It was very competitive,” Matthew said. “From a talent standpoint, it was balanced. Some of the guys had played six-man or eight-man football in high school, but playing with 11 didn’t faze them much at all.”

Each team played two games. There were two days of practice, followed by the opening game, a day of rest, another day of practice and the final game.

The Brumbees reached the championship game by defeating the Kiwis (the team from New Zealand), 19-0. In the final game, the Dingoes prevailed 17-16. The games were played at the Runaway Bay Sports Centre.

In addition to playing football, Matthew also had an opportunity to enjoy some things Australia has to offer.

Especially the seafood.

“I love seafood and I ate as much of it as I could,” he admitted. “I had cod, shrimp, salmon and it was all good.”

Matthew also went sight-seeing, which included a – yet another – plane trip to the Great Barrier Reef.

“It took us about a half hour to get there and it was unbelievable,” he explained. “We all put on wet suits and went snorkeling.”

Matthew said he saw zebra fish, clown fish, coral of all colors and even a bright pink squid, which he said was “very cool.”

“We were told it was manta ray season, but unfortunately, we didn’t see any of those,” he added. “Some of the guys said they could hear whales, but I couldn’t hear them. We enjoyed that trip a lot. You just don’t see anything like that around here.”

And what about kangaroos?

“Oh yeah. We saw a lot of those,” he said with a big smile.

Matthew also said he would “absolutely recommend” this trip.

“It was awesome. I loved every minute of it,” he emphasized. “I made new friends, saw some great sites and it felt good to be playing football again. I hadn’t played since our last game in November. It will get me ready for the fall season.”

After being a mainstay on Effingham’s offensive line for two seasons and helping the Hearts go 18-5 overall and make the playoffs both years, Matthew will now attend Greenville University and be part of the Panthers football team.

Practice at the NCAA Division III school began August 15. The first game, of a 10-game schedule, is set for Sept. 7 at home against Wartburg.

Greenville will play three games at schools in Minnesota this season. He was relieved that no flights would be involved. The Panthers travel by charter bus.

“I’m a lineman,” Matthew said. “I will always prefer being on the ground.”