Michael Marlow, 16, is a former Claiborne County native who misses playing high school football in his hometown. His story is somewhat unique. Marlow attended Soldiers Memorial Middle School for four years and attended Claiborne High for a year and a half before moving to Tanah Merah, Queensland, Australia to live with his mother.

He now attends Springwood High where he plays rugby, a game similar to football (American football was actually derived from the sport). While he enjoys rugby, it is very different from the pad-popping action of American football.

"My plan was to play either rugby or Australian rules football which would both keep up my athleticism," he said.

While it is a fast paced game, the only passes allowed in rugby are backward passes. Players cannot even fumble the ball forward in rugby.

Marlow also considered Australian rules football, but that sport is closer akin to soccer than American football. In fact, the only way to score under Aussie rules is by kicking.

"It is really mainly a Melbourne game. It is almost all kicking," he said.

Marlow said he had pretty much given up hope of playing college football until he discovered there are leagues for American football "clubs." High school sports, he added, are a far cry different from the Friday night football action in America.

"School sports here are so incredibly different. School sports are often played during school. You dont get the crowd watching you, instead you get very few of your friends," Marlow said.

While searching the Internet for information about baseball in Australia, he found that there are leagues for American football there.

"I instantly called every number listed on the site. Come to find out there is a little league and surprisingly there is an organisation called Gridiron Queensland (GQ) and its southern states branch Gridiron New South Whales (NSW). Each year we have the Sun Bowl for GQ and at about the same time NSW has theirs. Then we travel to where ever the national title is to be determined(for juniors it is only every second year). They then select state teams and the Australian team," he explained.

This season, his team had four players nominated for the Australian

Team.

"They flew to Germany and came away with a loss but a great experience," Marlow said.

The son of Scott Marlow, the younger Marlow has lived in Australia since November 2004.

"In that little time I've met some of the most passionate football players i've ever seen," he said.

The American game in Australia isn't big enough for even the most talented players to get noticed by college scouts in the U.S. In an effort to help a former Claiborne Bulldog get such attention, the Progress will list standings , stats, and any other information Micheal can provide to bring attention to the those that love the gridiron "down under."