The BG rugby club continues its dominance against the Ball State Cardinals, winning Saturday’s match up 74-0.
The weather was a factor this past weekend as the Falcons fought their way to a 3-0 regular season record. The game ended early due to thunderstorms.
Falcons’ flanker Frank Viancourt, eight man Bryan Kean and hooker Mike Brown all had excellent performances on Saturday. Each of them had three tries on the day, including Brown scoring his fifth try in the past two games.
Despite what the scoreboard said, BG’s Director of Rugby Roger Mazzarella knows what Ball State brings to the table.
“I know Ball State has taken it on the chin the last three weeks, but they have some good backs and some huge forwards,” Mazzarella said. “They just hit us on the wrong weekend.”
One concern for the Falcons on Saturday was an injury to Corey Ruth. He was tripped up on a breakaway run and injured his leg on the play.
“I’m not sure if it’s my hamstring or my IT band, but something popped,” Ruth said.
The team is unsure of the seriousness of Ruth’s injury, but he has been a big part in their success this season. He was disappointed with his day ending early because of his leg, but he was pleased with the team’s play.
“We were finding the holes and had some good offloads that lead to some serious plays,” Ruth said.
BG has always been known for their backs. They wanted to go into the game trying to dominate the forwards, and they did just that.
The team wants to spread the field similar to a spread offense in football. When a team spreads wide across the field, it tends to open holes around the scrums and mauls.
The Falcons have been successful running the maul, which is a play where a player has the ball and his teammates drive him down the field.
“The maul is a dying art form in rugby,” Mazzarella said. “Teams usually don’t even practice defending against it anymore, which of course makes it all the more effective when employed as an offensive tactic.”
BG will travel to a 2-1 Central Michigan team next Saturday, who is coming off a disappointing 40-33 loss against Ohio. The action is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
