Opening kickoff under the lights
Stout defense and territorial pressure gave the Wolverines a deserved 18-0 victory over the visiting Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.
Hard rucking started the game with both sides contesting the breakdown heavily. The referee handed out a few penalties, including one against Notre Dame in front of the posts, 40 meters out. Michigan chose to take a shot for goal, and Joel Conzelmann’s kick was true, giving Michigan an early 3-0 lead.
Michigan continued to pressure ND with excellent tactical kicking from Conzelmann, pushing the Irish into their own end. An attacking Wolverine possession deep in Notre Dame territory turned into a series of forward picks near the goal line. Notre Dame defended well, though, and turned over the ball. Looking to attack from their own in-goal, an errant pass sent ND flyhalf Byron Henry scrambling to recover the loose ball. He recovered, but Evan Rourke stripped the ball and gave Ian Etheart the chance to simply fall on it for a five pointer.
Sequoyah Burke-Combs breaking another tackle
The Irish recovered and were soon back on the attack. Well worked phases pushed Notre Dame from midfield to Michigan’s goal line. It was ND’s turn to attempt to jam a try in with the forwards. Michigan’s defense forced a knock-on into the in-goal, and when UM touched the ball down, they happily took a 22 drop-out to relieve the pressure.
The battle at the breakdown continued ; both sides displayed physical and disciplined rucking. Christian Mentzer was notable and excelled at scooping up Notre Dame possessions before their support arrived. At the 28 minute mark, he was able to poach an ND ball and immediately take off down the field. His race down the right sideline was punctuated by a well executed stiff arm on the Irish fullback which allowed Mentzer to complete the 65 meter try. He centered the ball for an easy Conzelmann conversion and a 15-0 Michigan lead.
Jared Bosma distributing from outside center
Both teams attacked well during the remainder of the half, finding space on the flanks. Covering defense for both sides was strong and kept any legitimate threats at bay. The Men in Blue continued to win the territorial battle, and a penalty at the breakdown against ND gave Michigan another shot at three. Conzelmann struck from 30 out for 3, and U of M would go to the shed with an 18-0 halftime lead.
The second half had similar attacking opportunities for both sides. Each team had a few chances deep in their opponent’s end, but neither could push over for the score. Notable defense by the Irish was highlighted with an intercept by ND flyhalf Byron Henry who looked to score from 90 meters out. But freshman wing Matt Kasten chased him down and was also able to tackle the support player who received the offload. The outstanding individual effort was supported by additional chase defense and Michigan won a penalty to deny the Irish again.
The remainder of the half saw solid tackling marred with a plethora of knock-ons and a difficult injury. Henry suffered a dislocated hip at the 70th minute which stopped play for about 40 minutes. The final 10 minutes were played in the same fashion as before the break. Physical play abounded. Michigan celebrated the final whistle and the victory. Michigan wishes Byron Henry a speedy recovery.
1. Nick Fehrman (Shapiro 61′)
2. Evan Rourke (Wagner 45′, 78′)
3. Brennen Arnett (Ulmer 55′)
4. Alex Davidson
5. Drew Vecchio (Starkweather 61′)
6. Kenny Andutan
7. Sequoyah Burke-Combs
8. Cole Van Harn (Fenno 78′)
9. Ian Etheart (Palladino 74′)
10. Joel Conzelmann
11. Matt Kasten
12. Christian Mentzer
13. Jared Bosma (Burns 76′)
14. Chris Padmos (Borowski 76′)
15. CJ Stock
16. Jackson Wagner (Rourke 52′)
17. Ben Shapiro
18. Stuart Starkweather
19. Jason Anthony
20. Jesse Fenno
21. John Palladino
22. Riley Hanson
23. Tohy Rakotovololona
Tries: Etheart 14′, Mentzer 28′
Cons: Conzelmann 29′
Pen: Conzelmann 7′, 38′
Cooper Smart headed in for a try
Prior to the A-side match versus Notre Dame, Michigan welcomed another rival to town, the Michigan State Spartans for a B-side encounter. The game started with Michigan scoring opportunities gone begging. MSU’s defense provided space for U of M attack but was able to recovery well and improved over the game. Michigan did get on the board in the 19th minute through an Evan Noon penalty kick.
This seemed to spur on the Wolverines who found space with the boot over the Spartan wingers. Max Arevuo was able to dot down on the left side. The tough conversion missed and Michigan was up 8-0. MSU chose the more physical route with heavy forward crashes near the ruck. U of M defended well though. Both team’s rucks were hazardous and rarely provided clean ball for quick play. This battle ensued until late in the half when fullback Tohy Rakotovololona dotted down before Travis Sawyer received a Jason Anthony pass from a maul for another score. The first try converted by Noon and Michigan was up 20-0 at the break.
MSU attempts to go short with their line-out
A large amount of subs came on for U of M in the second half but strong defense continued. MSU would score two tries late but not before exciting outside back Cooper Smart snuck in after a series of phases in the Spartan 22. Later, freshman Zach MacKeller supported a break well and the flanker picked from the back of a ruck to dive in for his first U of M try.
The loose forward combination of Jesse Fenno and Travis Sawyer worked particularly well. Driving form tackles hallmark their play. Both deserved the tries they added, Sawyer’s second on the day, to cap Michigan’s scoring. Evan Noon continued with the kicking duties, adding two more conversions to bring the final score to 44-10 in favor of the Men in Blue. A solid showing in preparation of the return trip in November as the teams will battle again in East Lansing on Friday the 1st.
1. Jackson Wagner
2. Cam Watson
3. Darsh Khosla
4. Jason Anthony
5. Chris Byer
6. Nolan Webb
7. Chening Duker
8. Travis Sawyer
9. Max Arevuo
10. Evan Noon
11. Kevin Linder
12. Riley Hanson
13. Cody Griffin
14. Matt Ko
15. Tohy Rakotovololona
16. Zach Kendall
17. Zach Burns
18. Zach MacKeller
19. Jesse Fenno
20. Mike Manzano
21. Albert Foo
22. Cooper Smart
23. Ryan McDonough
24. Vino Ravichandran
25. Drew Calcaterra
26. Cody Brown
27. Uygar Ozdemir
Tries: Arevuo 19′, Rakotovololona 34′, Sawyer 38′, 79′, Smart 49′, MacKeller 58′, Fenno 71′
Cons: Noon 34′, 49′, 79′
Pen: Noon 16′
