The BG rugby club will play its first game at Doyt Perry Stadium Saturday when they host the Michigan Wolverines in what the Falcons hope will be a rebound game.
The Falcons have gotten off to a shaky start, as they fell to 1-3 on the season with a 29-24 loss this past Saturday to the Detroit Tradesmen.
The Falcons have had an array of things go wrong for them at the start of the spring season, but perhaps the biggest thorn in their side was injuries. The team has lost players such as winger Nolan Cavano and fly half Max Narewski.
The Fly half is one of the biggest worries for the Falcons, as they lack depth at that position, and it doesn’t look like Narewski will be returning soon. Until then, junior transfer from Ohio University Mike Zeigler will be filling the void.
Zeigler, who transferred to BG this past fall, has good size, which is not normally a characteristic of the fly half position, but his athleticism may make up for it, said coach Tony Mazzarella.
“Max [Narewski] being out does really hurt us in a sense because our lack of depth at that position, but Mike has stepped up in his absence and really done a nice job,” Mazzarella said.
In their first matchup back in September, the Falcons got out to an early lead and never looked back, as they blanked the Wolverines by a score of 60-0. This was a game where a lot of Falcons got involved in the offensive end, but leading the way for BG was Narewski.
In Michigan’s favor is the fact that BG has come into this game losing its last three. Each loss has been by an average of seven points, and according to Mazzarella, the Falcons are improving.
“Even though we didn’t get the win against Detroit, that is a good team we were playing,” Mazzarella said. “Overall, as a team, I thought the guys gave a strong effort.”
Michigan has proven to be no slouch of late, winning three of their last four games, with one of those wins being against a very strong Davenport team.
Both teams will view this as a great momentum builder for the rest of the season, which should make for an intriguing matchup. The game will start Saturday at 7 p.m., and it will be the first rugby game to be held under the lights of Doyt L. Perry stadium.
