It was a cold, wet and rainy weekend in east Lansing, Mich., but the Falcon rugby team was able to steal two games from Michigan State and get some play in before their big game against Indiana this weekend.
In game one, the Falcons won a slow paced game 48-5, in which weather was a big factor.
“The weather did affect our play a lot and made it difficult for our team to get a grip on the ball,” said Coach Roger Mazzarella.
“The team was disappointed they gave up a score, but still had a strong effort.”
The game started with the backs dominating the play in the first half. Kevin Mongold had 2 trys and Vince Starpoli added another. Pete Cromly converted two conversions and brought the score to 19-0 at the half.
Right off the kickoff, Vince Starpoli stole the ball from a Spartan player and ran it in for the first try of the second half. It was a half dominated by the forwards and featured the Falcons “kick chase” strategy, where they drew the defense in and dumped it over their heads. Falcon forwards Brian Virost, Bobby Brandenstein, Jeff Meeker, and Doug Ulrich all added trys, with Pete Cromley again making two conversions to make it a 48-5 final.
In game two, things started off even slower as the teams had difficulty making any head way. The first half ended with a score of 15-0 and an offensive change was made which opened up for 56 points being scored in the final half.
Falcon center Anthony Wanzer had a “hat trick” with 3 trys, while Jeron Foust and Tim Laubensheiner both added 2 trys a piece. Players scoring 1 try were Zack Molnar, Jeremy Welsh, Dan Brigadoi, Fred Ackerman, and Sam Pietrangelo. Jon Woodman added 3 conversions on the day.
The Falcon defense once again came up with a shut out, as they held MSU scoreless and won 71-0.
“MSU was a good team and was a good test for us before our semifinal game in the Midwest Championships,” Mazzarella said.
“The last time MSU beat us was in 1971.”
This upcoming weekend, the now (33-2) Falcons will play in the semifinals of the Midwest Championships in Columbus. They will face Indiana at 1 p.m. on Saturday, with the winner meeting the winner from the match between Ohio State and Purdue for the championship on Sunday.
In their past 2 meetings, the Falcons beat the Hoosiers when they were underdogs.
“Our past 2 meetings with this team we came in as underdogs and Indiana was way too overconfident,” Mazzarella said. “The roles are reversed this year and we can’t go into this weekend overconfident because he will get beat if that happens.”
For the Falcons to qualify for the nationals, they need to win 1 game this weekend. Finishing first or second in the Midwest would allow them a good opportunity at hosting a sweet 16 pool next spring.
“Ohio State is the team that has our number and the have beaten us the last 3 years in a row, which blocked us from the Midwest title the past few years,” Mazzarella said.
