Roosterhead Game Reviews
Reviews of past Roosterhead matches
Frostburg State University 04.20.2010 by Travis
Won 27-10
The Roosterheads faced off against Frostburg State on Saturday for an exhibition match at Roadman Park. The poor weather did not slow the Roosterheads down in this game where they showed how much they have improved since the beginning of the season. The Roosterheads came out with a lot of intensity and within the first couple minutes were awarded a penalty 20 meters away in the center of the field. Phil “Carrot Top” Andrews successfully kicked for points and they took a quick lead of 3-0. The Roosterheads came right back and were playing good rugby by keeping possession and playing great defense. After multiple forward crashes meters away from the try zone Jake “Bunyon” Meeker touched the ball down off of a crash for their first try of the game. The Roosterheads led 10-0. The Roosterheads repeated this minutes later only with rookie Chad “Shrek” Will taking the ball in for his first ever try. The score was now 17-0 midway through the first half. Frostburg State began to play better and it became more of a back and forth game from then on. After an attempt to kick the ball out of bounds by Frostburg State, Roosterheads wing Dave “Twitch” Constance caught the ball with a lot of space and close to the try zone. Right before he was hit he dished the ball off to fullback Phil “Carrot Top” Andrews who took the ball at speed and touched it down in the corner to increase their lead to 22-0. At the end of the first half the Roosterheads were able to get the ball close to the try zone yet again. After multiple crashes Eric “Peanut” Pino was able to get the ball in the try zone for a 4th time that day. At half time the Roosterheads led 27-0.
In the second half, Frostburg State began to improve their play and it with young substitutes coming on for the Roosterheads; it was an even played game in the second half. Both teams were playing well by keeping possession, but the Roosterheads could not find the intensity they had in the first half. Eventually after capitalizing off of a deep kick and Roosterheads penalty, Frostburg State found the try zone for the first time that day. The lead was now 27-5. Frostburg State would find the try zone once again later on in the second half to cut the lead to 27-10, again capitalizing off of Roosterheads penalties. Towards the end of the second half the Roosterheads became frustrated with their play in the second half and both teams began to make dangerous plays at the end of the game. Although the game did not end pretty the Roosterheads came out victorious and this game showed how much they have improved since the beginning of the season. Final score was 27-10.
STATS
Tries: Jake “Bunyon” Meeker, Chad “Shrek” Will, Phil “Carrot Top” Andrews, Eric “Peanut” Pino
Conversions: Phil “Carrot Top” Andrews (2)
Penalty Kicks: Phil “Carrot Top” Andrews (1)
WVU Chicken Tournament 04.15.2010 by Travis
Morgantown, WV
6th Place
Buffalo State L 26-5
The Roosterheads opened up the tournament against Buffalo State out of the New York State Rugby Conference. Buffalo State’s size and experience overwhelmed the Roosterheads in the first half and the Roosterheads were unable to maintain possession whenever they got the ball. Almost the entire first half was played in Roosterhead territory and the Roosterheads were unable to put anything together on offense. Although their offense was struggling, the Roosterheads were able to play tough defense and keep Buffalo State out of the try zone. At the end of the first half Buffalo State was able to capitalize on an overload on the weak side. At half time Buffalo State led 5-0. In the second half the Roosterheads improved their play and was able to maintain possession and play in Buffalo State territory. However, Buffalo State was able to put together a nice series of rucks down the field and was able to put in another try and increase their lead to 12-0. The Roosterheads came back quick, however, and was able to capitalize off of good runs and was able to maintain possession near the try zone. After several forward crashes Nathan “Charlie Brown” Kulikoski was able to dive in the try zone and cut the lead to 12-5. Buffalo State was able to keep possession the rest of the half and scored two more tries off of breakdowns of defense and won the game 26-5.
STATS
Tries: Nathan “Charlie Brown” Kulikoski
Patuxent River W 12-7
In their second match of the day the Roosterheads were matched up against Patuxent River men’s club. The Roosterheads started to play a lot better in this game than the first one and the entire first half was played in Patuxent River’s territory. The Roosterheads maintained possession most of the first half and came close multiple times to scoring. Finally towards the end of the first half Tanner “Chongo” Adams was able to touch the ball down and score their first try. At half time the Roosterheads led 5-0. The Roosterheads were able to continue their dominant play in the second half. Patuxent River improved their play too, however, and was able to keep possession in the second half. With only ten minutes left in the game Patuxent River was able to get into the try zone and successfully kick the conversion to take the lead 7-5. The Roosterheads came back strong and determined to score and win the game. With only minutes left in the game, center Nick Fields took the ball on a break away but got held up about 20 meters away. He was able to pass the ball to Mark “Gumby” Bingaman who took the ball on pace with no man to beat and slide in the try zone. The conversion kick was good by Phil “Carrot Top” Andrews. The game ended minutes later and the Roosterheads won 12-7.
STATS
Tries: Tanner “Chongo” Adams, Mark “Gumby” Bingaman
Conversions: Phil “Carrot Top” Andrews (1)
Fairmont State L 12-0
In the consolation final the Roosterheads played a rematch from the Pitt City tournament against Fairmont State. Fairmont State came out playing with a lot of intensity and were taking the ball in hard and gang tackling. However, they began playing too intense and started committing dangerous penalties. The Roosterheads were unable to capitalize on these penalties however. Fairmont State’s dangerous play continued and eventually got them a yellow card. The Roosterheads were able to maintain possession for part of the half but were unable to put any good series together. Fairmont State was able to score two tries in the first half both of which on long breakaways. At half time Fairmont State led 12-0. In the second half the Roosterheads were playing great defense but were still unable to put anything together on offense. Fairmont State’s dangerous play continued and almost ended the game midway through the second half because of it. The second half showed a lot of hard hitting and good defense but neither team could find the try zone. The Roosterheads were taken out of their game early on and never recovered. Fairmont State won the game 12-0.
Robert Morris University 04.06.2010 by Travis
Lost 24-0
The Roosterheads traveled to Robert Morris University on Saturday for an exhibition match. Due to it being Easter weekend and injuries, the Roosterheads were only able to play with 14 players and were forced to play a man down the whole game. The Roosterheads were on their heels the whole first half and let up a quick score 5 minutes in to the game due to an overload in the backline. RMU was trying to attack the backline since the Roosterheads could not match their backline numbers. They would again find the try zone the same way about two minutes later. They led 12-0. The Roosterheads began to play better defense and gain what little territory they could in the first half, but playing a man down was about to become even worse for the Roosterheads. After a dirty play the two players from each team began to fight and both teams got involved. Levi Kaczka and the other RMU player would be red carded and Jake “Bunyon” Meeker would receive a yellow card for involving himself in the fight. The Roosterheads were now down two men the rest of the first half. RMU would find the try zone twice at the end of the first half, due to an outnumbered Roosterhead defense and led 24-0 at halftime. In the second half Jake “Bunyon” Meeker came back into the game, but the Roosterheads were still playing 13 on 14. Even with a man down, the Roosterheads were playing a lot better the second half and they were able to keep it in RMU territory the majority of the time. Unfortunately, Tyree “C.C.” Massie went down with an ankle injury and the Roosterheads were now playing two men down the rest of the game. This did not stop their momentum however and they continued to dominate the possession. They came close multiple times but could not find the try zone. After a good run by Alex “Dimple” Fuellgraf, he collided heads with an RMU player and he had to be helped off the field. Due to the Roosterheads only having 11 available players to RMU’s 14, the referee and both teams agreed to end the game midway through the second half. The Roosterheads did not let up any points in the second half and they came close multiple times to scoring even though they were playing a man down and two men down the whole game. They lost by a final score of 24-0.
Pitt City Tournament 03.29.2010 by Travis
Coopers Lake in Slippery Rock, PA
3rd Place
Fairmont State W 5-0
The Roosterheads opened up the tournament against Fairmont State, a team who beat the Roosterheads in the previous fall season. After coming off a strong win against Carnegie Mellon, the Roosterheads were looking to continue that trend with this tournament. The Roosterheads came out slow in the opening minutes, unable to get the ball out of their own territory. Eventually the Roosterheads started to clean things up and keeping possession. The Roosterheads were doing a great job at keeping possession but they were unable to put it into the try zone despite being in Fairmont State’s territory most of the half. With only a couple minutes left in the first half, the Roosterheads were given a lineout only about 15 meters away from the try zone. After securing the line out they swung it out to the backline where center Tyree “C.C.” Massie found a gap in the defense and put it in the try zone for the first points of the game. At half time the Roosterheads led 5-0. The second half showed more of the same from the Roosterheads, keeping possession and the ball in Fairmont State’s territory almost the entire half. The Roosterheads came close time and time again but were unable to find a try zone the rest of the second half despite their dominating play. Their defense and ball possession won the game for the Roosterheads by winning 5-0.
STATS
Tries: Tyree “C.C.” Massie
Duquesne L 14-12
In the Semi-Final match the Roosterheads took on Duquesne University. The Roosterheads picked up right where they left off in the first half by dominating possession and field position while playing excellent defense. The Roosterheads were able to score quickly in the first couple minutes when Tyree “C.C.” Massie was able to score off a 30-meter break away. Phil “Carrot Top” Andrews conversion attempt was good and the Roosterheads led 7-0. The Roosterheads kept up the impressive play and were capitalizing on all the penalties that Duquesne was committing. After multiple hard forward crashes inside Duquesne’s 22-meter line, Jake “Bunyon” Meeker was able to pick and go and break a tackle to score the Roosterheads second try of the game. The conversion kick was no good. Duquesne began to improve their play and was able to start maintaining possession but the Roosterheads defense held tight and the Roosterheads led 12-0 at halftime. Duquesne continued to play better and the Roosterheads began to become fatigued and were having trouble keeping possession. After winning a lineout inside the Roosterheads 22 meter line, Duquesne was able to swing it out to the backs and after a ruck created an overload to score their first try of the game and cut the lead to 12-7. The Roosterheads were still unable to get back to their dominating play from the first half and Duquesne were able to capitalize on breakdowns of defense by the Roosterheads. They eventually were able to punch in another try and with the successful conversion kick took the lead 14-12. Although they came close multiple times to scoring, the Roosterheads could not recover and lost 14-12.
STATS
Tries: Tyree “C.C.” Massie, Jake “Bunyon” Meeker
Conversions: Phil “Carrot Top” Andrews (1)
Kenyon College W 22-10
In the 3rd place game the Roosterheads took on Kenyon College from the Ohio Rugby Union. This match was played only a half an hour after the semi-final match, so the Roosterheads were playing very fatigued. This showed in the first couple minutes when Kenyon was able to punch in a quick score and take a 5-0 lead. After the try the Roosterheads started getting back to their impressive play from earlier in the day and were able to get some good breakaways and maintain possession. Tyree “C.C.” Massie was able to find a gap in the defense and find the try zone once again. Phil “Carrot Top” Andrews kicked in the successful conversion kick to take the lead 7-5. The Roosterheads impressive play continued the rest of the first half. After an overload on the weak side flanker Victor Phothisuk was able to score his first try in the corner of the try zone. The Roosterheads went into halftime leading 12-5. Due to injuries and lack of numbers, the Roosterheads were able to use a couple players from other teams of the tournament to give them a hand in the second half. The second half showed more of the same by the Roosterheads, they were maintaining possession and playing excellent defense. One of the substitute players was able to score for the Roosterheads off of a quick penalty only 5 meters away from the try zone. They now led 17-5. Kenyon eventually was able to drive down the field and score one more try to cut the lead to 17-10. The last ten minutes was more of a physical game by both sides and the Roosterheads were able to punch in one last final try. They won the game 22-10 to take 3rd place in the tournament and finish 2-1. Despite having lack of numbers and a lot of young players the Roosterheads play has improved greatly since their opening tournament in Savannah, GA.
STATS
Tries: Tyree “C.C.” Massie, Victor Phothisuk, Substitute players (2)
Conversions: Phil “Carrot Top” Andrews (1)
Carnegie Mellon University 03.21.2010 by Travis
Won 27-22
The Roosterheads played their first home match of the Spring 2010 season against Carnegie Mellon University, who is a Division III club who is competing in Nationals for this spring. After a disappointing tournament the previous weekend in Savannah, the Roosterheads were determined to improve their play and come out with a win. Since each team did not have a B-Side, both teams agreed to play 3, 30-minute halves with rolling subs. The Roosterheads were playing with a lot of youth and were missing players due to injury as well.
The Roosterheads came out playing with a lot of intensity and were able to keep possession for the beginning of the game. The first half was mostly played in CMU territory, with the Roosterheads defense playing excellent like in the Savannah tournament. The Roosterheads came close multiple times, but could not put the ball in the try zone, including a ball held up call with Dan “Blue” Lama attempting to score. Finally in the midway through the first half Phil “Carrot Top” Andrews took the ball on a break way and scored the first try of the game. The Roosterheads led 5-0. After the try, CMU adjusted their play by kicking the ball down field more and they were able to gain territory on the Roosterheads. However, the Roosterheads were able to recover possession and they swung it out to the back line where Nick Fields took the ball on a break away. He only had one man to beat down the field and at the last second he passed the ball to Tyree “C.C.” Massie who touched the ball down under the posts. A successful conversion kick by Phil “Carrot Top” Andrews made the score 12-0 Roosterheads. CMU came back quick and was able to finally punch in their first try of the game after being able to capitalize on a breakdown of defense by the Roosterheads. At the end of the first half the Roosterheads led 12-7.
The second half involved more of a ball control mentality by the Roosterheads. The forwards were taking a lot of the passes and their goal was to keep possession. It was a back and forth game by each team but neither could find the try zone. A little over halfway through the second half the Roosterheads were gaining territory on CMU. Eventually the Roosterheads were able to create an overload about 30 meters away. An off-load pass by Nathan “Charlie Brown” Kulikoski to Travis Kilpatrick started the break away. Travis Kilpatrick passed the ball to Tanner “Chongo” Adams at the last second, successfully causing the defender to be taken out of the play. A pass then to Tyree “C.C.” Massie led to him also passing the ball at the last second to wing Dan “Blue” Lama and he was able to touch the ball down to score the try. The Roosterheads lead was now 17-7. Towards the end of the half, CMU was again able to gain territory on the Roosterheads due to lack of defensive numbers after a break away. CMU eventually drove the ball in and cut the lead to 17-12.
In the third and final half, CMU scored within the first minute off of a huge break down of defense by the Roosterheads. The Roosterheads committed to many men to the rucks and it created a huge overload for CMU. It was now tied 17-17. The Roosterheads were unable to gain significant territory on CMU for the first portion of the third half and CMU’s game plan now was to kick the ball down field and hope for a mistake by the Roosterheads. CMU eventually got when they kicked the ball deep down field into the corner near the try zone. The Roosterheads fullback Phil “Carrot Top” Andrews was unable to recover the ball in time and CMU scored in the corner of the try zone to take their first lead of the game, 22-17. With ten minutes left in the game the Roosterheads were able to swing the ball out to the back line again and Nick Fields took the ball on a 60 meter break away run and scored to tie the game once again at 22-22. The Roosterheads began to pick up the intensity the final ten minutes and kept the possession almost the rest of the game. They kept driving and driving down field and came inches close multiple times to scoring. Finally with less than a minute to go the Roosterheads were awarded a scrum 5 meters away. Everyone knew that the next stoppage would be the end of the game. The Roosterheads secured the possession and Tanner “Chongo” Adams picked the ball out of the scrum and passed it off to Eric “Peanut” Pino who was able to dive into the try zone and score the game-winning try. After he scored the whistle blew and the game was over. The Roosterheads won their first match of the season 27-22 due to an outstanding effort.
STATS
Tries: Phil “Carrot Top” Andrews, Tyree “C.C.” Massie, Dan “Blue” Lama, Nick Fields, Eric “Peanut” Pino
Conversions: Phil “Carrot Top” Andrews (1)
St. Patrick's Day Tournament 03.15.2010 by Travis
Savannah, GA
UMBC L 31-0
The Roosterheads traveled to Savannah, GA for their first tournament of the Spring 2010 season. After a disappointing fall season, the Roosterheads were determined to get back to their winning ways starting with this tournament. The Roosterheads side consisted of many young and inexperienced faces that showed a lot of promise. This tournament was the first time the Roosterheads were playing rugby outdoors this season due to the weather, and their first match was against UMBC (University of Maryland Baltimore County), a Division II team who made the playoffs in the Potomac Rugby Union just last fall. For the first 10 minutes of the game the Roosterheads came out strong and controlled not only the ball but also the tempo of the game. In no way did it look like they had only a couple indoor practices before this game. UMBC started to settle in and adjust to the style of play by the Roosterheads and began gaining possession and territory. With about 10 minutes left in the first half, the score was still 0-0 but a high tackle penalty sent Center Nick Fields to the Sin Bin, which would prove very costly. Playing with a man down, UMBC took advantage and put in the first score of the game with a try against an outnumbered back line. Then minutes later, a bad bounce on a deep punt by UMBC gave them another easy try. Minutes after that UMBC drove it right back down and touched it down for a third time while the Roosterheads were a man down. It was 17-0 UMBC after the first half. The Roosterheads made adjustments at half and played better in the second half. Their defensive play was great, but they could never quite get their offense going through out the whole game and could not punch the ball in the try zone. UMBC was awarded a penalty try with about 10 minutes left in the game when Tanner “Chongo” Adams committed a high tackle on a break away runner 5 meters away from the try line, in which he was sent to the Sin Bin for. The youth of the Roosterheads showed in the first game and the lack of offense and the penalties committed resulted in a 31-0 loss to UMBC.
VMI L 27-0
For the second match of the tournament, the Roosterheads faced off against a good VMI (Virginia Military Institute) squad. Like the first game, the Roosterheads came out playing strong defense, but still could not find their offense. The Roosterheads played tough even with Nick “Ramrod” Blair in the Sin Bin for a portion of the first half. The Roosterheads were in a 0-0 stalemate until VMI was awarded a penalty kick about 35 meters away, where they kicked in the first points of the game to take a 3-0 lead. The Roosterheads kept up their competitive play, but allowed a try before the end of the half and went into halftime down 8-0. With fatigue starting to settle in, the Roosterheads play began to weaken in the second half. The penalties began to pile up and the Roosterheads were playing in their own end for most of the half. The Roosterhead backs were unable to contain the speedy backline of VMI and a fatigued Roosterhead side was unable to maintain possession throughout the second half. VMI rattled off 3 tries in the second half and the Roosterheads could never recover. They lost with a final score of 27-0.
UM-Mankato L 17-12
On early Sunday morning the Roosterheads played their third and final game of the tournament against UM-Mankato (University of Minnesota – Mankato). In this third game, everything started to click for the Roosterheads. They were dominating the possession and territory the whole first half. Even with first time players along with many other young players the Roosterheads were playing at a high level. With about 10 minutes left in the first half, the Roosterheads had possession deep in the UM-Mankato territory. With Roosterheads inches away from the try line, UM-Mankato committed a penalty in the try zone with the Roosterheads attempting to score, which resulted in a penalty try for the Roosterheads to take a 7-0 lead. UM-Mankato recovered quickly though by gaining territory through penalties and scored with an overload in the back line with their winger touching the ball down. The Roosterheads lead was cut and they only led 7-5. With only two minutes left in the first half, the Roosterheads were awarded a scrum about 25 meters away from the try line. 8-man Josh “Fish” Arnone along with Scrumhalf Levi Kaczka created an overload on the weak side and the pass from Levi Kaczka to wing Justin “Speedy” Heinle resulted in Justin “Speedy” Heinle touching the ball down for the Roosterheads and taking a 12-5 lead into half time. The impressive play continued throughout the second half with Roosterheads playing outstanding defense and keeping possession. With 15 minutes left in the game, Nick “Ramrod” Blair committed a costly penalty for not rolling away after a tackle. The official had just warned both teams about this penalty and it resulted in Nick “Ramrod” Blair going to the Sin Bin. Like in games past, this proved costly for the Roosterheads and with 10 minutes left in the game they created an overload with their backline and their wing ended up scoring the game-tying try with only 5 minutes left in the game. The fatigue was settling in the last 10 minutes of the game for the Roosterheads while the intensity increased by the UM-Mankato side. With only 3 minutes left in the game, UM-Mankato touched the ball down for a final time and took a 17-12 lead. The Roosterheads were unable to recover the lead and suffered a tough 17-12 loss. The Roosterheads finished 0-3 in the tournament, but they showed a lot of promise for this upcoming season and for the youth in this team.
STATS
Tries: Penalty Try, Justin “Speedy” Heinle
Conversions: Justin “Speedy” Heinle (1)