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.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Rebels defeated, insurrection quelled
Looking to capitalize on their NERFU D3 success last Fall, Portland dipped their toes in to the regional NRU pool this weekend when they took on Hudson Valley Rebels at home. Just what it is that they're rebelling against remains unclear, but as with many other parts of this country world, the tyranny of British Colonial rule still seems to rankle. People, let's move on, K?
Anyway, that's probably not the point. Saturday dawned grey and drizzly, but that didn't seem to dampen the spirits of the many college sides who were already plying their trade at the Fairgrounds by 8:30 in the morning. Among other things the day proved that the college rugby game is in robust health, with our two public colleges producing some of the most physical rugby witnessed in a long time.
An early shout should go out to Portland Women's team who started the day off right with a win in a 10-aside game against Hudson Valley Women. I'm not sure of the score, but no doubt a write up of their own will soon appear on the site, so stay tuned for the blow-by-blow account.
So, on to the Headliner, which kicked of in cool and damp conditions, yet with a warm throng of supporters on the sidelines. It was soon apparent that the HV side were to play a very similar style of game to Portland, with a strong pack, efficient at keeping the ball to themselves and man-handling it upfield. Thus the game started with an initial testing out period as both sides looked to assert their physical presence on the game.
After about 10 minutes Portland were able to open the scoring which Tom Zabriskie intercepted a midfield pass from the HV backs to run it back the other way and touch down under the posts. Carlos made the conversion, and it was 7-0 Portland. Not long after that Portland followed up with a more deliberate score, taking the scoreline to 12-0, and it looked as though the home side might be able to engage cruise control.
The Rebs had other ideas however, and proved themselves to be no pushover, putting themselves back in the game with a quickly created try. Unfortunately for them their kicker had a bit of a 'mare on the day, and pushed the conversion wide. These were not to be the last extra points that went begging for HV.
One of the recurring themes for the day was that whenever HV was able to score, Portland were able to score one right back, making it difficult for the visitors to create any momentum. Sure enough, after the first Rebel score, Portland were able to march right back down the field and put away another try, wresting back control of the game. Half time came and went, with the scoreline somewhere around 17-12. With weather conditions improving the Portland backs were able to begin the second half with some fine running rugby. Soon enough a fine breakaway effort by Evan Harding was capped off by Fred Hayman to get the scoreboard ticking over again.
Portland did not have it all their own way however, as HV mounted their own counter attacks and proved that their own backs had some skills of their own. At one point the scoreline closed to 21-17, proving the value of those extra points, but as mentioned, Portland were always able to turn the screw a little tighter and maintain control.
A late score from the Rebs just at the stroke of full time made the final score 32-21, closing out a strong, if perhaps less-than-clinical performance for Portland. Known try scorers were Tom and Fred, already mentioned, a brace for Hannes, and one mystery score who no doubt will be in touch with me shortly.
Thanks to the Hudson Valley lads for making the trek up to Maine and for sticking around to enjoy the rest of the day. We wish them the best of luck for the rest of the Spring and their future Fall campaign.
For the efforts, Portland now gets to make the trek up to Syracuse for the D3, NRU Final 4, where they get to take on Syracuse Chargers, and the Superleauge and D1 cast offs from Old Blue and the Wolfhounds. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose, eh?
After the break, news of a strong B side performance against Bull Moose...
Anyway, that's probably not the point. Saturday dawned grey and drizzly, but that didn't seem to dampen the spirits of the many college sides who were already plying their trade at the Fairgrounds by 8:30 in the morning. Among other things the day proved that the college rugby game is in robust health, with our two public colleges producing some of the most physical rugby witnessed in a long time.
An early shout should go out to Portland Women's team who started the day off right with a win in a 10-aside game against Hudson Valley Women. I'm not sure of the score, but no doubt a write up of their own will soon appear on the site, so stay tuned for the blow-by-blow account.
So, on to the Headliner, which kicked of in cool and damp conditions, yet with a warm throng of supporters on the sidelines. It was soon apparent that the HV side were to play a very similar style of game to Portland, with a strong pack, efficient at keeping the ball to themselves and man-handling it upfield. Thus the game started with an initial testing out period as both sides looked to assert their physical presence on the game.
After about 10 minutes Portland were able to open the scoring which Tom Zabriskie intercepted a midfield pass from the HV backs to run it back the other way and touch down under the posts. Carlos made the conversion, and it was 7-0 Portland. Not long after that Portland followed up with a more deliberate score, taking the scoreline to 12-0, and it looked as though the home side might be able to engage cruise control.
The Rebs had other ideas however, and proved themselves to be no pushover, putting themselves back in the game with a quickly created try. Unfortunately for them their kicker had a bit of a 'mare on the day, and pushed the conversion wide. These were not to be the last extra points that went begging for HV.
One of the recurring themes for the day was that whenever HV was able to score, Portland were able to score one right back, making it difficult for the visitors to create any momentum. Sure enough, after the first Rebel score, Portland were able to march right back down the field and put away another try, wresting back control of the game. Half time came and went, with the scoreline somewhere around 17-12. With weather conditions improving the Portland backs were able to begin the second half with some fine running rugby. Soon enough a fine breakaway effort by Evan Harding was capped off by Fred Hayman to get the scoreboard ticking over again.
Portland did not have it all their own way however, as HV mounted their own counter attacks and proved that their own backs had some skills of their own. At one point the scoreline closed to 21-17, proving the value of those extra points, but as mentioned, Portland were always able to turn the screw a little tighter and maintain control.
A late score from the Rebs just at the stroke of full time made the final score 32-21, closing out a strong, if perhaps less-than-clinical performance for Portland. Known try scorers were Tom and Fred, already mentioned, a brace for Hannes, and one mystery score who no doubt will be in touch with me shortly.
Thanks to the Hudson Valley lads for making the trek up to Maine and for sticking around to enjoy the rest of the day. We wish them the best of luck for the rest of the Spring and their future Fall campaign.
For the efforts, Portland now gets to make the trek up to Syracuse for the D3, NRU Final 4, where they get to take on Syracuse Chargers, and the Superleauge and D1 cast offs from Old Blue and the Wolfhounds. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose, eh?
After the break, news of a strong B side performance against Bull Moose...
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