STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – Memorial Field at Franciscan University was home to the first annual Three Rivers Rugby Conference playoff round robin on Saturday morning. On a bitter day when the sky was spitting rain, the Baron Ruggers defeated Allegheny College, 10-8, and Carnegie Mellon University, 18-12.
In the first match of the day against Allegheny, the Baron Ruggers used a Chris Cortes try, and conversion and three-point penalty kick by John Manni to take a 10-3 lead into the second half. Franciscan head coach Ken DeLucia held Allegheny in high regards after the game.
"Allegheny is a fantastic team," DeLucia said. "It was the first time I've seen them and I was really impressed. To have that 10-3 lead at the half was something special, for sure."
DeLucia also noted that it was his team's persistent pattern of play that allowed them to jump out to that early lead.
"My guys always work on our pattern of play so that everyone is on the same page, and this way we are able to overcome our deficiencies by using that pattern of play. That's what helped us establish that 10-3 lead," DeLucia said.
The second half was a much tighter contest as it took nearly 30 minutes until either team hit paydirt. The team that broke the second half scoring drought was Allegheny, as they broke out a huge, nearly uncontested run to make the score 10-8.
All they needed was a converted kick to tie the score with just over ten minutes left to play, but the kick was well short and left Franciscan grasping to a narrow two-point lead.
The final ten minutes were a grind as the Gators desperately attempted to break free and take the lead for good, but the Barons matched their intensity and determination in protecting their lead and putting them in strong position to win the round robin.
"We had a couple mental errors that gave the ball back to them in choice field positions," DeLucia said. "Allegheny really showed that they wanted it, and you have to appreciate what they brought to the table today. It was a nail-biter."
In the second match of the round robin against Carnegie Mellon, the Barons had to work for 60 straight minutes to come out on top 18-12.
Coach DeLucia said that much like the first game, it was adherence to his team's game plan that allowed them to ultimately come out on top.
"That's what helps this young team out," DeLucia said. "Our fitness, spreading the field, and our pattern of play. Everyone knows their roles and what is going to happen next, and they are so young that they need that. They are only going to get better with time; to be able to come out on top of all this is tremendous."
While being used to playing only one match per day, the Barons were faced with the challenge of playing two within a five hour timespan, and that mixed with injuries to some key players forced them to change up their rotations.
"Guys have to play different positions right now, and that's forcing some players to play out of position," DeLucia said. "That's an adjustment period, but they came out of it and played really, really well."
The Barons took an 18-5 lead into the second half of the match but allowed a try and a conversion with just four minutes left to play. Again, FUS found itself defending their lead late in the game successfully as they came out victorious.
Jimmy Kueber was named Man of the Match for the Barons in both matches. DeLucia sang the praises of his freshman standout saying that he is such a physical presence on the field with a keen mind for rugby that it is hard to give the honor to anyone else.
The Barons will face the winner of the Grove City College/Fairmont State University match that was held at Grove City today as part of the other 3RRC playoff round robin. If Grove City beats Fairmont State, FUS will travel there next Saturday and it will give the Barons an opportunity to avenge the 31-17 loss they suffered at the hands of the Wolverines in this year's Rugby Ruckus.
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