn-Ohio Stateline Classic at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pa. at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

Meanwhile, on Saturday at 8 p.m., Kurt Stottlemyer of Bothell, Wash. and the U.S. team will kickoff play with a game against France in the Junior World Championships. Live stats are available for all the games for the eight teams in the inaugural event.

Received an e-mail from Yale SID Steve Conn with some terrible news. Dave Poole, a local Yale fan who was a press box attendant for many years at the Yale Bowl and could be found pretty much wherever Yale had an athletic event. I will remember Dave for two things - one of the firmest handshakes I have encountered and a perennially sunny personality.

Here is the e-mail Steve sent out.

I regret having to inform you that our friend, Dave Poole, died Sunday of heart failure at his apartment on Whalley Avenue. He had not been ill nor had he experienced any heart problems, other than intensely following the fortunes of his favorite Yale teams. Dave was a volunteer press box attendant at Yale Bowl, a season ticket holder at Ingalls Rink and a “vocal” Bulldog baseball fan. His devotion to Yale teams included putting “the whammy” on opponents, watching every possible game (on TV or in person) and wearing every article of Yale clothing he owned at one time. Dave, who had worked at McDonalds for about 30 years, regularly called the sports publicity office to let us know about things he noticed out at the Yale fields or was concerned about. His voice mail messages put smiles on our faces to say the least. We will miss those calls almost as much as we will miss his presence (constant smiling face) at home events.

Time will tell what impact Gabriel Fernandez will have on the Yale offensive line but figured I would pass on the fact that one of the worst-kept secrets out there is finally a done deal.

I heard from his father last night that he is going to enroll at Yale and look to follow in the footsteps of his older brother Frank, a first-team All-Ivy selection for Harvard back in 2006.

I know this much, offensive line was anything but a strength for Yale last season and with five players who started games on the OL graduating, getting somebody like the 6-foot, 273-pound Fernandez can only help rebuild an offensive line that is in need of a makeover.

Practice for USA Football's national team began today in Canton, Ohio in preparation for the first International Federation of American Football.

Yale incoming freshman Kurt Stottlemyer, a defensive back from Bothell, Wash., is one of 45 players who will suit up for the U.S. squad.

IFAF Junior World Championship games will be played on June 27, July 1, July 4 and July 5 (Gold Medal Game) at Fawcett Stadium in Canton.