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Frontier Region Sees Plenty of Offense Over the Weekend

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Women’s Division I: 

Rocky Mountain:
The only game to be played in the Women’s Division I was the, Glendale Merlins taking on Black Ice. It turned into a pretty one-sided affair, with the Merlins keeping their traction and knocking Black Ice off, 43-12. The Merlins spark came from their wing, Courtney Jessamy, who dotted down two tries on the day.


Men’s Division II:

Rocky Mountain Men’s Premiership: 
Last year’s Men’s Division II National Champions, the Denver Barbarians picked up where they ended last year, with a dominant 49-21 performance over the Denver Highlanders. With the Barbarians missing a few pieces from the championship side they have made it clear they won’t be missing a beat. 

Elsewhere in Colorado, Boulder dispatched the Denver Harlequins with ease, 62-12. Boulder scored 36 points in the first half and were able to ride out their win from there. 

Men’s Division III:

Rocky Mountain Championship:
Northern Colorado Flamingos made the trip down the I-20 to take on the Colorado Springs Grizzlies, the trip was worth it as the Flamingos took down the Grizzles, 44-31. Led by Gabe McCabe, who scored a double, the Flamingos were in control of the game from the outset. 

Queen City Rams took down the Littleton Eagles in impressive fashion, 42-21. Scott Trench Scored 22 points for the Rams on their way to victory. 

Frontier Men’s Division IV

Marauders Rugby were able to move by the Colorado Rush with relative ease, 40-24. The Rush opened the scoring but were not able to capitalize on early momentum and moved behind Marauders when they scored 21 unanswered points. The Rush attempted to claw back, but were unable to ever recapture the lead. 

The Denver Barbarians D4 side played a closer game against the Denver Highlanders D4 squad, but ultimately it was the same result as in the two clubs division II match up. The Barbarians getting the better of the Highlanders, 29-19.

Mid-Atlantic Season Kicks Off With a Bang

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After a three-month summer break, men’s and women’s 15s rugby in the Mid-Atlantic was welcomed by rain and wind which added an X-factor to the Saturday’s tests. Two of the 16 matches were postponed and the remainder of the games featured gritty and dynamic play across five states.

In men’s Division I, the top two teams, the Norfolk Blues and Rocky Gorge, began with dominant 50+ point wins. After a loss of 13 players from its championship squad, the Blues beat the Washington Irish convincingly, 51-15, and coach Chris Porter said, “It’s a big boost to our young players who have taken on the leadership roles this season. We know it is a long road ahead of us to get to the level we played last year.”

Following a relegation to DII in 2016, Northern Virginia (NOVA) is back in Division I and came from behind to beat the Potomac Exiles, 27-24, in the second half. After leading 17-0 at halftime, coach Joe Tropea said, “the reality of DI smacked us in the face as the second half started. You can’t let up in DI, can’t miss a tackle, and can’t stop executing. If you do your opponent will capitalize on your mistakes and overcome you… Super proud of my boys for coming back and rising to the occasion, retaking the lead on a beautifully worked try, and finishing the game to get NOVA its first DI win in over three years. 

In the final game of Division I, the Pittsburgh Harlequins defended Founders Field for a 32-17 victory over Baltimore-Chesapeake.

All three divisions of men’s Division III were in action as North Bay, the Washington Renegades, Western Suburbs, Rocky Gorge, Northeast Philadelphia Irish, Schuylkill River, the Virginia Beach Falcons, and Norfolk Blues battled the weather and their opponents for season-opening wins.

The teams to beat in Division III this fall are Western Suburbs and the Northeast Philadephia Irish. Thirteen starters return for the Suburbs with seven new players joining the fold. Western Suburbs beat West Potomac 52-21 to open the season and coach Stephen Cleary said, “our team was on the same page all game. We had seen them a couple weekends before and I knew their wings weren’t that great so I put big guys out on the wing and that accounted for at least four or five tries.”

As for the Northeast Philadelphia Irish, they missed out on the postseason due to a CIPP issue, but they are back to terrorize the Division III-North with their lineup intact. The Irish brought the wood against the Philadelphia Gryphons winning 65-3. “Our defense is what our claim to fame is,” coach Tim Morris said. “It was shutout defense and offensively, we put in a new system this year with a different style of attack in the breakdown.”

Lastly, Severn River and James River pulverized the competition in the first matches of the of the Women’s Division II-North. Severn River shut out the Norfolk Storm, 60-0, and James River never let up against the D.C. Furies for a score of 71-5.

HOME SCORE AWAY SCORE DIVISION
Rocky Gorge Rugby 53 Schuylkill River Exiles 12 Men – DI
Pittsburgh Harlequins 32 Baltimore-Chesapeake Brumbies 17 Men – DI
Norfolk Blues 51 Washington Irish 15 Men – DI
Potomac Exiles 24 Northern Virginia Rugby 27 Men – DI
Frederick Rugby Cancelled Baltimore-Chesapeake Brumbies D3 Cancelled Men – DIII-Central
North Bay Rugby 20 Virginia Griffins 15 Men – DIII-Central
Washington Irish D3 5 Washington Renegades 33 Men – DIII-Central
Western Suburbs Rugby 52 West Potomac Beavers 21 Men – DIII-Central
Rocky Gorge Rugby D3 19 Severn River Rugby 17 Men – DIII-Central
Philadelphia Gryphons 3 Northeast Philadelphia Irish 65 Men – DIII-North
Delmarva Rugby 12 Schuylkill River Exiles D3 14 Men – DIII-North
Jersey Shore Sharks Postponed Blackthorn Rugby Postponed Men – DIII-North
Newport News Mariners 19 Virginia Beach Falcons 31 Men – DIII-South
Norfolk Blues D3 71 Rappahannock Rugby 0 Men – DIII-South
Norfolk Storm 0 Severn River Rugby 60 Women – DII-North
James River Rugby 71 D.C. Furies D2 5 Women – DII-North

Pacific Northwest Kicks-off its Fall Season

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Pacific Northwest Women’s DII

Emerald City Mud Hens put on quite the season opening act by destroying the hosting Budd Bay Bandits 69-7.  Nearly half those points came from Mud Hens flyhalf Rachel Manning.  She had a superior individual performance, converting her own hat-trick of tries as well as 3 other conversions.  All before Bud Bay got their consolation try at the 74th Minute.  Manning added another conversion as time expired to bring her personal point tally to 29.  Elsewhere, Portland Pigs travelled up to Bellingham to face off with Chuckanut Bay Geoducks.  It was a hard fought game that could have gone to either team.  Portland scored first and remained ahead at the break 15-12, after Chuckant tied them at 10 about midway through the first half.  Chuckanut pulled away at the beginning of the second half, forcing the visitors to scramble from behind.  With a try at 63 minutes, Portland came to within 4 points, 24-20, but were unable to defend against Chuckanuts relentless, late game, attack as they put up 2 more tries to seal the victory at 34-20. 

Pacific Northwest Men’s DII

Coming off a winless season, Portland Pigs started out strong against the visiting Valley Kangaroos.  Valley managed to put up 5 points toward the end of the first half, but Portland had done serious damage putting up 25 of their own.  The beginning of the second half showed a defensive battle as Valley attempted to gain some positive ground, but in the end, Portland proved too strong, adding 17 points to their tally with the final of 42-5, sending the kangaroos north with their tail between their legs.  Tacoma Nomads were home against Oregon Sports Union (ORSU) and started the day very sluggish.  The defensive slugfest showed early season jitters and mistakes by both sides, with ORSU capitalizing more often.  Tacoma was down 24-5 at the half, but brought it together, saving a blowout, and earning a bonus point in a narrow defeat 26-36.  

Pacific Northwest Men’s DIII/DIV North

Budd Bay Buffaloes were at home against Clark County Cheifs in a high-scoring game with Budd Bay at the controls for most of the game.  Going into the second half behind 45-12, Clark County caught Budd Bay napping a bit, knotting the game at 45 with seven minutes left.  Budd Bay awoke late, scoring two tries in the last 4 minutes to seal the win 55-44.  Meanwhile in Seattle, Seattle Quake hosted, well… Seattle Quake.  Technically, the B side were the visitors and in the process got shook by the Quake A side 72-7.  On a positive note, Quake B held the lead for 2 entire minutes, 7-5 at the beginning of the match.