The Franciscan Barons rugby team hit the road once again for the third straight weekend. This time to IUP, who are ranked #2 in NCR Division 2. This is a cross-division match within the same conference as both teams are members of the Allegheny Rugby Union (ARU). While a win or loss counts on either team's ledger, there are no bonus points to be earned by either team. For Franciscan, the match came at a difficult time with the team dealing with several injuries to their starting forwards, and a few other players not available for the Sunday kickoff. The match was moved from Saturday to Sunday to accommodate IUP's pitch availability. The Barons were shorthanded with about 19 players available, most of the new players being in the forwards.

The first half went as one would expect with IUP quickly scoring and getting out to a 45-3 lead at the half, with Christopher Ascough converting a penalty kick before the half. The young players had to learn on the fly with eight players playing for their first time. Michael Dignin (Cullen), John Reese, Franek Ignatik, John Murphy, Jeremy Horn, Augustine Arago, Jeremy Orsay, and Liam Fradd all seeing ample playing time. They have worked hard in training leading up to the match and played as well as they could. By the start of the second half, they had asserted themselves well and played much better. They started to posses the ball a little longer, won lineouts and kept the breakdowns more stable than in the first half. Ascough, playing wing for his first time, took an offload from Luke Lang (Lex) and fended off a tackler and dotted down a try 5 minutes into the second half. With the missed conversion, the score was 45-8. IUP would answer with several tries of their own before subbing their players in. Franciscan, however, would show its resiliency and continue to play hard. Augustine Wright (Gus) then made a few nifty moves and scored the Barons' second try under the post. Ascough's converted the kick after making it 69-15. Ascough continued his penchant for tries and tacked on two more with offloads, one of those being a dazzling pass from Liam Treece for the match's final scores. Ascough would convert one of the two kicks after to give the Barons 27 points to IUP's 69.

Despite the outcome of the final score, the young players acquitted themselves well and have helped to build solid depth on the roster for the remaining of the season. Dominic Grecol was named Player of the Match with his hard running and defensive play, while freshman John Reese was named DAWG of the match, as a result of his crashing with the ball and setting the rucks. The backline did well kicking and moving the ball when the opportunities presented itself. John Paul Treece made a few nice catches on kicks while playing fullback, and Lang, playing the 10 spot for his first time, was instrumental in keeping the backline in flux. With the young players getting good playing experience and gaining more knowledge in the sport of rugby, they will be a nice addition to the roster of 25 once conference play starts. Franciscan would like to thank IUP for being gracious host and providing a great match for the Barons which will only enhance what they have learned.

The Barons will finally have their first home match of the season on Saturday September 20th against conference member Xavier University. The Barons dropped a close match to Xavier last fall in double overtime in the play-in qualifier. They will look to rectify the loss and start their conference play with a win. Kickoff time is slated for 1:00 p.m.

Tries: Ascough (3); Wright (1)

Assists: Lang (1); L. Treece (1)

Penalty kicks: Ascough (1/1)

Kick Conversions: Ascough (2/4)

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