Steubenville, Ohio - The Franciscan Rugby team had their last regular season match this past weekend; hosting 14th ranked John Carroll University (JCU). The match held some sway as the winner would finish in second place of the ARU Collegiate Conference, with Slippery Rock sewing up the first-place seed based off their wins against Robert Morris University, JCU and FUS. The winner of this match would finish #2 and the loser would be #3, with the #2 seed hosting the #3 seed next weekend in the first round of playoffs. The match provided the fireworks we all expected to see. Both teams came ready to play, matching one another in physicality and trying to assert themselves as the more physical team. Neither team gave an inch either way. John Carroll has improved steadily over the last few years and came in looking to use their size and strong runners to move the ball and play good defense.
Both teams had chances with the ball in the opening stanza but squandered them. After a stoppage in play due to a Franciscan injury, JCU was able to punch it in from 5 meters out and with the converted kick after, quickly went up 7-0. The Barons, forced to move Joseph Moleski (JoeBob) to #10, Christopher Ascough to #12 and captain Sebastian Bise to #9, to keep their backline stable, wouldn't stay down for long though, as they countered back and advanced the ball on a few gain line breaks to push the ball up field. Both teams continued to turnover the ball, but the Barons were able to win a lineout and Christopher Ascough dotted the ball down for the Barons first try of the match. Ascough made the kick after to knot up the score at 7. JCU battled back and had a few powerful runs through the defense to score a try to get back the lead at 12-7 with the missed conversion. After taking advantage of a few penalties by John Carroll, the Barosn were able to get the ball deep into the Gators' territory which paid off when they turned the ball over and Ascough scooped up the ball and dove in for his second try. Ascough made the kick after to regain the lead at 14-12. With several stoppages throughout the first half, there were about an extra 5 minutes to play, and the Barons were able to take advantage of that. Jonathan Salamida scored his first try of the season, taking an offload from Ascough to crash it into the corner to give the Barons a 19-12 lead after Ascough couldn't connect from the far side of the field.
The second half began with some confusion regarding player substitution. A John Carroll player could not be allowed to go back in to play after being subbed out for an injury. The player's reaction to the decision led to a red card, leaving John Carroll to play a man short for the remainer of the match. Franciscan was able to capitalize on the extra man advantage and converted a penalty kick for three points by Ascough to bump up their lead by ten, 22-12. Benjamin Baska joined the scoring sheet with his first try of the season playing as the #15, taking an offload down the sideline and outracing the defense for the corner try. Ascough was able to slot in the difficult angle kick to give the Barons a 29-12 lead. John Carroll continued to play good defense and was able to capitalize on a blown coverage by the Barons at the breakdown as they scored a long try to make it 29-19 with the converted kick. The whistle sounded shortly after that, and the Barons clinched home field for the first round of playoffs.
It was a hard-hitting game with lots of tough runs and great tackles by both squads. They will kit up once again this Saturday for the right to face Slippery Rock in the ARU Championship on November 2nd. Ben Baska was named Golden Man of the Match with his many runs and being the right place at the right time. He was playing a new position for his first time as well. Nick Patryn and Chris Ascough were both named DAWGs of the Match with their tenacious running and relentless hard work. The Barons showed a lot of resilience overcoming injuries and inexperience to win a hard-fought match. The crowd was unbelievably great, and the rugby team hopes to see the same amount of people cheering them on this coming Saturday!
Men's Rugby ID Camp
Franciscan Men's Rugby is excited to offer a Prospect Camp for aspiring college athletes on Sunday, November 17th. The camp is open to athletes entering 9th-12th grade this Fall. Participants will have the opportunity to receive training from the men's rugby coaching staff, as well as interact with current players. Campers will participate in a typical Franciscan training session and gain an understanding of the competitive and challenging environment of collegiate athletics. For more information click here
Stay Connected
Be sure to follow Franciscan University on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of Franciscan Athletics
