The Baron ruggers of Franciscan traveled to Niagara Falls, NY over the weekend as one of 16 teams vying for the automatic qualifier bid on the line for a chance to earn a trip to the CRCs (College Rugby Championship) 7's on April 25th. The set-up of this tournament was in a cascading style bracket-which is what is used at the CRCs. This means that you must go a perfect 4-0 to win the championship. Most 7's tournaments have pool play where, depending on the number of teams participating, teams are grouped into a pool with a few other teams. Typically, a pool will have 4 teams. Each team plays each other once (three matches), and the team with the best record in their pool, moves on to the knockout rounds with the other pool winners, setting up a semifinal and then finals. The ruggers spent Saturday attending mass at Our Lady of Fatima Shrine and doing some sightseeing at Niagara Falls, walking along the raging rapids during a cool and damp day.

On a windy and chilly Sunday, where it will be difficult to convert kicks, Franciscan was matched up with Niagara University's second side in their first match. As often happens with the first match, some rustiness is expected, and with not having played since the end of March, the Barons started off slowly. After a few minutes of finding their footing, Paul Thibault was able to break through the defense and dot the ball down and with Joseph Moleski (Joe Bob) converting the kick after, the Barons took a 7-0. Niagara, playing with confidence and guts, was able to answer after some miscommunication by the Baron defense and scored a try of their own. They made the kick after, and it was tied up at 7. This provided the wake-up call that the Barons needed, as they then reeled off 33 straight points. Chris Ascough, Joe Bob, Ben Baska, and Nick Patryn (2) tallied up the tries with Joe Bob converting 3 out of 5 kicks during that stretch (5 for 7 on the day). In playing his first career 7's tournament, Patryn led the way with 2 tries in this one and finished the day with five total tries. With the 40-7 win, the Barons moved on to the next round to battle Bentley University for a chance to go to the semis.

Bentley, coming off of their own 33-10 win, was looking to upend the Barons. Franciscan started out in a hurry, putting up three tries before Bentley could do anything. Matt Patryn gathered the bouncy egg off the floor and promptly sidestepped a defender and touched the ball down for the score. Baska then intercepted a pass and scored and then scored again moments later, on an offload from Ascough. Joe Bob was not able to convert the difficult angled kicks on a windy as the tries were scored away from the middle of the try zone. Kicks are taken from the spot the ball was downed in the try zone-it is not moved back to the middle as it is in football. Bentley was able to capitalize on the Barons' lack of defensive effort and dotted a try before the half to make it 15-5. At the start of the second half, the Barons were caught sleeping and a penalty ensued, giving Bentley another try to close the gap to 15-10, Barons. On the restart, Bentley kicked the ball to the elusive wing, Ben Baska, who sidestepped a tackler and raced down the sidelines for the score. Joe Bob converted the kick, and the lead was upped to 12 points, 22-10. Bentley, who put in a valiant effort and continued to fight back, capitalized on several missed tackles by the Barons, and made a nice play to score a try. With the missed conversion, Bentley closed the gap again, to 7, 22-15. On the restart, Bentley again decided to kick to Baska, and well, he made them pay as he shimmied and shook off a defender and galloped down the sidelines to give the Barons breathing room as the match ended 27-15. Baska finished the match with 4 tries.

The Barons would move on to the semifinals where they would face a familiar foe. John Carroll, who was a #1 seed in last year's CRC's, returned their whole squad and dominated in their two matches, would be the Barons' next opponent. Both teams struggled out the gate with several knocks and dropped balls. Franciscan took advantage of a knock by JCU and off the scrum, Joe Bob sent the ball out to the backs and on a dazzling play by Baska and Ascough, Ascough took the wraparound pass and scooted the sidelines and took off down the field. A JCU defender contested as he got close to Ascough and attempted a questionable tackle to pull him down from behind by the shoulders, which is not allowed, as Ascough tried to touch the ball down. The result was a leg injury to Ascough that put him on the shelf for the rest of the tournament, no try scored and a 22-meter drop kick for JCU to kick out of their zone. The tackle is like that of a horse collar in football where players can not grasp the jersey or shoulders from behind and pull down on it. As Ascough was subbed for, the Barons were still adjusting to the sudden change of momentum and JCU took advantage of the play and scored a try a few moments later, with the kick converted, they went up 7-0. They again scored after some missed tackles and upped the score to 14 with the made conversion. The Barons did not wilt under pressure and were able to play with more poise. In the waning seconds of the half, Thibault darted in and out of a few tackles and took off down the field. With a JCU defender chasing him, the defender attempted to pull him down by the shoulders from behind by diving at him, but Thibault was able to down it for the try. Both tackles were questionable and could have gone either way. But give credit to the JCU defenders as they did not quit on those plays and did well enough to chase and at least create an opportunity for a turnover. With the missed conversion, the Barons were down 14-5 at the half. John Carroll's experience was on display in the second half as they scored another try to bump the lead to 19-5. JCU, however, gave the Barons a glimmer of hope as one of their players received a yellow card for obstruction and while yelling at the ref, the player was then given a red card. So, JCU had to play the rest of the match down a player in the closing minutes of the match. JCU was able to tack on another try after a mistimed pass by the Barons was intercepted by JCU. John Carroll advanced to the finals to play against Springfield.

Franciscan still had to play for third place and would face Loyola of Maryland, a team they beat 15-7 last spring at Nationals. The Barons were able to regroup minus Ascough and Thibault and played as well as they did all day. In a back-and-forth match, Nick Patryn leveled up in this one and did all the heavy lifting but not before Loyola started things off with a try and a missed conversion to go up 5-0. Nick Patryn was able to slither out of a few tackles and tack on a try and with the missed conversion, the score was tied 5-5. Not to be outdone by his twin brother, Matt Patryn decided to join in on the fun and after a few fending moves, was able to break free and outrun Loyola's defense for the try. Joe Bob converted the kick and took the 12-5 lead. Loyola answered with a try and conversion of their own tying it up at 12 apiece. Nick Patryn executed a pick and go and sauntered through a few tacklers and dotted down for the try. Joe Bob again converted the kick and up the score by seven with the Barons leading 19-12. Once again, Loyola answered the bell and countered with a score of their own along with the converted kick knotted I tup 19 all. With time running out on the match, the Barons took advantage of a high tackle on Joe Bob, and with the quick tap pass out to Nick Patryn, Patryn slipped a few tackles and managed to break free and touched down the game winner as time expired. With the kick converted, the score was 26-19 with the Barons taking third place. Loyola played exceptionally well and was in it down the wire. It was disappointing to not have a chance at the automatic qualifier bid, which was won by Springfield College in dominating fashion over JCU (33-10), the lads still improved on their game from their last tournament.

While the Barons lack 7's experience, playing in more 7's tournaments can only progress their game with more knowledge and understanding of the game. Nick Patryn and Ben Baska lead the team with 5 tries, dancing and slicing their way through attempted tacklers. Joe Bob was phenomenal with his crisp passing and ability to create space and offload. Paul Thibault was a mad thumper on defense and made several hard punishing runs. Paul Leerkes was all over the field with runs, tipping restart kicks back to the team, chasing down possible try runners, and just an endless motor to get everywhere. Chris Ascough led the way with his hard running and fending, and ability to attract attention from the opposite team. Brendan Lacey stepped up in the last game with some good tackles and poaches, never giving up during the tournament. Matt Patryn continues to improve with his attacks and finding space, outrunning the opposition several times. William Schaifer (Sawyer) played in his first collegiate 7's tournament as well and was a mainstay on the field with his high IQ and playing determination. Declan Hamilton didn't get much playing time as he continues to train and learn the sport that is new to him.

With their second consecutive 3-1 tournament finish, the Barons hold a 6-2 record on the season and look forward to competing in the ARU 7's Conference Championship this Saturday. It will be a grand tournament as teams like IUP and Slippery Rock, both of whom have already qualified for the CRCs along with possible at-large bid John Carroll, get together in this royal rumble of ARU teams for a chance to win the ARU. This is not an automatic qualifier, but it is an opportunity for teams that are on the bubble for an at large bid to make a statement. Franciscan would also like to acknowledge Niagara University's David Chapman and the school for being gracious host and the impeccable job they did with achieving a well-run tournament.

Match Recaps:

Vs Niagara Second Side (W 40-7)

Tries: Nick Patryn (2); Paul Thibault; Chris Ascough; Joseph Moleski "Joe Bob"; Ben Baska

Kicks converted: Joe Bob 4/6

Vs Bentley (W 27-15)

Tries: Baska (4); M. Patryn

Kicks converted: Joe Bob 1/4 ; Chris Ascough 0/1

Vs John Carroll (L 5-26)

Tries: Thibault

Kicks converted: Joe Bob 0/1

Vs Loyola of Maryland (W 26-19)

Tries: N. Patryn (3); M. Patryn

Kicks converted: 3/4