Pittsburgh, Pa.:

The 2019 version of the Franciscan Barons continued their winning ways with a dominating performance over heated rivalry Robert Morris, avenging their loss in the championship match last year.   Kicking off, FUS  managed to stay after things, making tackles hard and fast and not giving up an inch to the Colonials big pack.  After a few phases for both teams and feeling each other out, it was FUS who were able to gather themselves and begin to install their own game plan and swiftly moved down the field.  David Prezzia made a spectacular play, running in and out of several tacklers and off-loading to Bucky Barnes for the first points of the day.  Jake Goduti finished the scoring with the conversion making it 7-0.  RMU was able to gain back possession quickly at the reset (kickoff) with a non-contact turnover by the Barons dropping the ball.  RMU had good field position inside the 22 and slowly swinging momentum to their side.  However, the Barons fought off the attack and denied the Colonials a chance at a try from inside the 5 meter line.  After a knock on following a line-out throw, the Barons played dangerously and elected to get the ball out wide to advance rather than kicking for territory.  Once the ball swung out wide, it was then off-loaded to Rafe Lewis who streaked through the back line and was subsequently brought down about 5 meters short of the try line, but not before he off loaded a pop pass to freshman Michael Bohman who darted in for the try and after the missed kick, brought the score to 12-0.  RMU seemed to be gassed by this time and the Barons continued to make outstanding passes and supports and rolled up two more tries.  Freshman Juan de Cardenas, starting in his first game ever, contributed in the scoring with a galloping jaunt down the sidelines on a pass from Gabe Iacoviello, outracing. the defenders for his first try ever!  After the made conversion, the tally stood at 19-0.  Michael Bohman then  added another try to his total with a nifty defensive interception as he dashed in front of a pass and took off for the easy dot down and bringing it to 24-0 after Goduti's made attempt.  In the 2nd half, the Barons played passive as they tried not to make mistakes and keep things moving along.  After a few warnings for offside calls, BUcky Barnes was sin binned (yellow card for 10 minutes) and this gave RMU a chance to get back into the game.  They were able to muster a try after several phases helped get them into position to score.  The score remained at 24-7 for a while and as time ticked down on RMU's season, they managed to squeak out another try but missed the conversion to bring it to 24-12.  Once Bucky Barnes was back into the game, the Barons decided to stop letting up and quickly went back onto the offensive and easily moved the ball up field where David Prezzia put the final dot down to make it 31-12.  Flyhalf Rafe Lewis played brilliantly with his passing, shiftiness, and most importantly, his tackling, setting the pace for the defensive shutdown, earning the man of the match.  Every player had a hand in this win and that's what made it a great team victory.  The Champions Cup now resides back in Franciscan!!

Next up for your Barons, is a trip to Columbia, Missouri for the regionals (Sweet 16) and a date with Cincinnati Xavier (Xavier University) on Saturday November 9th.  Should they win, they will advance to the Elite 8 to played the very next day, on Sunday November 10th.  With a victory there, the Franciscan University Steubenville Barons would be Final Four bound next April!  Go the Barons!!