Spring Arbor University’s Men’s Rugby team came to Ann Arbor on Saturday, March 22 for another game on UMRFC’s developmental Spring 15s schedule. Spring Arbor is a team the Wolverines have played several times in the past in similar circumstances, and each time the games get tougher and tougher and Spring Arbor gets better and better. It’s great for UMRFC to have an up and coming team so close by, and the club looks forward to future games with the SAU program. To add to what was already a great day of rugby, Michigan State University also made the trip to come play UMRFC’s 7s side as each team gets ready for their competitive season. The two teams played before and after the 15s game, with a half of 7s during the 15s halftime. If you would like to see the games for yourself, venture to the team’s YouTube channel.
First 7s Game vs. Michigan State:
MSU came ready to play and they brought their size and power against a speedier Wolverine side, hoping to overpower the small Michigan team. This strategy led them to first blood three minutes into the game, scoring a try through the Michigan defense. The Wolverines would respond three minutes later with a strong run from Christian Mentzer to regain momentum for Michigan with a try. Joel Conzelmann successfully converted the try. Andre Cargill followed this up with a speedy run on the last play of the half to give the Wolverines a secure 14-5 lead with Conzelmann’s conversion. Michigan started the second half looking to keep up the momentum and slippery Chening Duker scored 30 seconds into the half with a speedy run into the try zone. Conzelmann successfully converted. Matt Kasten added to the scoring two minutes later with a try of his own, slipping through the line and outpacing the competition. The conversion was unsuccessful however and the next five minutes would be all defense as neither team could score and Michigan held their 26-5 lead to win the game.
1. Cole Van Harn
2. Sequoyah Burke-Combs
3. Christian Mentzer
4. Jared Bosma
5. Joel Conzelmann
6. Andre Cargill
7. Tohy Rakotovololona
8. Chening Duker
9. CJ Stock
10. Matt Kasten
Tries: Mentzer 5′, Cargill 7′, Duker 8′, Kasten 10′
Cons: Conzelmann 5′, 7′, 8′
15s Game vs Spring Arbor:
The 15s game saw two high octane offenses clash with high scoring on each side off of good ball movement and quick feet. Michigan came right out of the gates looking hot with Mark Borowski scoring two minutes into the game but failing to convert. Rookie Josh Patel followed this up with his first career try four minutes later with a speedy run around the wing. This conversion was also failed to make it a 10-0 lead for Michigan right away. Drew Vecchio added to this tally ten minutes into the game with a try through the Spring Arbor defensive line. Burns (So.) made the lead 17-0 for the Wolverines. Spring Arbor wouldn’t take these hits lying down however and answered with a try of their own and conversion to cut into the Maize and Blue lead. Tries from Burns (Fr.) and Burns (So.) would put Michigan back in a commanding role and with neither conversion being made, the Wolverines were 20 points ahead of Spring Arbor and looked to close the half out strong. However Spring Arbor had different plans and went on a scoring spree of their own. eight minutes, three tries and three missed conversions later, the Michigan lead had been cut down to a mere five points with a 27-22 score at the end of the half.
Drew Vecchio steps the last defender before touching down for five points
Michigan forwards Jordan Ulmer and Drew Vecchio weren’t happy with the way the last half had ended and made it known on the field. Mimicking Spring Arbor, Ulmer scored once and Vecchio twice in the first seven minutes of the half, with no conversions being made. This reclaimed the previous 20 point Michigan lead at 42-22 which would stand for a full 20 minutes until the next score. After knocking on the door for a long while, Spring Arbor finally made it into the try zone once again to tighten up the score with a try and successful conversion. Vecchio added another try to his tally a minute later with a successful conversion bringing the score to 49-29. Spring Arbor made a run at a comeback, scoring 12 points in the next three minutes on two tries, but Michigan sensing the game hung in the balance once again solidified their lead and the victory with two tries from Burns (Fr.) and Albert Foo in the last two minutes of the game, making one conversion and bringing the score to 61-41 as the clock ran out.
1. Nick Azzopardi
2. Jackson Wagner
3. Jordan Ulmer
4. Nick Mattes
5. Drew Vecchio
6. Nick Fehrman
7. Jason Anthony
8. Zack Burns (Fr.)
9. Albert Foo
10. Zack Burns (So.)
11. Aymen Maktari
12. Cody Griffin
13. Mark Borowski
14. Josh Patel
15. Drew Calcaterra
16. Jeff Krasnow
17. Eddie Sachs
Tries: Borowski 2′, Patel 6′, Vecchio 10′, 42′, 47′, 69′, Burns (Fr.) 21′, 78′, Burns (So.) 30′, Ulmer 45′, Foo 79′
Conversions: Burns (So.), Vecchio 69′, 78′
Sequoyah Burke-Combs knocks a Spartan out of the way and heads in for the score
Second 7s Game vs Michigan State:
The day was capped off with the second full 7s game versus MSU. Both teams improved through the day and produced a very competitive finale. Michigan would score first when Christian Mentzer stepped a Spartan defender and raced past the sweeper for the try. Andre Cargill converted to put U of M up 7-0. But MSU pressured the Wolverines and found the try zone twice before half through longer breaks. The conversions were missed which would prove costly later in the game. Nonetheless, State had a 10-7 halftime lead.
The second half started well for Michigan with a Cole Van Harn break. A penalty resulted and allowed Jared Bosma to quick tap and dive into the try zone. Joel Conzelmann added the extras and Michigan was up 14-10. MSU pressured well again though and forced U of M into their own penalty deep into their zone. A second one followed for not being back ten and tapping from this penalty, the Spartans worked back to the blindside for a score and the lead 15-14 without the conversion. Down late in the game, Michigan fought back. Sequoyah Burke-Combs received the ball on the wing from about 20 meters out and knocked one Spartan out of his way for the winning try. Joel Conzelmann converted to make it 21-15. MSU had their final chance though with U of M committing a few penalties. But Michigan won the ball back and kicked it out for a six point win.
1. Cole Van Harn
2. Chening Duker
3. Christian Mentzer
4. Jared Bosma
5. Andre Cargill
6. Sequoyah Burke-Combs
7. Matt Kasten
8. CJ Stock
9. Joel Conzelmann
Tries: Mentzer 2′, Bosma 8′, Burke-Combs 13′
Cons: Cargill 3′, Conzelmann 8′, Conzelmann 13′
