UMRFC Completes First Night of Intrasquad Sevens

Day 1 of UMRFC’s intrasquad sevens has come to a conclusion and it was a great night of rugby for everyone involved. 50 players took the field including many new players who are just now getting their first taste of rugby. For the older players it was a great way to hone their skills and fitness levels and for the newer blood it was a great way to learn the game and become further immersed in the sport. Look for the film from these games on our YouTube channel.

Game 1: James Earl Jones 33 – Mary Sue Coleman 10

The first match of the night was a tough fought game but small mistakes led to a large score differential at the end of play. It seemed like Jones would get off to a quick lead as Joe Poznanski broke away early in the game, but new player Robbie Greenfield was able to chase him down from across the field with an impressive burst of speed. Jones was not going to be kept away from the try zone however and a few minutes later team Captain Kenny Andutan capitalized on a mishandled ball by the Mary Sues to score with Zack Burns making the conversion. Jones quickly added another try by Burns after getting the ball back from a mishandled kick-off for the Mary Sues. The conversion was good. On the ensuing kickoff Greenfield showed that the Mary Sues weren’t going down without a fight however and took the ball through several would be tacklers to score a 75 yard try. The long conversion was missed. Jones took back the momentum however right before the end of the half as Poznanski redeemed himself, intercepting a lofted pass to take the ball 60 yards for a try to make it 19-5 at half. The second half was all Jones as they were able to handle and mitigate the Mary Sues slowball focused offense. Kenny Andutan scored 2 more tries with conversions off of mistakes by the Mary Sue’s offense to make it 33-5 Jones. Sequoyah Burke-Combs showed that even though the Sues were down by a lot didn’t mean they weren’t there to play some rugby as he scored a 60 yard try near the end of the game, bringing the final score to 33-10.

Game 2: Stephen M. Ross 33 – Bennie Oosterbaan 0

The second game turned out to be a bit of a lopsided, yet hardfought game as one of the more dominant teams of the night emerged. Bennie got out to a good start, taking advantage of some hard runs by Chris Hopfner. However, once Ross got the ball their good handling and movement drove them down the field until Chenning Duker was able to sidestep a would be tackler and take it in the rest of the way for a 25 yard try, converted by Joel Conzelman to make it 7-0 Ross. Bennie tried to respond and made some good hard runs with impressive offloads as well, but the aggressive and relentless defense of Christian Mentzer made it hard for Bennie to pick up any momentum. Ross gained control of the ball back off of their impressive defense and drove right back down the field to give Mentzer a 30 yard try in a similar fashion to their earlier score. Conversion was good for Conzelman making it 14-0. Bennie never gave up the whole game, clearly playing hard and aggressively, but it was the very solid defense of Ross that was able to keep Bennie at bay until Ross could get the ball. Once on offense Ross was able to show their experience with great positioning, ball movement and offloading, working their way down the field each time for short and medium range tries by Conzelman, Jared Bozma and Duker to make the final score 33-0.

Game 3: James J. Duderstadt 19 – Don Canham 17

This game was an extremely close and entertaining game to watch. At first it seemed like it was all Canham’s game. The first score came off of an early line-out at the Dudes 27 yardline. Canham displayed an interesting 2 man line-out, utilizing their height and size to make a hard run down the sideline to suck in the opposing defense. Drew Vecchio was the recipient of the ball on this lineout and he took the ball down the field on a hard run before offloading it to Nick Lazurka for a try. Conversion was no good. Canham looked to further their lead when they got the ball back as they drove down the field off of good play by C.J. Stock and Ian Etheart. A scrum was awarded at the 18 yardline of the Dudes and Canham was able to win the scrum and take possession, swinging the ball out wide again to Nick Lazurka who took the ball in for the try. Conversion by Brandon Gardner was good, making it 12-0 Canham at the half. The second half got off to a good start for Canham as Nick Lazurka made it a hat-trick, scoring his third try on a 40 yard breakaway run. Conversion was no good to make the score 17-0. The Dudes were not to be denied however and after an offload by Evan Noon, Max Arevuo scored a long 50 yard try down the sideline with conversion to make the game 17-7. In the following kickoff, the Dudes kicked it deep with the ball landing in the try zone. However some inexperience on the part of Canham’s younger players led to the ball not being picked up and Spencer Scolnick falling on the ball to score a try. The conversion by Noon was no good making it 17-12. Canham tried to make a run at a final score to solidify their lead, but the Dudes were able to get the ball back and new player Cooper Smart showed his skills by side-stepping a would be tackler to take the ball in 25 yards for a try which Noon converted to make it 19-17 Dudes, the final score.

Game 4: Stephen M. Ross 45 – Mary Sue Coleman 0

Ross continued to show their dominance in this game. Mary Sue got off to a good start with some great runs and a lot of slowball, but Ross was able to contain the Sue’s offense, tracking down any breakaways. The first score of the game came as Cole Van Harn broke 2 tackles to score a try, converted by Jared Bozma to make it 7-0. Christian Mentzer seemed like he would score as well soon after, but a great open-field tackle by Sequoyah Burke-Combs stopped him short. However Ross was still able to score a few passes later as Chenning Duker took it in for the try. Conversion no good, 12-0. Van Harn made another hard run down the field and popped it to Conzelman on an offload to score. Conzelman was good on the conversion to make it 19-0 before the half. The second half started off with a botched kick by Ross, which the Sue’s took advantage of, running the ball up the field. Burke-Combs made a great run up the field, but proceeded to lose the ball in tackle, allowing for Mentzer to score on the ensuing possession. 2 more tries were added on by Duker and Mentzer to make the score 38-0. Mary Sue looked like they were finally getting something going late game with a long series of slowball that took them down the field, however after a tiring series of play, Sue lost the ball and Ross swung the ball out wide to Van Harn who took it down the field breaking numerous tackles to score making it a final score of 45-0.

Game 5: Bennie Oosterbaan 22 – James J. Duderstadt 17

The fifth game of the night was entertaining to watch and a great show of hardfought rugby. Spencer Scolnick looked to score early and quickly with a long 70 yard run down the field, but he was tracked down from behind to stop him short. However, the Dudes were able to keep possession and after winning a ruck, they passed it down the line back to Scolnick who scored to cap off the drive he started. Conversion was no good, 5-0 Dudes. Bennie responded in turn however, making a hard run down the field only to be stopped by a knock on. The Dudes turned the ball over on their next possession too however which led to a Bennie scrum near the Dudes try zone. Chris Hopfner scored off this scrum to tie it up as the conversion was no good. Bennie looked to solidify their lead as they drove down the field again on their next possession and Grady Bridges threaded his way through the Dudes defense to score. Bridges’ conversion was good, making it 12-5 Bennie. The Dudes weren’t without a response however, taking the ball right down the field themselves, with Cooper Smart capping off the run with a try right down the middle for 30 yards. The conversion was good, tie game. It seemed like lightning does strike twice though when Chris Hopfner scored off of a scrum near the Dudes try zone again. Conversion was no good, 17-12 Bennie. The Dudes made some hard runs in response, but ended up turning the ball over back to Bennie who ran back down the field, passing it off to Bridges who ran his way in 20 yards for the try. Conversion was no good, 22-12 Bennie. The Dudes made a last run at a victory, pushing all the way down the field where Evan Noon offloaded the ball to Scolnick for a 30 yard try. However it was not enough as the final score was 22-17 Bennie.

Game 6: James Earl Jones 19 – Don Canham 10

A close hardfought game closed out the night, between 2 teams looking to end on a win. This match also bore witness to a roommate grudge-match between Joe Poznanski and Nick Lazurka. Lazurka broke free early and looked to score the try but Poznanski was able to chase him down at the 45 to save a try. This led to a possession for Jones that Kenny Andutan was able to cap off with a try which was converted by Zack Burns to make it 7-0 Jones. Canham wouldn’t take this sitting down however as they ran a series of hard slowballs that Drew Vecchio capped off with a score to make it a 7-5 game. On Jones’ next possession it seemed like another try was in their future as Evan Rourke broke free, but as he offloaded the ball it was unfortunately knocked on and Canham regained possession. However, Canham could not capitalize on this possession and Jones got the ball back which led to a long break away run for Poznanski with Lazurka hot on his trail, nearly catching Poznanski from behind. However Poznanski made it in just in time for the try and Burns converted to make it 14-5. Scott Miller showed that Poznanski wasn’t the only one who could make long runs on the next possession for Canham and broke away, running 80 yards for the try. The conversion was no good, 14-10 Jones. However the game at the end belonged to Jones as Poznanski broke away again, this time for 45 yards, again with Lazurka hounding him from behind, nearly catching Poznanski. The final score would be 19-10, bringing a fantastic night of rugby to a close.

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