Rock Hill, S.C. - Franciscan Rugby marched South over the weekend to face a massive challenge in the gauntlet that was the South Regionals. Two of the four teams there were at one point ranked #1 or were currently ranked #1 (VMI and Duke) and the Barons had to play both of them. The Barons made the 8-hour trek to Rock Hill, SC to play in the Sweet 16 South Regionals. They came away as the victors and will now be heading to Houston for Nationals!

Round of 16 - #7 Franciscan 29 - #1 Virginia Military Institute 19

On a very humid day against the favored #1 VMI, the Barons had their hands full with both the physicality of VMI and the humid weather as the temps were near 80 degrees. No matter to the Barons as they scored first on a Dominic Grecol pick and go and Christopher Ascough's kick, to stake the Barons to a lead that was theirs from start to finish. Ascough later scored his first try of the weekend with a dazzling offload by Lex Lang, and Ascough's power to break a tackle upped the Barons lead to 12-0, with Ascough's tough angle kick sailing wide of the post. Next came a jaw dropping and unexpected play from Joseph Moleski (Joe Bob) as he camped out behind the breakdown and nailed a 35 meter drop out to bump the Barons lead up to 15-0. However, true to form, VMI's never say die playing attitude shone brightly as they were able to dot down a try before the half was over and quell the Barons' momentum going into the 2nd half.

After some spirited halftime pep talk from Coach Jason, Captain Joe Bob and Captain Jacob Leerkes, the Barons came out determined to quash any of the Keydets' momentum and did so with a try by Abraham Schmiesing on a nifty pick and go at the tryline to up the Barons lead to 22-5 with Ascough's conversion kick. As the 2nd half trudged along, the Barons were playing to conserve their energy and their defense lightened up a little bit, giving the Keydets opportunities to slice the lead down. That they did, as they scored a try and converted the kick to cut the deficit to 22-12. VMI scored a little while later and inched closer with the try and conversion kick, shrinking the Barons 17-point lead to 3, bringing the score to 22-19. That would be the closest VMI would get, as the Barons countered with some help with a few impact players coming off the bench to replenish some of the forwards that were on their last legs. Brendan Lacey, Jeremy Orsay and John Reese all rang the bell and answered the call to lift the team's spirit and provide a bolt of electricity to the team. With the newfound life sustaining the Barons' lead, Lang snapped off a nifty offload and a sharp line run by Augustine Wright broke through, as he scampered between a few defenders and dotted the pill down for the final score of the match and boosted the Barons lead to 10 with little time left. With the final whistle blowing, the Barons' 29-19 triumph sent them to the Elite 8 against the dangerous Duke University.

Tries: Grecol (1); Ascough (1); Schmiesing (1); Wright (1)

Kicks converted: Ascough (3/4); Joe Bob drop goal (3 points)

Elite Eight - #7 Franciscan 36 - #11 Duke 10

Franciscan came into this match with a sense of confidence that they could hang with the former #1 ranked Duke University. Duke was ranked #1 for quite a few weeks but slipped up against Richmond in their conference semifinals, which gave them an "away seed" as the third ranked team out of the South Conference. Duke battled an epic match against Catholic University, prevailing in sudden death with a converted penalty kick to send them to the Elite 8. Both teams came in after physical matchups,and each team was champing at the bit to get that victory and earn their spot in the Final Four.

Duke came right out and capitalized on a Barons' penalty and slotted the kick in for a 3-point early lead. It would be the only time they led, as the Barons put on a masterpiece, scoring 31 straight points to get ahead comfortably. Lang started the scoring onslaught with a chip kick to the corner only to see the ball take a Barons bounce and Paul Leerkes made a nice move to pounce on the ball for a try. Ascough pushed the ball wide as Franciscan settled for a 5-3 lead. Joe Bob continued to direct the show with his passing and box kicking. Ascough took an offload and crashed it in for a try and with his conversion kick, upped the lead to 12-3. Joe Bob executed a perfect left-footed chip kick inside the 22 and Ascough outraced the defender to coral the ball and dot it down near the posts. Ascough again converted the kick and jumped the Barons' score to 19-3, which is where it ended at the first half.

Going into the second half, the Barons did not let up and kept the pressure on until the last whistle. They continued with tough tackling and maintaining good pace with kicking and offloading. The Barons used their kicking game effectively and would pin Duke down in their end with timely kicks by Joe Bob and Lang. Speaking of Lang, he was next up at scoring a try with a pick and go, but he wouldn't be the only one scoring tries in the second half as Samuel King and Jacob Leerkes also contributed to try-scoring. Scrumhalf Joe Bob exited the match after taking a crack under his eye, opening up a gash. Sandwiching the tries was a harmless Duke try late in the match, but Jacob Leerkes slammed the door shut on any comeback as he powered his way through for the score and the lead was now 36-10. The whistle shrilled loudly, and for the Barons rugby team, well, they erupted in celebration, winning the South Regionals and being the first D3 team to advance to the Final Four in Houston. Dom Grecol was named Player of the Match by the South Regionals directors as he was able to follow the game plan to shut down Duke's power runners.

Tries: Ascough (2); P. Leerkes (1); Lang (1); King (1); J. Leerkes (1)

Kicks converted: Ascough (3/6

Up Next
This will be Franciscan's third Final Four trip with the first two coming in 2011-12 and 2019-20, and Coach Jason Adams' second trip to Nationals (technically first trip). Of course, it must be noted that the 2019 team won their regional and at that time NSCRO held the Final Four National Championships in the spring. Covid-19 derailed those plans but now the Barons are back for a chance to win the National Championship. Standing in their way is the East Regionals winner Holy Cross, last year's runners up, as they will kick off at 4:00 PM CST on Friday December 12th in Houston, Texas at the Aveva Stadium. The winner will advance to the Finals on Sunday, December 14th at High Noon. A possible familiar foe could also pop up in the finals in Slippery Rock as they are on the other side of the Final 4 bracket and will face New Mexico Tech in Houston

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