Night 2 of UMRFC’s intrasquad scrimmage tournament in the books

The second night of UMRFC’s intrasquad sevens games has come and gone and it continued what is looking to be a very competitive off-season of play. Teams look like they are starting to come together while others are looking for that spark they need to take off. If you’d like to see these games for yourself, check out our YouTube channel where all the games are already up.

Game 1: James Earl Jones 7 – Steven M. Ross 14

The first match was certainly a hard fought game, and a great match to watch if you’re looking to see great examples of good offense and defense. Both teams moved the ball well, focused on keeping possession and limiting mistakes and played good solid defense. After a bit of back and forth however, Joel Conzelman was able to put the first points on the board, breaking away from a tackle and running it in for a try. Conzelman was successful on the conversion. The rest of the half was filled with good play, but neither side could capitalize and the half ended 7-0 Ross. Jones wouldn’t be kept off the board however and quickly responded with a try down the wing by Joe Poznanski. Zack Burns successfully made the long conversion. The game looked like it would end in a tie, but right on the last possession Ross was able to get in a steep line and move across the field allowing for Chening Duker to have an opportunity to slip through Jones’ defensive line, running it in for the try. Conzelman was successful on the conversion, making the final score 14-7 Ross.

Game 2: Don Canham 14 – Bennie Oosterbaan 17

The second match started off with both teams looking like they would score early tries, but each team was stopped just short of the try. After one such stop by Bennie, Grady Bridges was able to get a big kick off to gain field position, but Nick Lazurka was there to pick up the ball and pick his way through the Bennie defense, scoring a long 50 meter try with a successful conversion by C.J. Stock afterwards. Bennie was not without a response however as Bridges made a hard run only to offload to the open Stu Starkweather on the wing who ran the remaining 25 meters to take the ball in for the try. Bridges was successful on the conversion, making it a tie game at 7-7. The second half started off with some competitive back and forth, but Bennie was able to take the lead as Mark Borowski picked off a Canham pass and took it 65 meters down the field to score a try. Bridges was unable to convert. Canham drove right back down the field on their next possession however and Scott Miller fought his way through 2 defenders to score the try from 10 meters out. With 30 seconds on the clock Bennie took the ball for the last possession of the game. Borowski started it off with a break down the right wing, offloading the ball to his left as Bennie swung the ball down the line all the way to Starkweather on the left wing who was able to outrun his pursuers to take the ball in for the try and the win.

Game 3: James J. Duderstadt 24 – Mary Sue Coleman 12

The third match was a bit unorthodox with the Dudes only being able to field 6 players at the start of the game. However, while Coleman tried to start the game off with some slowball, they turned over the ball trying to pass to the wing and Spencer Scolnick was able to capitalize and run 25 meters for the try which Evan Noon Converted. It looked like the Sues were going to respond on their next possession as Robbie Greenfield made a break down the wing, but Cam Watson was just barely able to pull his toe out of bounds to cause the lineout. The Dudes won the ensuing lineout and on their next possession they were able to slowly move the ball down the field until Noon ran down the left wing and fought through multiple would-be tacklers to score just on the corner. He could not make the long conversion however. The Sues were not willing to be held off the board however and Robbie took the kickoff a full 90 meters back down the field to score. He failed to convert however. In the second half Zach Kendall showed off his impressive strength, overpowering his tacklers to run down the field 70 meters for the try. The conversion was no good, making it 17-5 Dudes. The Sues responded on their next possession however as Robbie showed off his impressive speed down the wing taking the ball 50 meters for the try and successfully converting. The Dudes were not about to let this victory slip out of their hands however and Noon grubbered the ball from half field and chased it all the way down to score an impressive try. He was successful on the conversion as well and the final score was 24-12 Dudes.

Game 4: Bennie Oosterbaan 14- James Earl Jones 7

The fourth match of the night was definitely a close one, with the score remaining relatively low throughout the game, making it exciting to watch but with few events of note. The first score came from a long run from Chris Hopfner, who offloaded to Stu Starkweather and passed the ball down the line until it eventually reached Grady Bridges who scored from 20 meters out. Bridges was successful on the conversion making it 7-0 Bennie. Jones wasn’t without a response however. A few minutes into the second half Joe Poznanski broke down the right wing for a 40 meter try and successfully converted it. Bennie was not willing to be kept out of the try zone for one last score however and ran a couple nice phases down the field to be capped off by Hopfner with a 30 yard strike and the winning score, making the final score 14-7.

Game 5: Mary Sue Coleman 7 – Don Canham 49

The fifth match was a bit of a blowout unfortunately with Canham showing their chops early on. Nick Lazurka started things off with a long run down to the 10 yard line where he offloaded the ball to Oliver Gregerson. C.J. Stock’s conversion was good. Drew Vecchio followed this up with a powerful run, breaking through several tacklers and took the ball in for the try. Stock’s conversion was good. On the ensuing kickoff, the Sues mishandled the kick and Canham picked up the ball and Jordan Ulmer showed that just because he’s big doesn’t mean he can’t move as he took the ball in for the try after cutting through a couple defenders. Ulmer showed again that he had a good pair of feet on him as he took the ball across the field and then offloaded to Stock who ran the ball down the wing for a try with just over a minute left in the half. Stock’s conversion was good. Robbie Greenfield took the kickoff to start the second half and took it all the way down the wing to score for the Sues. The conversion was good, making the score 28-7. However the game was all Canham from there on out as Ulmer added another good run on the day taking it all the way down the right wing to score. Brandon Gardner’s conversion was good. Stock followed this up with a run through the middle while the Sues were engaged in a lost ruck. Canham added to the lead off of a penalty where Stock took the ball into contact and then offloaded to Vecchio who ran through a gap in the Sues’ defense to score. Stock’s conversion was good. The final score was 49-7 Canham.

Game 6: Steven M. Ross 51 – James J. Duderstadt 5

This game was also unfortunately a bit lopsided. Ross was quick to score as they played defense deep in the Dudes territory and when they were able to force a turnover it quickly turned into a try for Christian Mentzer. The conversion by Joel Conzelman was no good. Cole Van Harn followed this up with a monster run, breaking multiple tacklers to score the try. However, he followed the try up with one of the worst conversion attempts in sevens history, making the score 10-0 Ross. The Dudes tried to respond with a drive of their own, but turned the ball over to Ross where Chening Duker quickly capitalized on the opportunity, running the majority of the field to score. Conzelman’s conversion was good. Duker struck again with a very similar run, slipping through 2 defenders 2 minutes later to score an 80 meter try. Conversion was no good. The Dudes tried to get some momentum going for themselves, but Mentzer was able to force a turnover and score right before the half to make the score 29-0 Ross. The second half opened up to another breakaway run for Ross, this time for Mentzer to make it a hat trick for him. Conzelman followed this up with a breakaway run for himself as well and a successful conversion, making it 41-0. Ross seemed almost unstoppable as Van Harn broke away for a long run of his own and the final Ross score came from a pass from Conzelman as he took out 2 defenders before offloading to Austin who took it in for the try. The Dudes avoided a shutout on their last possession as Evan Noon kicked the ball all the way down the field and chased it down to score in the try zone, making the final score 51-5 Ross.

Standings: