Columbus, Ohio - The Barons of Franciscan rugby undertook a tall challenge over their Spring Break as they traveled to Columbus, OH for the Midwest-East Small College National Qualifier on March 16th. The winner of this tournament would receive the automatic bid to Boyds, MD (near D.C.) for the CRCs National 7's championship April 27th weekend. The Barons had about 11 players that were originally committed to go but a few players had to drop out due to unforeseen circumstances, whittling the roster down to 8. Captain John Thibault led the team along with Andrew Normandin, Luke Hall, Sebastian Bise, Jacob Leerkes, Matt Orsay, Ben Baska, and newcomer, Chris Urbina on the trip to Columbus. In what was originally a 12-team tournament, it became an 8 team tournament, as several teams backed out due to their own Spring Break and short rosters but the Barons really wanted to play. With 8 total teams, there would be two pools, with 4 teams in each pool. Teams would play 3 pool matches with the final being played by the top two teams in each pool. On a bright but windy and chilly day, Franciscan took care of business, beating Wabash, Baldwin Wallace, and Xavier in their pool play to earn a trip to the finals against Christendom College, who are annually a top side in small college 7s. Christendom won their pool against John Carroll, Hillsdale and Taylor. Christendom was able to finagle out a win at the end with no time left after the Barons scored what they thought was the match winning try with no time left. Coach Jason Adams expressed his gratitude to the gents as they made the commitment to play and played well for every minute of every match. Coach Adams was very impressed with how they improved after each match, especially when they couldn't train during the week leading up to the tournament. That is a testament to how hard they have trained over the past two months. While it was very disappointing to lose a match that way, it was a learning experience that should pay dividends down the road. With more players coming back after the break, the Barons are looking forward to improving on their results. Coach Adams is very proud of the way the players handled the adversity of playing 4 matches on the day and playing hard until the end with dignity and passion. The resilience of the team truly showed what it means to be a Baron.

How it Happened

Franciscan vs Wabash 26-10

The Barons came out pretty flat in this one as their lack of training over the past week due to spring break was apparent. Several mishandlings of the ball and sloppy playing was evident early on. Andrew Normandin scored first with an assist by John Thibault. Thibault converted the kick after for a 7-0 lead. Thibault then scored the second try with Normandin returning the favor to up the lead to 12-0 on a missed conversion kick. Wabash, who finished 4th at Nationals in 2023, lost some of those starters but they were able to take advantage of a few miscues to score two tries of their own before the half, with the Barons leading 12-10. The second half saw the Barons looking more like themselves as they asserted their playing and scored two tries, one by Sebastian Bise with a Normandin assist and Luke Hall setting up Normandin for his second of the match. Thibault converted both kicks as the Barons won their first pool match.

Tries: Normandin (2); Thibault; Bise

Assists: Normandin (2); Thibault; Hall

Conversion Kicks: Thibault (3/4)

Franciscan vs Baldwin Wallace 40-5

Franciscan raced out to a lead quickly in this one and never looked back. Baldwin Wallace was overmatched with several new players learning the game, but they played hard until the final whistle. Newcomer Chris Urbina was able to play most of the match and gain experience. He collected a pass and made a nice long run, fending off a defender and then offloading to Normandin for a try. The Barons put up 6 tries in this one, with Matt Orsay leading the way with two of them. Thibault connected on 5 of the 6 kicks after.

Tries: Orsay (2); Bise; Thibault; Normandin; Baska

Assists: Thibault (2); Normandin; Urbina

Conversion kicks: Thibault (5/6)

Franciscan vs Xavier 31-5

The 2-0 Barons next faced off against Xavier, who was also 2-0 in pool play. The winner would advance to face Christendom in the finals for a chance to get the automatic qualifier. Franciscan played their best match up this point, winning many kick off restarts and taking advantage of the wind. Xavier is a much-improved team from the fall and they could make waves in upcoming 7's tournaments. Thibault and Normandin led the charge with two tries apiece as well as both having two assists. With the win, the Barons moved on to face a common foe in Christendom for the chance to win the automatic qualifier for Nationals.

Tries: Normandin (2); Thibault (2); Baska

Assists: Thibault (2); Normandin (2); Hall

Conversion kicks: Thibault (2/4); Bise (1/1)

Franciscan vs Christendom Finals- Lost 33-27

The Barons won their pool and matched up with small college powerhouse Christendom who won their pool, both with a 3-0 record. In a barnburner of a match, both teams traded haymakers throughout with nifty ball handling and runs. Defense was an afterthought in this one, perhaps fatigue had settled in for both teams, but specifically for the Barons as they travelled light with only 7 starters and an 8th player playing his very first minutes on the day. After a week of no training or fitness, the Barons started to run out of gas. A questionable end to the match made the result even more deflating as time had supposedly run out after Franciscan scored with no time remaining, setting off an early celebration. However, the ref determined that there were still a few seconds left on the clock and a restart kick was necessary. After feeling instant jubilation, and then having to still play, it can be hard to get back into that mindset, and well, we all know how that works out as the Crusaders received a golden opportunity for one last chance and were able to exploit a gap in the Barons defense and scored the second game winner try of the match, vanquishing the Barons' hopes of a finals win and an automatic bid to Nationals, as Christendom would prevail 33-27. The Barons will continue in their search for an automatic bid on April 6th at the Pittsburgh 7's.

Tries: Normandin (2); Bise; Thibault; Orsay

Assists: Hall (2); Leerkes (1)

Conversion kicks: Thibault (1/4); Bise (0/1)

Stay Connected 
Be sure to follow Franciscan University on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of FUS athletics