STEUBENVILLE- Franciscan University Rugby dominated against conference competition Grove City College in a home match, winning 51-0.

The Barons started out strong, bringing the momentum back from their shut out last week as they took on Grove City, a tough opponent from last year's season. The rainy conditions allowed FUS to use their strategic pattern of play to their advantage.

"In these rainy conditions, it's really tough to catch balls," head coach Ken DeLucia said. "I knew that there would be a lot of ball handling errors on both sides. We decided to put the ball in the air and make it really hard for them to catch it. We capitalized on that today and got the ball down the field. Absolutely fantastic pattern of play, it was a total team effort."

The team effort was apparent throughout the entire match; Franciscan consistently dominated possession of the ball and seven different players scored. Sophomore Ian Miller and senior Josh Wilson each scored two tries and freshman Jeff Baldwin and senior Adam Smyth both scored. Senior Tom Allen had three conversions.

In such a successful match, sophomore Jimmy Keuber and seniors Robert McClelland and Jason Liuzzi stood out as especially crucial players.

"Rob's overall play, the manner in which he took the ball into contact, how he did his job cleaning out rucks, and his work around the field was just superb," DeLucia said. "Jimmy was doing a lot of things. Being a work horse is what we ask of him and he took that mantle of responsibility today, put it on his shoulders, and helped lead this team."

The Man of the Match was senior captain Jason Liuzzi. In addition to his excellent play on the field, DeLucia applauded him for how well he directed the team.

"It was just his vocal leadership and his command of the guys on the field," DeLucia said. "I could hear it from the sidelines and you could see how the guys were listening to him as an organizer. When he told them to spread out in defense or to get set up in certain situational rugby, they listened and it was effective today. That was a really big reason why we came out here today and were able to get a victory."

DeLucia was pleased to see the entire team performing up to the standard they have been training, with 23 players on the roster and 23 players having an excellent day on the field.

The Barons play next at home on September 28 against Robert Morris University.