Sports
Rugby club dismantles Grizzlies
Metro's Glorious 'B's crush Adams State in 65-17 rout
By Matt Gunn
gunnma@mscd.edu
Metro Rugby Football Club (RFC) conquered visiting Adams State College 65-17 to secure its fifth win in Eastern Rockies Rugby Football Union play.
"We dominated almost all aspects except for our own let-downs," team captain Charles Lubeck said. "They didn't really pose a big threat."
With the Oct. 2 victory at Jacob's Park in east Denver, Metro's record is 5-0 midway through the season.
The home team's balanced attack allowed for eight different players to score. Flyhalf Evan Swieckowski and outside-center Spencer Walls each scored three tries, and fullback Adam Scruggs scored both a try and a conversion in the game.
In a rugby union game, a try is worth four points and is scored when players ground the ball beyond the opponent's goal line. A conversion is rugby's equivalent of the NFL's extra-point kick, and is worth an additional two points.
Metro RFC dominated play from the start of the game.
Though the Grizzlies held an overall size advantage, Metro was clearly better conditioned, outrunning and out-hitting its opponent.
Photo by Leah Bluntschli bluntsch@mscd.edu
Adams State College rugby team's lock Aaron Bittler and Metro lock Matt Page vie for the ball in a line-out during the rugby match on Oct. 2 at Jacobs Park in Denver. Metro beat Adams State 65-17.
The score at halftime was 32-17 in favor of The Glorious B's. The 40-minute mark was essentially the end of the day for Adams State.
"I thought we started well and we finished well," said assistant coach Steve Lewis, "but there's a lot of stuff in between that we kind of played in fits and starts. There were certainly a lot of encouraging things."
The Grizzlies were clearly worn out in the second half, and Metro didn't slow down.
Three injuries forced Adams State to substitute players and equipment as the team grew tired from both the 86-degree heat and the physical Metro attack.
The Grizzlies took the ball to within one yard of The Glorious B's goal line. After a series of scrums and line-outs, rugby's version of set plays, Metro was successful in preventing a score.
The goal line stand all but finished the exhausted Grizzlies. The Glorious B's scored on three straight possessions to finish out the game.
Metro RFC is keeping itself in the win column more than halfway through the season.
The next game is on Oct. 16 against Western State College.
One home game remains for Metro on Oct. 23 at Jacob's Park on East Mississippi Dr. and Quebec St.
The final game is a rugby doubleheader as the A-side plays Colorado School of Mines and the B-side plays the Old Boys.
"The biggest thing is winning this conference as part of our all-encompassing goal of a national championship," said head coach Gregg McCorkle. "We need to be perfect, or near-perfect, in every facet to overcome any obstacle we might face in the next year."