Men's Rugby | 11/1/2021 9:00:00 AM

Steubenville, Ohio - In Franciscan's last regular season match, the Barons traveled to Slippery Rock for a chance to clinch a playoff berth in the Allegheny Rugby Union (ARU) for small colleges. Needing a win to secure a 2nd or 3rd spot in the standings, the Barons, playing on a marshy-mud pit pitch, were able to withstand a charge by The Rock in the opening minutes of the match. In front of a decent crowd, both teams came out swinging. After about 10 or 15 minutes, fullback John Thibault dotted the match's first try as he galloped through the muck to run in a long try. Mark Houle was successful with the point after and the score was 7-0. In what was a physical and sloppy match with the ground not providing much in the way of traction, both teams squandered opportunities to score. The Barons were able to win a lineout around the opponent's 22 and set up a maul that ended in the try zone with Matt Hennig touching it down. Houle missed the attempted conversion with a difficult angle at the posts. The Barons took a 12-0 at the half with stellar defensive breakdowns.

The Rock would not relent and kept advancing the ball throughout the 2nd half. The Barons' defense stood up to the challenge and continued to make tackles and force turnovers. Franciscan was able to take advantage of a penalty and Rafe Lewis took a quick tap and dived in for a short try. Houle was successful with the kick after, pushing the score to 19-0 with about 30 minutes left. The teams traded haymakers for the rest of the half with Slippery Rock scoring a short try and missing the conversion after, to avoid a shutout. Despite the muddy conditions neutralizing their speed and game plan, the Barons were able to adjust and play a different kind of game. Anthony Chipps, playing his first match of the season and at a new position, was all over the field, making tackles and forcing mistakes by the Rock, was deservedly named the "Gold"en Man of the match.

With the end of the regular season in the books, the team now turns its attention to the ARU playoffs, which will pit the top 4 teams in the standings against each other in seeded play. Rio Grande University is the #1 seed and will host the playoffs this weekend. They will face #4 Slippery Rock on Saturday November 6th at a time to be determined. #2 Robert Morris will then play #3 Franciscan following the first match, in a classic rivalry matchup to vie for the chance at a spot in the championship match the next day. The winners of both matches will then play on Sunday Nov. 7th to be crowned ARU champs, get the ARU #1 seed and a spot in the regional finals in St. Louis, November 19th weekend. The loser will be the ARU #2 and have to play in the play-in qualifier Nov 13th against the Minnesota Union #2 seed for a spot at regionals.