BG rugby, fresh off a bye week, will look to continue their undefeated streak in conference play this weekend and face the Dayton Flyers, who will make a short trip up I-75 to try and hand the Falcons their first loss of the regular season.
The Falcons are 4-0 and have put up a staggering 236 points and have only allowed a total of 58 to opponents. The Flyers come into this game sporting a 2-0 record.
BG and Dayton do not have much of a rugby history against each other. The last time the two teams matched up was in 2007, and the Falcons took the victory 39-8.
Dayton has recently moved up to D-I, so it isn’t abnormal to have five years in between meetings with teams that aren’t in the same conference or division.
BG has been a powerhouse in D-I year in and year out, continuing to compete for conference and national championships.
The Flyers have already sent a message to the upper echelon teams. They beat Mid-American Conference co-favorite, Ohio University, 27-19.
Now, Dayton will try to knock off the other MAC favorite in which should be a highly competitive game for BG.
The bye week was crucial for the Falcons this past week. It allowed players to heal and get back on the field, and it provides an extra week of rest and preparation for this game.
“Dayton has been a pretty good D-II team,” said Head Coach Tony Mazzarella. “They don’t necessarily have any stars on their team, but overall, they play solid rugby as a team.”
Ryan Koenig, back from injury, will be back in the starting lineup this week. On the other hand, two key players, Matt Marquette and Corey Ruth will not play against the Flyers.
Marquette is still recovering from broken bones in his face that occurred at the beginning of the season. Ruth’s timetable is about two weeks until he can get back on the field after suffering a leg injury against Ball State three weeks ago.
The Falcons will look to continue to play aggressively and spread out the Flyers defense to create holes for potential big plays. They hope their hard-nosed style of rugby will send a message and deliver Dayton its first loss of the season.
The game will start at 1 p.m. at College Park.
