Grady Bridges moving the ball to Jared Bosma on attack
A staunch defense gave the Wolverines plenty of attacking opportunities as Michigan cruised to their first Big Ten win. But for UMRFC head coach Matt Trenary, the highlight of the game was Michigan’s defense.
“It was the focus of the week,” Trenary said. “They came out and executed, and for most of the game our structure worked how we wanted it to.”
The Wolverines took control of the game defensively, preventing Purdue from penetrating inside their 22 for the majority of the game and shutting the Boilermakers out until the 71st minute, while the offense scored early and often.
Grady Bridges put Michigan on the board in the third minute with a try and conversion off of a quick tap by Ian Etheart, but an ankle injury hindered his kicking abilities throughout the game. Bridges missed a penalty kick and a conversion on Christian Mentzer’s try in the 19th minute, but the Wolverines took a comfortable 12-0 lead into half. Mentzer was the beneficiary of prolonged time in the Boilermaker 22.
Ian Etheart heading in for the try
In the second half, Michigan’s backs took over on offense. Bridges, Sequoyah Burke-Combs, and Ian Etheart all tacked on tries to push the score to 29-0 — While passing was poor and knock-ons were numerous by the Michigan backs, most of the possessions that featured good hands resulted in a try.
“We have good athletes back there and they want to run,” Trenary said. “They have pretty good one-on-one skills, (so) we have to find ways to give them the ball … where they can use their individual skills.”
Despite the offense squandering many opportunities to put more points on the board, Trenary was insistent Michigan’s defense highlighted its play.
“I’m really happy with limiting them to five points,” he said. “I think we had a good shot of shutting them out, but they ended up scoring late. We had a lot of opportunities on offense, and I think we could’ve put up more points. If you have a good defense to fall back on, you’re always going to be in the game. 34 points is nice, but the five for Purdue is what really makes me happy.”
Michigan takes on Indiana next in Bloomington Saturday at 3pm EST.
1. Brennan Arnett (Melgren 47′)
2. Evan Rourke (Worner 62′)
3. Jordan Ulmer
4. Matt Pilon (Van Harn 48′)
5. Drew Vecchio (Starkweather 62′)
6. Dave Hiltzik
7. Kenny Andutan (Scolnick 65′)
8. Mike LaCivita
9. Ian Etheart (Padmos 65′)
10. Grady Bridges
11. Sequoyah Burke-Combs
12. Christian Mentzer (Taylor 44′)
13. Jared Bosma
14. CJ Stock (Lazurka 44′)
15. Joel Conzelmann
16. Pete Melgren
17. Nelson Worner
18. Stuart Starkweather
19. Cole Van Harn
20. Spencer Scolnick
21. Chris Padmos
22. Terence Taylor
23. Nick Lazurka
Tries: Bridges 3′, 48′, Mentzer 19′, Burke-Combs 56′, Etheart 62′, Taylor 80′
Cons: Bridges 4′, 57′
Evan Noon cutting through the Purdue defense
In the second game, Michigan was dropped late, 34-26 as Purdue scored the last three tries to take the match. Michigan got on the board first with a Joe Poznanski try assisted by John Palladino in the second minute. Evan Noon converted. Michigan’s defense was strong but allowed a Purdue forward to crash over the line in the 20th minute and the game was tied 7-7. Immediately after, Will Miller poached a ball and ran the distance for a try converted again by Evan Noon.
Purdue countered to make it a 14-12 ball game before Poznanski scored again before the half to give the Wolverines a 19-12 lead. Purdue was not done and score to make it 19-17 right before the break. Mark Borowski opened the scoring in the second half after taking a hard shot on the wing. The try was converted by Noon to make it 26-17 Michigan. But the Boilermakers came back at the end with solid forward running. Two tries through the forwards and one from the scrumhalf gave them the victory, 34-26.
1. Ben Shapiro
2. Pete Melgren
3. Nelson Worner
4. Will Miller
5. Stuart Starkweather
6. Chening Duker
7. Olly Gregerson
8. Cole Van Harn
9. Max Arevuo
10. Evan Noon
11. Kevin Cheng
12. John Palladino
13. Joe Poznanski
14. Mark Borowski
15. Ben Clemens
16. Jackson Wagner
17. Cam Watson
18. Mike Manzano
19. Shawn May
Tries: Poznanski 2′, 37′, Miller 22′, Borowski 45′
Cons: Evan Noon 3′, 22′, 45′
Nick Fehrman leading the Michigan attack
The C game saw Michigan take on Spring Arbor in their club’s first ever game. The game was a learning experience for both sides and controlled as such by the referee. Michigan walked away with the victory 26-5 but the game itself was a major milestone for the Spring Arbor club. Mike Hillery and Milos Giljen played in their first games for the UMRFC while Nick Fehrman scored his first try.
1. Nick Fehrman
2. Cam Watson
3. Jackson Wagner
4. Kazem Alidoost
5. Brent Dreaver
6. Sam Saunders
7. Josh Rousselo
8. Travis Sawyer
9. Shawn May
10. Terence Taylor
11. Neal Slabbekoorn
12. Ryan McDonough
13. Vino Ravichadran
14. Jack Sligh
15. Kevin Linder
16. Troy Redmond
17. Jeff Smith
18. Mike Manzano
19. Mike Hillery
20. Max Arevuo
21. Milos Giljen
22. Kevin Cheng
23. Ben Clemens
24. John Palladino
Tries: Fehrman 19′, Dreaver 47′, Cheng 60′, Palladino 70′
Cons: Palladino 48′, 61′, 71′
