This past Saturday, October 4th, the Wolverines played host to the Badgers in Riverside Park in Ann Arbor in a match between two of the top teams in the Big 10 this year. Each team knew the other was a formidable opponent, and both sides looked forward to a competitive match to test each other. The wet conditions favored forward play, with many of Michigan’s tries coming off of slow-ball play. In the end, the Maize and Blue emerged victorious, holding out for the 32-27 win.
The game opened up to hard defense on each side as the wet ground inhibited much dynamic play. Each side pushed back and forth, vying for field position and the first points of the game. The stalemate was broken 8 minutes into the game when Michigan was awarded a penalty well within Wisconsin territory. Joel Conzelmann elected to go for points and sent the ball sailing through the uprights for 3-0 in the Wolverines favor. 2 minutes later, Wisconsin responded with a penalty kick of their own with a successful kick, tying the game back up. Wisconsin then fielded the kick-off and with a break through the Michigan line, they were able to score rather quickly, at about the 12th minute on the edge of the try zone. The conversion however was unsuccessful, making it a 8-3 game for the Badgers. The Wolverines weren’t going to let this discourage them however and with steady and methodical play, they drove down the field, keeping ball in hand. With the ball cycling through the whole Michigan pack, the try eventually came at the hands of Chening Duker in the 18th minute. Conzelmann sucessfully converted this try to give UMRFC a 10-8 lead. Wisconsin scored another try of their own off of a line break in the 25th minute with conversion to put them up by 5 at 15-10. The back and forth nature of the game continued as Zack Burns (Jr.) scored a try without conversion followed up by a Wisconsin try without conversion to make the game 20-15 in Wisconsin’s favor as the half was winding down. However the Wolverines were determined the finish the half with the lead they started with and after more solid forward play, Cole van Harn put the ball over the try line near the posts to set Conzelmann up for the easy conversion, making the score 22-20 going into the half with a Michigan lead.
Both teams came out with as much energy as they had to start the game, with solid defense and hard running being the focal point of the game. Michigan would start the scoring of the half with another penalty kicked for points by Conzelmann several minutes into the half. A few minutes later Michigan followed this up with continued great slow-ball play by the Wolverine pack to allow Drew Vecchio to reach out and place the ball down right next to the post, setting Conzelmann up for another easy conversion to give the Maize and Blue a 32-20 lead with 25 minutes to play. At about the 60 minute mark, the Badgers managed another try, placing the ball down between the uprights and kicking it through to close the gap down to a mere 5 point lead with 20 minutes of play left. Wisconsin managed to retain possession for most of the remaining 20 minutes, but excellent Wolverine defense kept them out of the try zone again and again. With 10 minutes to go, Sequoyah Burke-Combs was issued a yellow card for hitting the Wisconsin kicker after the kick, putting the Wolverines in a tough place. With their backs pressed up against the try line, Michigan lived up to their name sake, show-casing coach Brandon Sparks patented “Wolverineness” he is instilling in the team. Phase after phase the Wolverines kept the Badgers out of the try zone until 10 minutes later the final whistle blew, cementing Michigan’s 32-27 win over the visiting Wisconsin team.
- Nick Fehrman (Azzopardi 56′)
- Jackson Wagner
- Jordan Ulmer
- Zack Burns (So.)
- Drew Vecchio
- Chening Duker
- Sequoyah Burke-Combs
- Cole Van Harn
- John Palladino
- Joel Conzelmann
- Cooper Smart (Rakotovololona 40′)
- Jared Bosma
- Zack Burns (Jr.)
- Matt Kasten
- Andre Cargill
- Nick Azzopardi
- Travis Sawyer
- Jeremy Reid
- Jason Anthony
- Cody Griffin
- Albert Foo
- Tohy Rakotovololona
- Ron Marine
Tries: Duker 18′, Burns (Jr.) 33′, Van Harn 38′, Vecchio 55′
Cons: Conzelmann 18′, 38′, 55′
Penalties: Conzelmann 8′, 49′
For the second match, unfortunately Wisconsin didn’t bring enough players, so the game saw an Academy Wolverines side face off against a hodge-podge of Wisconsin A/B side players and some Wolverines filling in where needed. While this didn’t allow for the Academy side to play a fully serious game to count towards their goals of playing in the Big 10 B-side championship, it was a great way for as many Michigan players to get some game time and against some talented A-side Wisconsin players. After two 30 minute halves reffed by UMRFC’s own coach Brandon Sparks, the final score was 53-0 in favor of the “Badgerines”. While it may not have been an official game, it was great experience for the burgeoning Wolverine Academy side, and should pay off greatly down the road as they graduate to the first XV. Overall it was a great day for Michigan rugby and UMRFC is now looking forward to their next match against Michigan State on Friday, October 10th at home on Mitchell Field. If you can’t make it there, you can check the game out on @CoachesAid as part of BTU Rugby’s new streaming service. See you then!
