Moose Hunt

To cap off a fine day of rugby this past Saturday, Portland "killer" Bs took on Mount Washington Valley RFC, aka Bull Moose, who have recently been promoted to D3 after knocking off Seacoast Bs in the Fall Classic. The Portland side comprised of many of the B Side stalwarts, along with a sprinkling of a couple of the younger A Side tykes, and a guest appearance at Center of all places from that wily old vet, Tim McMahon.

For most of the first half the two teams were well matched, with a huge Bull Moose pack dominating in the set piece, but their partners in the backfield being well closed down by the Portland defense. As for many fledgling clubs, numbers are an issue, and once a couple of the Bull Moose starting line went down with injuries, there were only so many Stripers they could bring on as replacements. First to go was the Bull Moose fly-half, the deliciously named Sebastian Chocobar, who no doubt was getting a bit runny in the hot sun. Runny...chocobar...hot sun...geddit?!?!?

[Sound effect: crickets chirping]

Anyhoo, as Bull Moose adjusted to their new subs, Timmy Mac was able to capitalize on their confusion by busting out one of his hypnotic runs from a quick tap penalty, and running around, under and through almost the entire Bull Moose pack before touching down under the posts on the stroke of half time. "Slippery" doesn't even come close to describing it.

The second half saw Portland take firmer control over the game, and while Bull Moose occasionally threatened, most plays we soon snuffed out by a committed Portland defense. Not to take anything away from their offensive skills however, as Portland were able to put away two more tries in the second half. One I don't remember much about, by the final score saw Byron Brinkley break out of a ruck to cover almost half the field, only to be brought down just shy of the line. But who was on his shoulder? None other than Ryan, who was there to receive the pass and touch down under the posts. Even with his unorthodox "line drive" kicking style, Matt Winch was able to make the conversion and bring the final score to 17-0 in Portland's favor.

The B's remain undefeated for the season, proving there is a new found depth to Portland's strength. Man of the match was meant to go to Byron for his solo effort, but since he'd left early, we gave it to Ryan for helping close out the move and because we just love to see him throw up. Unfortunately however he didn't seem to want to cooperate on this particular Saturday.

Big thanks to all those who played and kept the streak alive.