Michigan Falls to West Virginia 24-5

Pittsburgh, PA – The maize and blue woke up to an unexpected two inches of snow on the ground.  Unfortunately, conditions at the field were even worse.

West Virginia was able to out-muscle U of M on a snowy field filled with very large pools of water.  The conditions led to a large amount of handling errors from both sides.  The first 30 minutes of the game went scoreless as both sides chose to kick more than attack.

WVU was able to pin Michigan deep on multiple occasions at the end of the first half and took a 14-0 lead going into the half.  The break was used to access the physicality needed to get moving forward in the conditions.  The Wolverines responded, putting pressure on the Mountaineers early.

Nic Bishar subbed in for Chris Hopfner and utilized his size and strength.  At the 55th minute he received a pass from Ian Etheart and broke the WVU defense near the 22.  He then continued through the fullback and into the try zone for the highlight of the season.  Grady Bridges missed the conversion leaving Michigan down 14-5, though energized.

More pressure was put on by the men in blue but handling errors in the attacking zone let points remain off the board.  Eventually, West Virginia got back on the front foot and pounded in a five pointer.  The 19-5 deficit was too much and became 24-5 with three minutes remaining as Michigan saw their playoff hopes slip away.

Though out of contention, the team was able to hold their heads high.  The dire conditions seemed to have a very strong bonding affect on all members and supporting family.  Many thanks for making the trip and supporting the UMRFC.

Michigan takes on Pittsburgh tomorrow at 10:00am in the consolation match.