The Bowling Green rugby team’s national title hopes were dealt a major blow Saturday as the University of Indiana scored a last second try to stun the Falcon ruggers with a 34 — 29 loss.
The Hoosiers overcame a 17- point deficit while scoring 22 points in the last 10 minutes of a match that has easily captured the attention of the college rugby world.
“By the time I walked in my door at six that night, I already had two e-mails and three phone calls waiting for me,” BG head coach Roger Mazzarella said. “Bad news travels fast.”
Besides dropping the Falcons in the polls from No. 9 to No. 15, the loss has made any return by the ruggers to the national championship a very big uphill climb.
“It’s ironic, I suppose, that I started my coaching career with a squad that had to battle past a tournament rat-tail in order to finally take fourth in the nation and here I am in the twilight, that career facing the same situation,” Mazzarella said.
Now, instead of an automatic pass into the final four, BG must defeat both Michigan and Michigan State in the next two weeks as well as two more teams to be named after this weekend in order to return to the National Championship.
“We’re a young team,” BG assistant coach Chris Hopps said. “I think we learned on Saturday that this is an 80-minute game and we can’t just drop into a lower gear and sit on a big lead.”
Right from the start it was obvious that Indiana wasn’t in awe of the huge scores the Falcons had run up the past few weeks.
“We preach playing a patient game,” Indiana head coach Sopa Enari said. “BG is all about heat and light, we are the smoldering embers that are still around at the end.”
Playing into one of the Falcons’ famous gales, it is a wonder that BG could generate any offense at all.
“I’m sure a lot of dropped passes were caused by wind making the ball sail and that probably started to cause an erosion of confidence in the second half,” complained Mazzarella.
Nonetheless, BG put the fist points on the board on what is becoming a signature play of the Falcons.
Stealing the ball on the kickoff, BG’s J.D. Ackermann fed flanker Brian Farrell, who passed to flanker Bryan Kupper who then crashed over the goal line for a try. Total elapsed time — 48 seconds and BG’s third try after stealing the opening kickoff.
Center Ben Fledderjohann’s power surge up the middle put BG on top 10 — 0 until Indiana’s eight man Dave Bryant made it 10 — 7 BG after a short run from the bass of the scrum.
Prop Scott Holden padded BG’s lead with a try off a lineout, but Bryant again closed the gap with a try to end the half with BG on top 15 — 12.
Using the advantage of the wind at their backs in the second half, the Falcons proceeded to build what was seemingly an insurmountable lead. Flanker Brian Farrell took a quick tap penalty and cruised virtually untouched into the end zone for a try, while Ackermann took advantage of a stolen ball in a scrum for another try. Wing Matt Johnston converted both to put BG ahead 29 — 12.
“You’d have thought in a game that close, with only 10 minutes left, and behind 17 points, the other team would have packed it in,” Mazzarella said.
Not Indiana. The Hoosiers slowly and methodically punched in try after try, almost ignoring the methodical march of the clock towards the zero mark. Leading the charge, Bryant punched in two tries, as the increasingly panicked BG defense tried to regain the momentum they held through most of the game.
John Bryant tied the game 29 — 29 with just a minute and 30 seconds left on the clock, and after receiving the kickoff, Indiana worked the ball downfield where again older brother Dave Bryant touched down in the last second to give the Hoosiers the 34 — 29 victory.
“I’m not going to get down on our guys,” stated Mazzarella. “Everyone of them played their hearts out. There will be other games with Indiana and the results will be different.”
This weekend, the Falcons, now 19 — 3, travel to East Lansing to take on Michigan State.
