Saturday October 17th, 2009 vs. Westmoreland PITTSBURGH, PA – For the second consecutive week the Men of Akron Rugby headed off into the hills of PA. This time around it was to finish off their 2009 Eastern Division season against the Westmoreland Highlanders. The chilly fall air must have scared off some of the locals, because before the match even started, Akron had to lend Kyle, Travis, and Wadsworth to the Highlanders to fill out the home team. Akron Lineup 1: Evan 2: Joe G. 3: Big Ben 4: OJ 5: Cody (Ankles @ 40,Cody to wing) 6: Zaid 7: Ted 8: Keeney 9: Colton 10: Andrew (Capt) (Greg @ 10 to 2nd Row) 11: Frank 12:Hansel 13: Grant 14: Big Mike (Cody @ 40) 15: Timmay The squad got off to a very fast start against Westmoreland only to get bogged down playing very haphazard rugby. With a playoff slot already locked up, the last thing Akron wanted was injured players and that’s exactly what they got. Within the first ten minutes of play Andrew was off the pitch with an injury. By halftime, Big Mike was off the pitch, and early in the second half Ted left the game. Hansel played the second half in pain and could have easily left the game were the team already not down a man. Akron took a 42-5 lead into halftime behind converted tries from Andrew, Grant, Big Mike, OJ, and two from Zaid. Despite some lose play at times; it was a solid first half for Akron. Hansel was once again hard done on a try as the referee called back a long try after deciding that he (the ref) had interfered with a Westmoreland player. At least it wasn't Grant doing it this time. After a decent first half, Akron came out in the second half swinging with early tries from Ted and Zaid. With Ankles and Homeless Greg already on the pitch filling in for Andrew and Big Mike and Kyle, Travis, and Wadsworth playing for the enemy Ted’s injury 10 minutes into the second half left Akron to play shorthanded the remainder of the game. From that point the game slowly deteriorated into a mess of sloppy play from both sides. Akron held the lion’s share of possession, but struggled to do anything with it. OJ and Colton added the final two scores for Akron finishing the game off mercifully at 64-5 in favor of Akron. A big score line for the team, but not the crisp performance that they were looking for in their last A Side match before the playoffs. On the bright side, the defense did well to deny Westmoreland anything pretty much all day long… even shorthanded for 20 minutes. Young guns OJ and Zaid ran hard all day long and left a wake of bodies whenever they touched the ball. During the first half, the team also successfully ran some of the new second phase plays that have been recently implemented, one of which led directly to a try. On the downside, focus was lost during the second half. See what I did there? It's called a criticism sandwich. Give them something bad, then something good, and then finish with something bad. Wait, that's wrong... it's supposed to be the other way around... good/bad/good... awww screw it. Final Score Akron 64 Westmoreland 5 Akron Scoring Tries: Zaid (3), OJ (2), Andrew, Grant, Big Mike, Ted, Colton Conv: Grant 6/9, Timmay 1/1 Westmoreland Scoring 1 try This weekend, Youngstown State come calling to Akron to take on the Killer B’s. While the B’s haven’t been as Killer as normal this season, they are always exciting to watch and showcases the past present, and future of the Akron Rugby Club. With a bye week, the A side now awaits to see who they will be matched up against in the first round of the Midwest Playoffs. |
