The Barons Rugby squad awoke from the slumbers of the winter season with a surprise invite to the Bridge City's 7's in Pittsburgh this past Saturday, February 19.  After a college backed out on Wednesday February 16^th, Pitt contacted Coach Jason Adams about Franciscan's availability to field a 7's team on short notice.  Coach Adams put the task to the leadership council to determine interest and there was no doubt that the gents wanted to play.  They were slotted into a pool with DI, DI-A and DII schools, being the only small college team present.  The pool of teams were Pitt Blue (their 1^st side), University of Cincinnati and DII ARU champ Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), with Franciscan bringing up the rear.  The other pool of 4 were Wheeling University, University of Dayton, West Chester and Pitt Gray (2^nd side).

The Barons opened the tournament play with the first match against Pitt Blue.  The Barons were overmatched in the 1^st half, with several new guys playing 7's which is a faster pace of rugby with considerable more space to defend and two 7-minute halves.  The Barons were able to play more consistently in the 2^nd half, giving up only 7 points and missing several opportunities to put points on the board.  Pitt Blue (who finished the pool of play at 3-0) won 26-0.  Despite the lost, it was encouraging to see the players improve with experience.  The next match was against the University of Cincinnati, where the Barons played well in the first half but the 2^nd half brought about the same mistakes as in the Pitt game.  Several missed opportunities to score and close the gap continued to plague the Barons.  Most of these chances were due to drop balls, bad passes and decision making which are mechanical mistakes that can be cured with more playing experiences.  Franciscan dropped the second match 29-0 but were still in great spirits as they could feel that they were gaining experience with each half. 

The third game pitted them against fellow ARU member IUP of the DII conference.  This time the Barons were able to dot down a few scores however, also saw several more missed chances that could have made the score closer, as they dropped the third straight match 26-12.  Rafe Lewis and Mike Hardy scored the 2 tries with Vincent Prezzia converting one of 2 kicks for points after attempt.  The confidence they gained from this game showed in their last match against Pitt Gray.  Pitt Gray went up by a try to open the match but the Barons were able to knot it up with a try on their own.  Several players made great one-on-one skill moves to power their way to a try.  The Barons won 33-22 to salvage their day and leave with a victory.  Rafe Lewis scored 2 tries, one of which was over 50 meters on a dazzling goose-step between two defenders..  Anthony Chipps bulldozed his way for a long try as well when an opponent tried to stonewall him at the 40 meter mark and Chipps stiff armed the defender to the ground and ran away for the sensational try.  Jorge Cebreros, playing in his first 7's tournament, showed great promise with each match, scored a long try of his own, slicing through several defenders to dot it down.  Mike Hardy also joined in on the scoring binge with a nifty try of his own.  Vincent Prezzia converted on 4 kicks of the 5 tries for an additional 8 points. 
 
Despite going 1-3, the team felt that they did well on a short notice and grew together with each game.  For the youngsters playing 7's for the first time, it was eye opening to them on the difference between 15's and 7's.  Coach Adams was impressed and proud of how the players improved in each game, and thought that the team played hard and never gave up.  They understood that the tournament was more for them to get playing experience and gain a better understanding on how to play 7's.  You learn by losing and the squad will look to improve on their mistakes during trainings.  Captain Vincent Prezzia remarked that they needed to capitalize when the advantage was there for them.  A lot of missed opportunities that should've been made golden opportunities.  He also thought that they fought hard and never gave up a fight.  They played our system and will continue to improve.  Prezzia was impressed with the new guys as they showed up to work and displayed a lot of talent and field vision.  He mentioned Jorge specifically on his field vision.  Nick Patryn and Tony Pettitte also got playing experience and brought a lot of passion to the pitch which helps the veteran players try even harder.  Prezzia alluded to a quote by Richie McCaw-"If the gaps are open, you better pound through it" which is a mantra the Barons will continue to strive for this Spring.   

Next up on the docket for the Barons is a joint 7's practice with DI team Wheeling at Franciscan on March 5^th from 3pm to 5:30pm.  They next play on March 26^th, in a round robin tournament at Franciscan with ARU teams, Slippery Rock, Robert Morris, and IUP.  Then they will play at Wheeling 7's on April 2^nd and West Virginia University 7's on April 9^th.  The Barons will change gears and play 15s against 2021 National Champions Christendom at home on April 23^rd.  The Barons will then try to qualify for Nationals 7's in New Orleans for May Madness on April 30^th at the ARU Championship 7's to be held at Clarion.  The boys will continue with their practices on Tues and Thurs nights at 8:30 on the field turf until the weather turns warmer and then will proceed to go on their grass pitch.  If any men are interested in playing a fast paced game with skill and determination, the rugby team is always welcoming new players.  Contact Coach Adams at jadams@franciscan.edu or ask a player on campus!