Drew Vecchio putting in Michigan’s fourth try
The Wolverines traveled down to West Lafayette this weekend to pick up a tough win against the Purdue Boilermakers in a 24-19 nail biter.
The game started out with the Wolverines recovering their own kickoff and controlling the ball in the Purdue territory with hard runs. Michigan got out to an early lead in the 8th minute after Joel Conzelmann slipped through the Purdue defensive line from 10 meters out. He successfully converted his own try to put Michigan up 7-0.
Michigan continued to control the ball well, running hard back lines mixed with forward crashes that pushed Purdue’s defense down the field. The Wolverines did not relent with their pressure and after a crash by Nick Fehrman, Stu Starkweather picked the ball quickly and forced his way into the try zone from five meters for the hard-earned try. Conzelmann converted the try again to put Michigan up 14-0 after 22 minutes.
Joel Conzelmann adding one of his two conversions of the day
The Wolverines received the kickoff and broke back into the Purdue half. After being awarded a penalty, play was stopped as Travis Sawyer came on for the injured Cole Van Harn. Michigan, choosing to go for the try rather than the penalty kick, could not get the ball down and Drew Vecchio was held up in the Purdue try zone. Purdue responded by pushing their way back into Michigan territory and even attempted to kick a penalty goal in the 33rd minute from 30 meters out, but the kick was wide right. Play continued back and forth with both teams kicking a great deal and making sloppy mistakes. The half closed out 14-0 with no scores after the two early tries.
The second half opened to a quick score from Purdue. Michigan received the kick to start the half, but after a couple phases of forward play, Conzelmann kicked the ball down the field. The Boilermakers received the kick well and broke a few tackles before moving the ball across the field to open space for a quick try to get Purdue back in the game. They successfully converted the try to make the score 14-7.
The Wolverines came back with a vengeance however, and after kicking off, they quickly poached and recovered the ball from the Boilermakers. Five minutes later Christian Mentzer hit a gap in the defensive line from 15 meters out, slipping past one defender and stiff-arming another to fall over the try line. Conzelmann could not convert however, making the score 19-7.
Michigan kept the pressure on, making clean passes and hard rucks and drove back down the field once again. After a few minutes of knocking on the door, the Wolverines finally pounded the ball in again as they swung it out wide to the right, eventually ending in the hands of Vecchio for the easy try on the wing in the 58th minute. Conzelmann could not convert again making it a 24-7 game. Purdue was not going down without a fight however and responded quickly, taking the ball back from Michigan and getting a break away to put them in Michigan territory. A series of Michigan penalties let them advance even further before eventually culminating in a try for Purdue. They could not convert however, making the score 24-12 Michigan.
Purdue continued to apply pressure and slowly pushed their way down the field with scrums and good rucks. After awarded a penalty on the 5 meter line, Michigan’s defenders did not drop back quick enough before making contact and the referee awarded Purdue a penalty try in the 73rd minute. Jesse Fenno was also given a yellow card on the same play. Purdue converted the try to make it a close 24-19 game.
Kenny Andutan with Michigan’s last tackle of the game
The last 7 minutes were extremely hard fought with Purdue attempting to complete the comeback. They successfully controlled the ball down the field and were awarded a mid-field scrum 10 meters out. Their #8 ran right but was tackled by Kenny Andutan with Joel Conzelmann winning the ball back for the Men in Blue. CJ Stock made sure of the kick to touch and the final whistle blew.
1. Nick Fehrman (Shapiro 61’)
2. Evan Rourke (Wagner 40’)
3. Brennen Arnett (Ulmer 58’)
4. Stuart Starkweather
5. Drew Vecchio
6. Jesse Fenno
7. Kenny Andutan
8. Cole Van Harn (Sawyer 25’)
9. Ian Etheart
10. Joel Conzelmann
11. Matt Kasten
12. Christian Mentzer
13. Zach Burns (Hanson 55’)
14. Chris Padmos
15. CJ Stock
16. Jackson Wagner
17. Ben Shapiro
18. Jordan Ulmer
19. Zach Burns
20. Travis Sawyer
21. John Palladino
22. Riley Hanson
23. Mark Borowski
Tries: Conzelmann 8′, Starkweather 22′, Mentzer 47′, Vecchio 58′
Cons: Conzelmann 8′, 23′
The second game of the day was a much stronger showing for the Wolverines as the young and talented B-side dominated their opponents.
Michigan scored quickly in the 5th minute with a long run from Tohy Rakotovololona, setting the pace for what would be a high speed, high scoring game for the Wolverines. Evan Noon could not convert however, making it a 5-0 lead for the Maize and Blue. Chening Duker added more points to the scoreboard with a try of his own 8 minutes later with a successful conversion by Noon. Michigan wasn’t going to let go of their advantage however and after some tough defense and grinding offense, Zach Kendall bulldozed his way over the try line out of a Wolverine maul. Noon could not convert again however making the score 17-0 Michigan.
Tohy Rakotovololona breaking away for the opening try
Noon would quickly make up for those missed conversions as he slipped through the Purdue defensive line just three minutes later for a try of his own. He converted his own try to give Michigan a commanding 24-0 lead 30 minutes into the game. The talent show went on however and outside center Cooper Smart got himself on the scoreboard with a long run down the sideline, outrunning would-be tacklers. Noon converted the try to make it 31-0 at the end of the half.
Evan Noon touches down for Michigan’s fourth try
In the second half Duker came alive with an offensive showcase. Starting in the 45th minute, Duker scored 3 straight tries in 10 minutes, slipping past defenders and showing his trademark elusive style. Noon was able to convert 2 of the 3 to put the Wolverines up a staggering 50-0. The rest of the half saw several young Wolverines get valuable experience on the pitch that will help the future of the team. Michigan could not hold on to the shut out however as Purdue was able to get on the scoreboard in the 73rd minute. They could not convert and time would run out with a final score of 50-5. Overall it was a great day of Michigan Rugby as both sides start Big Ten play at 1-0. The Wolverines now head into their Olde Boys weekend, a weekend of camaraderie and tradition that is a highlight of every year. For more information visit michiganoldeblue.com.
1. Darsh Khosla
2. John Palladino
3. Zach Kendall
4. Chris Byer
5. Jason Anthony
6. Nolan Webb
7. Chening Duker
8. Mike Manzano
9. Albert Foo
10. Evan Noon
11. Kevin Linder
12. Cody Griffin
13. Cooper Smart
14. Cody Brown
15. Tohy Rakotovololona
16. Travis Sawyer
17. Zach Burns
18. Matt Ko
19. Zach Burns
20. Ryan McDonough
21. Mark Borowski
22. Vinodhan Ravichandran
23. Uygar Ozdemir
24. Kevin Cheng
Tries: Rakotovololona 5′, Duker 13′, 45′, 51′, 55′, Kendall 20′, Noon 30′, Smart 37′
Cons: Noon 13′, 30′, 38′, 51′, 55′
