Michigan and Indiana lined up for the national anthem.
Saturday was a long day for 50+ player of the UMRFC (1-1) who left Ann Arbor at 7:00 AM for their 6 hour charter bus trip to Bloomington, Indiana. There, an undefeated and heavily favored Hoosier squad awaited them.
Although it would improve greatly in the second half, Michigan’s defense came out a bit flat in the first. Three minutes into the match, the Hoosiers showed why they were a favorite to come out on top of the Big 10 this year. A well-executed switch from the IU backline allowed a Hoosier to walk under the posts untouched. After six more minutes of IU possession and advancement down the pitch, the Hoosiers elected to kick for points from 30 meters out and increased their lead to 10.
Michigan did have early offensive opportunities to keep the game close in the first half. In the 14th minute, Michigan got a spark from winger Sequoyah Burke-Combs who broke a few tackles at midfield and then off loaded to flanker, Kenny Andutan, who took it within 20 meters of the try zone. However, IU reclaimed ball possession shortly after driving a Michigan player out of bounds. Not long after, Michigan found themselves in the same position but this time lost possession after a forward pass.
Eventually, Michigan got on board in the 19th minute initiated by a Burke-Combs break down the field. Following in support of Burke-Combs was fly half, Grady Bridges, who scooped up a loose ball from the ruck and off loaded in the line of speedy Chris Padmos. Padmos escaped from two IU defenders to give Michigan its only points of the half.
In the 30th minute, Michigan let themselves get outnumbered on the sidelines paving the way for a perfect lob pass over the last Wolverine defender. A conversion and a kick for points in the 40th minute from IU were the last points added before the end of the half.
A 20-5 half time score probably had some questioning whether the Wolverines had brought their A-game on the long trip, but their concerns would soon be addressed by a determined Maize and Blue squad.
Michigan had another strong showing from their pack.
Seven minutes into the second half, Bridges found a hole 10 meters out to finish a strong possession. Just 5 minutes later, Bridges hit Padmos who again took a hard line into a defensive gap from 30 meters out to score. A difficult conversion from the sidelines hit by Conzelmann put all the momentum on Michigan’s side who still trailed by a point. With only minutes to go, IU was putting up a great defensive stand on their own 5 meters to hold onto their lead until Michigan’s sophomore prop, Jordan Ulmer, took a crash that ignited the sidelines and capped a second half rally for a final score of 24-20.
“What made that victory so profound was how every action by every player on the team contributed to that win,” said Captain LaCivita on what the victory means to his club. “Without the bus, the other players cheering us on, the weeks of practice, the endless conditioning and weightlifting, we would not have had the means to beat IU. This team finally has the experience of never giving in to an opponent and working as hard as possible to get a victory. It validates every effort we have put into building this team into a successful program.”
It was a great confidence builder for the young team and the players are certainly excited for the rest of the season.
1. Brennan Arnett (Worner 60′)
2. Evan Rourke (Melgren 73′)
3. Jordan Ulmer
4. Matt Pilon (Van Harn 60′)
5. Drew Vecchio (Rocha 74′)
6. Dave Hiltzik (Scolnick 74′)
7. Kenny Andutan
8. Mike LaCivita
9. Ian Etheart
10. Grady Bridges
11. Sequoyah Burke-Combs
12. Christian Mentzer (Palladino 70′)
13. Jared Bosma (Taylor 54′)
14. Chris Padmos (Lazurka 70′)
15. Joel Conzelmann
16. Pete Melgren
17. Nelson Worner
18. Sergio Rocha
19. Cole Van Harn
20. Spencer Scolnick
21. John Palladino
22. Terence Taylor
23. Nick Lazurka
Tries: Padmos 19′, 52′, Bridges 47′, Ulmer 79′
Conversions: Conzelmann 48′, 53′
First time A-side players signing their team flag.
The Wolverines have two weeks to recover and start practicing for a huge OSU match on the 20th.
A rambunctious UMRFC B-side, inspired from the match before them, took the field hoping to continue the success. In the first of two 30 minute halves, Michigan looked to be in control of the match. Despite an early opt to kick for points, IU struggled early to contain a threatening Michigan offense. After maintaining possession near IU’s try zone for several breakdowns, a crashing Chening Duker of Michigan tallied his first score as a Wolverine. Evan Noon chipped in the conversion to bring the score to 7-3.
Back from a nagging ankle injury, the forwards were led by experienced prop, Zach Kendall. Alongside of him, loosehead Ben Shapiro had one of his best matches to help keep the B-side in the game. In the 19th minute, Shapiro charged the line with pace resulting in a 40 meter run, his longest of the fall season. In the backline, Michigan was led by Lazurka, Arevuo, and Palladino.
With the first half dwindling down, IU managed to capitalize on an opening in a tiring Michigan B-side creating a halftime score of 8-7.
Michigan’s offense plummeted in the second half and the Hoosiers prevented a home turf sweep. Their backline was able to rack up several tries get a 30-7 victory.
1. Ben Shapiro
2. Cam Watson
3. Zach Kendall
4. Stuart Starkweather
5. Michael Manzano
6. Oliver Gregerson
7. Chening Duker
8. Travis Sawyer
9. Max Arevuo
10. Evan Noon
11. Mark Borowski
12. John Palladino
13. Ryan McDonough
14. Kevin Cheng
15. Benjamin Clemens
16. Nick Ferhman
17. Jackson Wagner
18. Kazem Alidoost
19. Chris Batdorf-Barnes
20. Brent Dreaver
21. Jeff Smith
22. Nelson Worner
23. Neal Slabbekoorn
24. Vinodhan Ravichandran
25. Kevin Linder
26. Nick Lazurka
Tries: Duker 19′
Conversions: Noon 20′
