Nearly 90 matches were played over the weekend as the Frontier joined the Pacific North, Pacific South, Red River, and South in action. There are only three months left until Nationals and plenty of club rugby left to play for.
Frontier
Men's
Back from the winter break, the Little Rock Stormers knocked the rust off with a 39-22 win over DII opponent, Tulsa. Little Rock’s Man of the Match went to fullback Pierre Ranouil who notched a hat trick as well as made some try-saving tackles from his sweeper position.
“Little Rock was able to get an edge in the set pieces, causing turnovers in the line outs and scrums or at minimum put Tulsa under extreme pressure,” head coach Donna Thomas said after earning her first win in four years. “Extra possessions were key in the victory … Over the fall and winter, our club has gone back to basics. Lots of passing and catching at our practices, recruiting and fitness.”
Women's
Austin (3-0) and Houston Athletic (2-2) battled to a single-digit decision in the DI Frontier Red River, and the visiting Valkyries banked the 19-12 victory. “The game was really tough. I wouldn't say we were able to exploit any notable advantages,” Austin flyhalf Jordan Heller noted. “After coming off of a five-month gap between Cup matches, I think we were a little rusty on our overall offensive execution. While we did manage to get up on them in points, I think it was our high-pressure, hard-working defense that played out to be the deciding factor in the second half.”
HARC inside center Bonnie Richardson scored two minutes into the game, and then Austin lock Julia Fortkort and fullback Chelsey Arambula followed with tries in 10-minute increments. Heller’s two conversions provided the 14-5 lead at the break. The teams traded tries on either side of the 60-minute mark, with Arambula dotting down for Austin and reserve Josephine Darpolor scoring for HARC. Fullback Delia Nava added the extras for a 19-12 scoreline and 15 minutes to play. Austin’s defense stiffened and held on for the win. The Valkyries and Glendale Merlins are both 3-0 in the DI league.
Pacific South
Men's
The second PRP test of the weekend featured a Belmont Shore side that was coming off a 73-point day versus Life West and a Glendale squad that narrowly lost to OMBAC at home. The Merlins were the road warriors but they didn’t have enough spells and potions to down Belmont. The Shore won, 43-17.
“We got off to great start with Mafi Seanoa scoring a good forward controlled lineout maul and carry after three minutes, but Glendale hit back immediately with their #5 to make it 5-7 after five minutes,” Belmont coach Ray Egan said. “After that point, we managed to control the game with good dominant carries from Ben Weischedel, Brice Schilling, and Sione Masoe… We pushed hard in the second half and built a lot of pressure in Glendale’s third of the field. Although we missed some opportunities, we managed to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Glendale never gave up and in the last quarter managed to get two tries of their own.”
Down a level in DII, Belmont is off to a torrid pace and is clearly the team to beat. With a 96-0 bashing of Los Angeles, Belmont is 4-0. Robert Busbee and Anthony Simeone each scored hat tricks and flyhalf Steven Bodley was 11/13 on conversions with three penalties.
“Our DII team remains unbeaten with a very strong performance over our cross-town rivals,” Egan explained. “LA came out with a very physical game plan but once we managed to soak up their pressure, we were able to control the ball. We managed to build a lot of possession and our structure created a lot of chances.'
On the other side of the division, Ventura County remains undefeated following a 23-10 win over the Oceanside Chiefs. Trailing by four points at the half, the Outlaws shut out their opponent in the second half and scored 17 unanswered points for the ‘W’. In the other two games, Tempe ripped San Fernando Valley, 73-14, and Santa Monica beat the San Diego Old Aztecs, 29-17, on the road.
The Rio Grande DIII began its 2020 with a jaunt between the El Paso Scorpions and the Albuquerque Aardvarks. It was a tale of two halves as Albuquerque rushed out to a 21-10 halftime advantage and then it was El Paso’s turn. A pair of tries from PJ Vaifale and two more from Jake Escarsega and Jeremy Rodriguez were the difference makers in the 38-28 comeback.
“As a team, we came together in the second half to overcome the Aardvarks’ cunning offense,” El Paso head coach Daniel Hernandez said. “We found some opportunities with our kicking game from our backs and gained some valuable tries because of it. Our pack played solidly and won just about every scrum we went into which helped us maintain or regain possession. All in all, it was a team win.”
In the Arizona DIII, the NAU Landsharks and Phoenix Rugby are at the top of the table. While Phoenix’s match versus Camelback was rained out, the Landsharks smashed Tucson 40-7 to better their record to 5-0-1. Red Mountain are right behind NAU in the standings in the Blue division after a mud-filled 56-0 blanking of Old Pueblo. The battle for second in the Red division will have to wait another week as the Las Vegas at Scottsdale match was also rained out.
It was a relatively calm weekend in SoCal DIII with only three games on the docket. The biggest upset of the day was Beaumont taking down North County 33-21. A penalty try in the 57th minute gave the Bluehawks the lead and Brian Tautu’s dot down in the 73rd was the final nail in the coffin. San Luis Obispo’s 43-11 win over Ventura County puts them into fourth while the San Diego Old Aztecs beat Santa Monica for the rain-soaked 46-26 victory.
“In a hard-hitting clash between the forwards, the Old Aztecs pulled away to bring the score to 22-7 at the half, though the match was closer than the scoreline dictated,” Old Aztecs DIII coach Adam Kreutter said. “As Santa Monica began to chip away at the lead in the second half, depth at the bench and fitness from the Old Aztecs were ultimately too much to overcome.”
Lastly in DIV, South Bay took over first with a 55-19 win over Temecula while the Dead Rabbits match against LA postponed due to weather. San Diego’s test versus Riverside was rained out as well.
Women's
The three divisions contested one game a piece over the weekend.
DI Tempe beat Belmont Shore 46-7 and tops the standings at 3-0. Inside center Lindsey Mahoney, flyhalf Heleni Kuma (2), flanker Abigail Lowman and prop Jessica Hanson scored first-half tries, and two conversions from fullback Sam Santos gave Tempe a 29-0 lead after 40 minutes. Belmont Shore snapped the shutout with a Vailani Moe try that flyhalf Meagen Good converted, but then Tempe’s Whitney Diem and Mahoney (2) put down tries and Santos kicked another conversion. The Ninjas will play San Diego (2-1) for the first time on March 7.
Las Vegas won its first match of the DII season with a retributive 57-5 victory against Pasadena in Nevada. When the teams met in California three weeks ago, the Royals triumphed 36-14. Loose forwards Kate Capistran and Sina Sevaaestasi, scrumhalf Tyler Malcolm, outside center Alyssa Williams, back-three Ashleigh De Steunder, Catrin Turner and Vivian Aragon, and reserve Jeruscha Ako (2) scored the tries, and flyhalf Danielle Schumacher added six conversions. The league takes a break this weekend and resumes with the Slots traveling to Old Pueblo on March 7.
First-year Phoenix is getting an education in the come-back, and needed multiple rallies to overcome visiting Fullerton. After prop Margaret Sowell put the home side up 5-0, the Wolfpack answered with tries through Acacia Person and Shea Bancher (14-5 to Fullerton). Phoenix responded in kind through fullback Sydney Dudley and hooker Stefanee Sherman, and two Kelsea Thompson conversions put the Arizonans up 19-14. Again Fullerton surged for another converted try through Bancher (21-19), but there was one final lead change in store. Lock Faith Hughes – who built a presence through the Doylestown U18s and Kutztown University – scored the game-winner and Thompson added the extras: 26-21 to Phoenix.
Phoenix is 4-0 to lead the standings and will have time to recuperate before its next match: March 21 against San Fernando Valley.
Pacific North
Men's
Life West kicked off a triple-header at Cal Maritime in Vallejo, Calif. on Saturday and completed the clean sweep by the day’s end. The Gladiators fought against OMBAC in the third round of the Pacific Rugby Premiership in the main event and the DII and DIII sides played Google Rugby in the undercards. DII and DIII crushed its adversary 85-5 and 54-19, respectively, but the PRP match was a closer affair.
After losing last week to Belmont Shore, Life West was looking for some home-cooking versus OMBAC. It was back and forth in the first half where the Gladiators trailed by a point at the break, 13-12. Back-to-back scores from Dan Shepard and Toni Pole gave Life West the cushion it needed, and a final try by Maka Tameilau sealed the 29-21 win.
“The set piece went well yesterday,” Life West coach Adriaan Ferris said. “We had the dominant scrum evident in the 70th minute with Maka Tameilau scoring from five-meters out from the OMBAC line. Lineouts were competitive and we secured our ball. In general, we worked hard on defense and line speed was key.”
Featured in the 6-Pack Preview, the NorCal DII match between Vacaville and the Diablo Olde Gaels was competitive in the first half before Old Dogs pulled away in the second for the 59-26 victory. Flanker Hudson Buck brought his ‘A’ game with a high work rate on defense and rumbled in for three tries.
“We played with determination,” Vacaville head coach Chris Motes said. “We were good in the transition from turnovers and penalties and for the majority of the match, we were a committed defense.”
The Old Dogs’ next opponent is the Olympic Club, who has been on a tear this season winning its first three games. On Saturday, OC beat Santa Rosa 30-12 on the road behind a two-try performance from wing John Gallo.
In the battle for the top spot in the NorCal DIII Yellow Division, B.A. Baracus and Berkeley have impressed in the early stages of the season. However, B.A. brought the hammer at game time for a 45-20 triumph. Six players found their names on the scoresheet for Baracus, but it was 38-year-old veteran Matt Keck who got the game ball. Keck set up his team’s first three tries and was relentless on defense.
“It was a hard-fought match in which we were able to overcome our mistakes to get the win,” captain Nick Seyer said. “We stayed together despite some miscues and the weather. The forwards did their job in setting up our amazing backline. Overall, a great team effort in an important game to stay atop the table.”
With the Berkeley loss, San Joaquin-Stanislaus moved into second in the Yellow with a 38-32 win over Chico and Colusa County held off Napa Valley 29-22 for its second victory. In the Blue Division, SFGG DIII extended its win streak to three games with a 39-27 defeat of the Sacramento Capitals.
Finally, in DIV, Silicon Valley ran its record to 4-0 with a 50-8 beatdown of Central Coast, Reno is back to 0.500 after a 68-7 win over Mendocino, and the Redwood Empire forfeited to B.A. Baracus.
Women's
Berkeley tops DII NorCal and is 4-0 after its 56-7 win against San Francisco Golden Gate. Sacramento is 3-1, and when the two leaders met on Jan. 18, the game went 27-20 in the All Blues’ favor. The rematch occurs on March 7 and is looking like the preview for the title match.
On Saturday, Sacramento played Life West in what ended up being a forfeit win, but it didn’t begin that way. “We started off strong on offense with the first half, and ended the 40 minutes with a shutout. Our offense and defense in the first half was strong and we were working together as a team,” Sacramento flanker and conditioning leader Caroline Sequeira explained. “Unfortunately, the second half of the game shifted. We started off slow and had a myriad of injuries for our starting players.”
At this juncture, Life West chose to forfeit the match, and Sacramento’s mindset shifted somewhat. The referee tore his hamstring 13 minutes into the second half and a certified referee in the stands called the rest of the game. Nevertheless, it was a useful experience for the Amazons.
“Although we started off the second half slow, we pulled it back together and finished the game,” Sequeira added. “We appreciate all of the players on Saturday who showed up and participated in the game so that we could have a match; if we didn't play this weekend, we would have had three weekends off in a row. … This weekend gave us some great insight into what we need to work on both defense and offense. I am proud of our team for turning it around in the end.”
Red River
Men's
It’s a two-team race in the Red River DI as the Austin Blacks and Austin Huns are #1 and #2 in the standings. The Blacks held serve at home dispatching West Houston 34-17 for their sixth win and the Huns improved to 5-1 after beating the Dallas Harlequins 53-12 on the road. Both clubs will rest up this coming weekend in preparation for their blockbuster meeting at the Huns on March 7th.
In the DII South/Central, the frontrunners faced off as Houston United hosted the Woodlands on Sunday. Much like their first encounter in January, H.U.R.T jumped out to an early lead and never relinquished it. Kevin Howes and Alex Liles each scored a pair of tries in the contest, but it outside center James Chandler who was bestowed with the Man of the Match honors for his defensive effort.
“The boys achieved victory through a diverse attack pattern and physical defense,” H.U.R.T head coach Mitch Earley said. “I’m very fortunate to coach a club that is as passionate about defense as they are about running the rock.”
The DII North is much more competitive with three teams clustered at the top of the standings. The Austin Blacks currently hold a one standing point lead after blasting West Houston 73-5 and picking up a valuable bonus point in the process. Although Fort Worth lost to the Huns 15-14, it did collect a bonus loss point to stay only two standing points behind the leader.
With a month left on the DIII calendar, the race to the playoffs is fierce with only the division winners and second place teams advancing. The Austin Blacks, Grand Prairie Mavericks, and H.U.R.T., all undefeated, have pretty much locked up postseason bids already. The duel for second is trickier. In the South, the Woodlands and the Houston Arrows are tied for second and next weekend’s match between the two sides will be a huge factor in who advances. As for the North and Central, Alliance and the Austin Huns are both in second at 7-2 following wins this past weekend.
In DIV, Fort Hood maintained its stranglehold of the South with a 50-19 win over Houston Athletic and Alliance cracked Dallas 27-12 in the North.
Women's
League-leaders San Antonio (5-1) and Austin (4-2) picked up wins this past weekend, but a solid push from Bay Area (3-3) kept the Riveters from banking any bonus points in their match. San Antonio has one more standings point than second-place Valkyries but also sports a massive point differential (+316).
Penalty kicks ruled in the San Antonio vs. Bay Area match, as only one try made its way onto the scoreboard last Saturday. Fullback Christine Valliant kicked two penalties and converted inside center Antea Dedic’s try, and Bay Area answered with a Stephanie Wood penalty. San Antonio led 13-3 after 55 minutes, and the score held for the remainder of the match.
Dallas and Little Rock also played a close, relatively low-scoring match. The Stormers went up 7-0 through inside center Abby Vestal’s try and conversion, and then No. 8 Veronica Hill and LeAnne Hudson scored Dallas’ try and conversion, respectively. Dallas got a boost right before the break, and wing Candace Balderas scored for the 12-7 edge. The wing dotted down again in the final 10 minutes, and Little Rock closed out with a Jannette Brickey prop try: 17-12 the final to Dallas.
Austin and Dallas Athletic both banked bonus points for scoring four-plus tries, but the Valkyries directed much of the game in the 51-22 victory. Front row replacement Tessa Dennis scored three tries, and scrumhalf Kristen Karsten added two. Flyhalf Zoe Hunter contribute 11 points on a try and three conversions, while flanker Alexis White, center Brittney Matthews and fullback Ariel Sten also dotted down. DARC got its points through lock Kayleigh Schrader (2), center Kayla Kilbury and fullback Gabriela Hillmann. Flyhalf Monique Fosco kicked the conversion.
South
Men's
Tied for the high score of the day, the Birmingham Vulcans started its new year in the True South DII with a devastating 96-3 victory against Memphis. Although nine players scored a total of 14 tries for the Vulcans, the game ball was given to fullback Brett Walsh for his 27-point effort (three tries and six conversions). Inside center Beau "Baby' Guinta was a close second with four tries.
"Aside from a stellar performance by our backline, every member of the team played unselfish rugby,” Birmingham head coach Allen Kipp stated. “Our forwards gave up size against a large Memphis pack, but played up to our strengths and not into theirs. So far, all season our defense has been good, and it was again Saturday.'
With the top two seeds in the Florida DII South wrapped up, Miami Tridents bounced back from their first loss of the season by pounding Okapi Wanderers 64-7. In the North, Naples defeated Orlando, 36-24, to clinch the top seed. Orlando picked up a bonus point, which means Tampa (0-2-1) will need to beat Naples next week and gain a bonus point to finish in second place and qualify for the championship round along with Naples.
Naples head Bryan Vince described his team’s clinching win by saying, “Our scrums really won us the game as we had five tightheads, which put us in good positions to score … Our man of the match was our tighthead prop and captain Tommy Doman. He made really big ball carries and was one of the top tacklers.”
Week four in the Florida DIII saw Palm Beach easily take care of Sarasota 38-12 to keep right on the tail of leaders Brevard, who defeated the Bay Area Pelicans 31-21. Gainesville dispatched Jacksonville 25-5 to stay in touch with the top two. The top three are pulling away from the rest of the field, with the Brevard versus Gainesville game on March 14 looking like a monster contest. Pelicans and Jacksonville are in a two-way battle for fourth. They will face each other on March 21 in St. Petersburg.
The second week of the Carolinas DIII had the division leaders swap places. The Charleston Outlaws jumped over Cape Fear into first place with a 34-12 defeat of Camp Lejeune, while Cape Fear lost to fourth place Columbia 36-12.
Down in Georgia, the Atlanta Old White and Atlanta Renegades are the only teams left without a loss after three weeks of play. The Old White shut out Athens 89-0 and the Renegades trampled Gainesville 64-7. Savannah picked up a forfeit from North Atlanta, the Gwinnett versus Macon match was rescheduled, and in the only other reported score, Augusta beat Columbus/Fort Benning 45-10.
In the True South DIII, Huntsville improved its record to 4-1 with a win over Nashville.
Women's
The DII Carolinas-Georgia league restarted after a four-month break, and Southern Pines and Camp Lejeune began 2020 with matrix wins. Southern Pines is now second in the standings, picking up its third win of the season with a 32-5 decision over Columbia. “We played to our game plan,” Southern Pines Backs Coach Dirk Laurence noted. "Our determination and constant attacking pressure every time they had the ball gave us the victory.'
SoPi scrumhalf Molly Caffelle and No. 8 Tatiana Rubow scored two tries apiece in the first half. Columbia outside center Fatima Vause broke up those sets of tries with five points, but SoPi had a good lead, 20-5, heading into the break. Rubow and wing Emily White dotted down in the second 40, while flyhalf Stephanie Taylor added the conversion in the bonus-point win.
Camp Lejeune won its second match of the season, topping Charleston 36-5. Scrumhalf Breanna Andrews (2), outside center Patricia McNamara, prop Chyna Hamm and flyhalf Alana Schaff scored the tries, and No. 8 Meghan Potter added the conversions in the bonus-point win.
In DII Florida, Orlando improved to 2-1-2 after a 50-14 win against Indian River (0-3). The Raptors scored their two tries in the first half and at the 25th minute, the teams were tied at 14. But after another five minutes Orlando regained the lead and kept posting points. Outside center Erin Emanuel accounted for 25 points on three tries and five conversions, and lock Jimaida Arrieta Nieves, No. 8 Donneisha Smith, scrumhalf Giovanna Medell, inside center Agnes Fuerst and fullback Lindsey Perkins also scored tries.
Orlando is now in second place in the standings but has played one more game than Jacksonville and Tampa Bay.
