The Falcons came out of DeKalb, Illinois with a 52-33 win over the Huskies after struggling early in the game Saturday.
This was a highly anticipated college rugby match-up after Northern Illinois’s upset win over Ohio a week ago. BG was ranked No. 19 heading to Illinois to take on the No. 25 Huskies.
The Rugby Magazine determines the rankings by a point system. The Super League scoring is calculated by wins and tries.
Four points are added to the team’s score every win they achieve. If they score a certain number of tries, the team will be rewarded with a bonus point to their score.
As of today, the Falcons stand strong with 10 points in the Super League scoring system.
BG got off to a slow start on Saturday. Northern Illinois jumped out to a 12-0 lead, so the Falcons had to make adjustments and step up their game to outlast the Huskies.
Mike Brown had two crucial tries after halftime, and Mike Powell had three penalty kicks and four conversions on the day.
This was a huge win for the Falcons because NIU is one of the contenders to compete for the Mid-American Conference Championship at the end of the season.
Ohio University had a big win against Ball State on Saturday, as they beat the Cardinals 68-24. The Huskies were good competition to prepare for the Bobcats in a few weeks.
BG had to play without one of their key players on the field. Matt Marquette was ruled out of the game with a face injury.
Falcons’ fly half, Mitch Sora, filled that void, but Coach Mazzarella decided to play him at fullback rather than fly half.
“He’s not the biggest guy in the world, but he’s a deadly tackler out there,” said Roger Mazzarella, director of rugby.
Sora was thrilled to be on the field, but he knows he can’t be Matt. He has to be himself.
“To be honest, Marquette is just too much of a legend,” Sora said. “He’s just a great guy all around.”
Now the Falcons are starting to get into rhythm as the season is well under way. Next week they return home to face Ball State at 1 p.m.
