Akarika Dawn

Akarika Dawn (born January 10, 1984) is an American athlete and coach who has played both American football and rugby league. He currently plays for the Jacksonville Axemen of the USA Rugby League (USARL). His position is second-row.

Akarika Dawn
Personal information
Born (1984-01-10) 10 January 1984
Houston, Texas, United States
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight235 lb (107 kg)
Playing information
Positionsecond-row, centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2007– Jacksonville Axemen
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013 United States 1 0 0 0 0
2016 Canada 1 0 0 0 0
As of 12 January 2021

Dawn played college football for the University of Colorado Buffaloes as a linebacker. He later had a brief stint with the Austin Wranglers of the Arena Football League (AFL) and then tried his hand at rugby league, playing for the Jacksonville Axemen in Jacksonville, Florida and then the Burleigh Bears in Australia. Since 2010 he has played for Jacksonville and has played for both the United States & Canada.

Early life and college career

Dawn was born in Houston, Texas. He attended Kempner High School in nearby Sugar Land, Texas, where he played high school football. In 2002, he enrolled at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he committed to play for the Colorado Buffaloes football team. He played inside linebacker for the Buffaloes from 2002–2005. In his senior year he appeared in all twelve games, including two starts; he finished his career with 180 tackles (120 solo), 73rd in school history. He graduated in 2006 with a major in Black Studies and Ethnic Studies.[1]

Rugby League

International

He has won 2 international caps, one each for USA & Canada, respectively.

His US début was on 6 Jul 2013 playing at centre in a Colonial Cup game which USA lost 36-20 to Canada[2]
Ironically, 3 years later on 24 Sep 2016 his début for Canada was v United States in the 2016 Americas Championship in which Canada lost 8-14; Akarika played at second-row[3]

Later career

After college Dawn was signed by the Austin Wranglers of the Arena Football League (AFL) in the 2007 season. He served as a linebacker/fullback and made three tackles during his brief AFL career.[4] He was waived in February 2007.[5]

Later that year, at the suggestion of his agent, Nick Attewell, Dawn decided to try his hand at rugby league football, despite having never played the sport before. He committed to trial in Australia in July 2007, and familiarized himself with the game by signing with the Jacksonville Axemen of the American National Rugby League (AMNRL), the United States' premier competition, for the early part of their season. He played three weeks in Jacksonville and quickly became a standout, impressing coach Spinner Howland.[6] In July, he trialed with professional clubs in Australia's National Rugby League, becoming the second Axemen player to do so after Apple Pope. He was ultimately signed by the Burleigh Bears to play in the Queensland Cup.[7]

After his stint in Australia, Dawn returned to the United States, where he coached high school football in his hometown of Houston. In 2010, he returned to rugby league, signing on again with the Jacksonville Axemen, and soon became one of the team's most popular players.[8][9] That year, he was named in the United States national rugby league team, playing in the 2010 Rugby League Atlantic Cup in Jacksonville.[10] Dawn continued with the Axemen in the 2011 season.

Dawn was employed as a teacher and Linebackers coach at Clear Brook High School in Friendswood, Texas, until early 2014. His current position is unknown.

References
  1. "#12 Akarika Dawn". cubuffs.com. University of Colorado Buffaloes. 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
  2. "Canada 36 USA 20". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 12 Jan 2021.
  3. "Canada 8 USA 14". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 12 Jan 2021.
  4. "Akarika Dawn". arenafan.com. Arena Fan. 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
  5. "Wranglers are back in the saddle after bye week". austin.ynn.com. YNN Austin. February 5, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
  6. Proszenko, Adrian (June 17, 2007). Forget NFL: NRL is dream. The Sun-Herald.
  7. "Former Axemen, Akarika Dawn signs a contract to play in Australia". jaxaxe.com. Jacksonville Axemen. July 10, 2007. Archived from the original on September 24, 2010. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
  8. "Linebacker returns to the Axemen as Australians arrive". jaxaxe.com. Jacksonville Axemen. June 25, 2010. Archived from the original on September 22, 2010. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
  9. "Axemen hit national media outlets". jaxaxe.com. Jacksonville Axemen. July 15, 2010. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
  10. Lowe, Brian (October 25, 2010). "Tomahawks Squad A Real Blend Of Talent". wearerugby.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
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